ASA released an advisory specifically for non-anesthesiologists who administer moderate or deep sedation.1 I (Dr. Francis) recognized that the guidelines set forth by the ASA advisory were not widely known and therefore not adhered to by non-anesthesia specialists who practice sedation at my home institution. In addition, there was great variability in anesthetic administration, even within the same specialty. This variability resulted in increased complication rates by non-anesthesia specialists in comparison to the complication rates when the same procedures were carried out by anesthesia-trained specialists. This is a patient safety issue, and with my interest in patient advocacy, I wanted to address this disparity. I wanted to standardize training for non-anesthesia providers at my home institution, utilizing the guidelines provided by ASA and an electronic teaching platform commonly used to disseminate information. I needed guidance to carry out this project.
I sought out a mentor to assist me with...