PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

What is Coming?

Chanannait Paisansathan, MD, MHA
SNACC President

Chanannait Paisansathan, MD, MHA

Time has flown, and we are in the middle of the year 2021. As I am writing this President's message, the world has continued to face the global crisis from the COVID-19 pandemic. Our friends and colleagues all around the world continue working hard to care for patients and their families. I have been through the dread of my elderly mother suffering a medical emergency amid the crisis. I felt it was a helplessly long week while waiting for the miracle. I trust that amid the difficulties rise the miracles.

Nonetheless, it was hard to keep having faith when it is close to home. She made it through after days in the Intensive Care Unit. My mother must have nine lives! She is now at number three. Thank God for that. I believe that similar stories like mine occur everywhere despite the slim hope. More than ever, I want to express my gratitude to all medical professionals worldwide for their courage and relentless effort in caring for our patients. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to our communities and the world.

What is coming? We can never afford to stand still, and we are not. SNACC continues to adapt to the needs of our members. We all have suffered professionally, and some of us might have, to some degree, personally. SNACC wants to be the forum for our members to share their stories and interests.

We will start four new Special Interest Groups (SIGs) for our members to join. The first one is the Wellness and Healing Special Interest Group. The mission of the SNACC Wellness and Healing SIG is to inspire, create and maintain our organization's commitment to support, honor, and strengthen each member's overall well-being. The second SIG is Patient Safety and Quality Improvement in Neurosurgical and Neurocritical Care. This SIG's vision is to provide the structure and resource for our members to develop the practical quality and inclusion (Q&I) projects that meet the institution's needs. The third SIG will be the Patient Outcome Research Group. Look for more details on this SIG coming soon and the  last SIG is the Pediatric Neuroanesthesia Interest Group. This group is the collaboration between SNACC and the Society of Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA). We aim to promote education, training, and research collaboration in Pediatric Neuroanesthesia among our members globally.

Lastly, despite hoping that we would meet in person for the 2021 meeting, we decided to continue our connection via the virtual format. It was a challenging decision. We want to offer the best quality meeting while minimizing the cost of attendance for our SNACC members. Safety for all medical professionals is the utmost priority when the new strains of the virus continue to emerge. This year's meeting offers a wide variety of updates on science and professional development. I organized the leadership training sessions, which emphasize effective communication during the time of crisis. Please check out all the details of all sessions offered this year. You will not be disappointed!

God bless you, and I wish all the best to the SNACC community.