Program Objectives

This activity is designed for anesthesiologists and resident anesthesiologists from Texas and surrounding states.

The educational methods consist of didactic lectures, workshops and hands-on sessions with opportunities for Q&A from the audience and panel discussions.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Texas Medical Association and the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists. The Texas Medical Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Texas Medical Association designates this live activity for a maximum of 38.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Texas Medical Association designates the presentations “Anesthesiology Training in 2024 and Beyond - Gearing Towards Improving Population Health”, “Social Determinants of Health Combating Health Inequity and Racial Disparities”, “Ethics of Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare”, “Q & A”, “Difficult Conversations”, “Q & A”, “Financial Toxicity of Healthcare and Implications for Patients”, “Healthcare Delivery in the US - Threats and Opportunities”, “Navigating Turbulent Waters: Addressing Threatening Parents and Surgeon Accountability After Complications in Pediatric Patients”, “Combating Anesthesiologist Burnout: What Is the Path Forward?”, “Well-being in Medicine and Anesthesiology: A Priority for Professional Longevity”, and “The Betty P. Stephenson Lectureship” for a total of 7.5 hours in ethics/professional responsibility education. Ethics and/or Professional Responsibility Education topics are identified with

Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology Program®, MOCA® and MOCA 2.0® are registered certification marks of The American Board of Anesthesiology®. The entirety of the 2024 TSA Annual Meeting that qualifies for the AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ helps fulfill The American Board of Anesthesiology® (MOCA®) and MOCA 2.0® requirements. This activity contributes to the patient safety CME requirement for Part II: Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment of the American Board of Anesthesiology’s (ABA) redesigned Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology Program® (MOCA®), known as MOCA 2.0®. Please consult the ABA website, theABA.org, for a list of all MOCA 2.0® requirements.

All topics that qualify for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ qualify for the American Board of Anesthesiology® (MOCA®) and MOCA 2.0®

The practitioner of anesthesiology must possess the scientific background for clinical practice and must maintain state-of-the-art knowledge of not only the specialty, but of all additional related disciplines which may impact it. The anesthesiologist must serve as an expert in matters involving health care delivery, and serve as an informed provider/manager of clinical and educational services. The anesthesiologist must maintain an up-to-the-minute armamentarium of knowledge skills for the selection and use of complex equipment, pharmacological agents and procedures necessary for the provision of quality patient care. As more surgical procedures are performed outside the operating room, anesthesiologists must be familiar with the various clinical settings and medical emergencies with which he/she may be confronted.

Anesthesiologists must consistently update their knowledge level and skills. At the conclusion of this CME activity, attendees should be able to:

• have an overview of the current political climate and how that impacts healthcare priorities in the state;
• review the mechanisms surrounding GLP-1 RAs and improvements in cardiovascular outcomes;
• discuss the association between both preoperative frailty and cognitive dysfunction and perioperative morbidity;
• review the most recent recommendations in airway management and gain experience with the latest airway devices that are currently available;
• review benefits of epidural anesthesia vs alternative analgesic techniques;
• discuss common issues with epidural management perioperatively;
• discuss what medications are included in the group of novel oral anticoagulants;
• discuss their perioperative implications (how to reverse, how long to hold for surgical procedures, ASRA guidelines for regional blocks and neuraxial techniques);
• identify different strategies for intra-operative monitoring in patients with epidermolysis bullosa;
• outline the connection between exorbitant and rising costs associated with healthcare in this country and financial debt;
• outline a few strategies for decreasing the financial burden and restoring transparency and accountability for the health insurers as well as show mechanisms for stopping the flow of the taxpayer money from Medicare towards padding the profit margins for the insurers;
• discuss potential methods of addressing racial inequities during the pediatric perioperative period;
• describe the basic principles of point of care ultrasound;
• recognize indication of point of care ultrasound and its impact on patient management;
• discuss the anesthetic management of patients undergoing thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR);
• discuss the current literature and pros/cons of different options for pre-operative anxiolysis in pediatric patients;
• acquire the knowledge in specific methods to optimize successful outcomes for children with obesity undergoing bariatric surgery;
• acquire a plan of action when a parent or guardian makes threatening remarks after the patient is already anesthetized;
• identify transfusion goals for patients with sickle cell disease prior to surgery;
• assess perioperative pain management challenges and strategies in sickle cell patients undergoing cesarean delivery;
• highlight the specific anesthetic concerns in pregnant patients with super morbid obesity (BMI > 50) given the current epidemic in the U.S. and consequently, Texas;
• discuss general anesthesia considerations in the parturient with extreme obesity who has contraindications to neuraxial placement;
• recognize the contra-indications for neuraxial placement;
• detect the incidence of burnout in anesthesiology;
• review current methods of combating burnout - personal level interventions and systems level interventions;
• recognize potentially impaired behavior in colleagues and understand how it affects your legal liability;
• become acquainted with the Texas Medical Board physician reporting requirements;
• list several strategies that promote wellbeing in anesthesiologists;
• delineate the limitations on simulations and explore the reasons why it is not a replacement for patient volume;
• cite the novel diabetic medications on the market and their basic pharmacology;
• explore how higher functional capacity is directly correlative with better physical, psychological, and surgical outcomes;
• explore the controversial implications of AI such as data privacy. informed consent, transparency, and algorithymic fairness;
• cite different methods of guiding blood component therapy and assess the unique usage of TEG in debate format; and
• describe how a quality and safety officer fits into the organizational structure of an anesthesiology department/group.