Volume 8, No. 3 • Fall 1993

Learning and Technology To Be STA Annual Meeting Theme; APSF Co-Sponsors January Confab to Be Held at Disney World

Technology and learning will be the theme of the annual meeting of the Society for Technology in Anesthesia (STA) set for January 27-29, 1994, in Orlando, Florida, at the Walt Disney World Dolphin. The meeting is being co-sponsored by the APSF and the Society for Education in Anesthesia (SEA) and will be devoted to exploring the importance of technology in anesthesia education and safety.

Panel discussions and working groups will develop the theme “Learning About Technology Technology About Learning.’ The panel discussions will include:

* SEA Panel: Co-chairs Phil Malan, M.D., from the University of Arizona and Michael Good, M.D., from the University of Florida will moderate a discussion of the concept that technology can enhance the educational process. This session will also introduce the audience to the various simulators and training devices that will be available throughout the meeting.

* STA Panel: Robert Chilcoat, Ph.D., BOC, and Wesley Frazier, M.D., Emory University, will discuss what the clinician needs to know about technology and what the technologist needs to know about medicine.

* APSF Panel: Frances Rhoton, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University, and E.S. Siker, M.D., Executive Director, APSF, will discuss how to introduce technology and safety questions more firmly into the curriculum of anesthesia training programs and continued education in anesthesia.

Several working groups are also planned to bring the talents of the meeting attendees to bear on the problem of what is really important to understand about technology to function effectively in the clinical setting. A separate working group will be constituted for each of several monitoring modalities including ECG, blood pressure measurement, pulse oximetry and others. Each group will be asked to describe a clinical scenario that illustrates why the user needs to be familiar with one or more technologic features of the device to guarantee safety or proper usage. These working groups are being organized by Gordon Gibby, M.D., University of Florida, and Daniel Raemer, Ph.D., Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

In addition to these formal sessions, a variety of simulators and training devices will be available for examination throughout the meeting days. Sem Lampotang, Ph.D., University of Florida, and Charles Brindis, M.D., MS., are organizing these sessions. Scientific sessions are also planned where abstracts will be presented in a poster-discussion format.

In addition to Disney World and Epcot, the Orlando area has many other pleasant diversions available to meeting participants and their families. The STA meeting is being held in one of Disney’s finest hotels on the grounds of the resort, and social events are also being planned.

For more information on the meeting, contact the STA National Office at (804) 378-4959.