An appeal to my anesthesiology junior faculty, resident and fellow colleagues of the 21st century:
The idea of the anesthesiologist as a key member of a disaster management or trauma team is not a new concept. Even in 1957, Dr. Dobkin wrote about the “Anesthetist in Disaster” in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.1 Over the last several decades, the concept of the anesthesiologist as a physician relegated to the confines of the O.R. has given way to a more robust understanding of the field. As a perioperative physician, the anesthesiologist, often with formal training in critical care medicine, is ideally poised to either lead or function as a key member of a trauma or disaster management team. The knowledge and skills developed during anesthesiology residency regarding the principles of cardiopulmonary, neurological and renal physiology, coupled with the procedural skills of rapid placement of invasive monitors or central venous...
