President's Message

The practice of medicine has always been fraught with controversy across all specialties. Examples include end of life care, childhood vaccinations, circumcisions, and genetic engineering, just to name a few. As anesthesiologists, we face controversial surgeries everyday such as organ transplantation, bariatric surgery, and abortions. Our goal, above all else, is to provide … [Read more...] about Common Goals Don’t Eliminate Controversy
By Marie Sankaran-Raval, MD
President, VSA

Since moving to Richmond in 2012, the VSA has played an integral role in my professional career and I am so excited to serve as your next VSA President. As a pediatric anesthesiologist at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond, I have seen firsthand the incredible power of working together and advocating for issues that affect our specialty and the practice of medicine. I have g … [Read more...] about Patient Safety at the Forefront of Anesthesiology
By Marie Sankaran Raval, MD
VSA President
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology
VCU Health System, Richmond, VA

As anesthesiologists, one of our biggest concerns is and always will be relieving pain. This will never change, but the strategies we employ to manage our patients’ pain continues to evolve. As the pain literature grows, we continue to learn more about the importance of minimizing physiologic stressors during surgical procedures using non-opioid, multi-modal pharmacologic a … [Read more...] about Patient Safety and Comfort Will Always Be Our Concern
By Jeffrey Green, MD, FASA
President, Virginia Society of Anesthesiologists
and Marie Sankaran Raval, MD
President-Elect, Virginia Society of Anesthesiologists

When I first started residency in anesthesiology, I thought it was a pretty diverse medical specialty. I was one of only a couple of white males in my residency class. There was also nearly 50% female representation. I assumed this was the norm for anesthesiology. This was quite a change from the surgery residency program where I started my training which was almost entirely … [Read more...] about We’re Not as Diverse as I Thought
By Jeffrey Green, MD, FASA
VSA President

In the last issue of the newsletter, I suggested that physician anesthesiologists would rise to the occasion. What we have done is nothing short of heroic. Despite the personal risks, despite the lack of equipment and PPE, despite drug shortages, despite the economic hardship, we persevered in delivering care to our patients. We stepped up when others wouldn’t. We have d … [Read more...] about In the Aftermath, Our Work Must Go On
By Jeffrey Green, MD, FASA
VSA President