If you ask an anesthesiology resident if they know what it means to be an “advocate,” you might be met with a puzzled look. While residents manage to acquire a wide range of clinical and technical knowledge, there is often a void when it comes to governmental affairs or health care policy. On an everyday basis, state and national legislatures and regulatory agencies are creating health care policy that impacts all physicians and our patients. Yet, when most anesthesiology residents graduate and enter clinical practice, the vast majority do not have the skills to be “change leaders” and advocates on behalf of our specialty and patients.
In an effort to bridge the knowledge gap and to educate, train, and develop anesthesiology residents as health care advocates, the California Society of Anesthesiologists (CSA) developed an annual Resident Advocacy Workshop. The purpose is to educate and orient anesthesiologists on what is happening...