VOLUME 28, ISSUE 1

TSAPAC UPDATE

John Scott, Jr., DO

I am honored to have been selected as the new Chair of the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists Political Action Committee (TSAPAC) by the PAC Board. Please join me in thanking Dr. Scott Lindberg for his seven years of hard work, dedication, inspiration, and motivation as the previous Chair of one of the largest medical society PACs in the nation. I have some big shoes to fill and will need your support and help; which is the main reason for writing this article.

Before I go much further, please allow me to introduce myself and tell you a little about my involvement in the PAC. I have worked in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area (Grapevine and Southlake) in private practice for the past twenty years. Additionally, I have been involved in the TSA for about the same length of time. However, my level of involvement at the state and national government level has grown tremendously over the past decade. I have participated in the TSA CPR Day and TMA First Tuesdays in Austin, as well as attended and hosted fundraisers for elected officials. It is a great experience being part of the messaging that the TSA brings to our legislators regarding our profession and patient care. Through the years, I have forged some great relationships with various colleagues around the state while listening and learning how the needs of their patients may differ from those of my own patients. We are brought together for one common cause: improving health care for our patients.

One of the many lessons learned is that if we are not pounding the pavement for our cause and walking the halls of our state capitol and talking with legislators and their staff , “someone else is”. It is no longer possible for us to just be good physicians, but we must also diligently advocate for our patients and our profession. Therefore, we must get involved or risk that our specialty, in which we have invested so much, will cease to exist. We are being attacked from many directions.

For example, the Veterans Administration Nursing Handbook has proposed changes that would require advanced practice nurses, including CRNA’s, to practice independently. In addition, many other states have already opted out of required physician supervision and currently allow nurse anesthetists to practice independently. Additional high priority issues that we are facing include wide spread drug shortages and difficulties with insurance companies, who are making efforts to limit our ability to negotiate fair compensation. Despite the challenges we face, the TSA has had success in confronting each of these issues at the state level. Our efforts are strengthened by the personal relationships our physicians have developed through the work of the TSAPAC.

This is where I need your help. Unfortunately, just being a member of the TSA is not enough anymore. We need your commitment to become actively involved. What does this mean exactly? Most importantly, it means getting involved with the TSAPAC. The TSAPAC can support your efforts through education as well as facilitating your connections with your local representatives and state senators. While monetary support remains vitally important, we also need those direct connections with our political leaders in order to best advocate for our patients and our profession. Let me dispel a few myths about becoming involved:

Myth #1 – When you join the TSA, that takes care of political needs of the society.
 Unfortunately, this is not true. The TSAPAC supports the needs of our profession so that anesthesiology has a voice with our local legislators by facilitating our members as they establish and build these key relationships.

Myth #2 – I gave last year so that should be enough.
Again, this is untrue since the election cycle runs 17 months out of every two years. Supporting friends of medicine is an ongoing need which makes it essential for each member to contribute on an annual basis. Fortunately, we make it easy to contribute through either annual, quarterly, or monthly donations.

I also need you to get to know both your state representative and senator!

How do I do that you ask?

  1. Make an appointment to go see them in their district office when the Legislature is not in session. If the Legislature
    is in session, make an appointment to see them in Austin. You are a constituent and they want to hear from you.
  2. Get involved in their campaigns. For example, do a block-walk for them and bring your whole family along when
    they are running for election.
  3. Host a reception in your home to support your local leaders. The legislator would love it and the TSAPAC can
    help with that. We have a plethora of people that are willing to help and are excited that you are involved. It is our
    honorable duty as members of the TSA to fully and actively participate in advocating for our profession and our
    patients.     

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