VOLUME 31, ISSUE 2

On the first day of the TSA Legislative Conference, you could feel the enthusiasm for the meeting radiating from the experienced members and newcomers. In addition to our physician anesthesiologist colleagues, there was representation from Anesthesiologist Assistants who train and practice in Texas. The TSA also sponsored two residents from each training program in the state to attend the meeting. We were all eager to learn how to be involved in the political process to advocate for the issues that matter to our specialty.

Our experience began with a presentation by Jeff Blaylock, publisher of Texas Election Source, about the 2018 midterm elections and what it means for politics in Texas going forward. We spent a while discussing whether this was really a “wave election”. Dr. Sherif Zaafran, TSA member and President of the Texas Medical Board, followed with a review of important issues that the Texas Medical Board deals with on a daily basis and the changes in regulations that may affect our daily practice. This talk was followed by Bonnie Bruce, TSA Director of Governmental Affairs, who described in detail the specific issues we were encouraged to advocate for during our visits with legislators. Key points included helping expand access to care in a safe manner, to ensure access to safe dental anesthesia, and to find solutions for the narrow insurance networks which place a financial burden on our patients. The goal was to make sure our legislators understand how anesthesia care teams work in Texas, with care delegated and supervised by physician anesthesiologists. Our team also advocated for regulation of our anesthesiologist assistant colleagues under the supervision of the Texas Medical Board and to help expand telemedicine services in Texas.

The legislative conference culminated with attendees visiting the state capitol to meet with over 100 state legislators and their staff. We were pleased to find out how easy it was to speak to our representatives and how willing they were to listen to our concerns. We had the opportunity to voice our support and concerns with our legislators and their staff members regarding numerous bills currently being considered during this legislative session. The importance of not only advocating for our specialty, but creating relationships with our representatives in order to continue having our voices heard cannot be stressed enough. We urge all of our physician anesthesiologist and anesthesiologist assistant colleagues, no matter how long they have been in practice, to get involved in current politics and have your voice heard. If you are unable to serve in this manner, please support your colleagues who are willing by assisting them in their clinical duties so they can attend these important activities. As someone at the meeting wisely said, “If you are not sitting at the table, you are on the menu”. The future of our specialty is in our hands.