The ASA Monitor sat down with Crystal Wright, MD, FASA, a key opinion leader in anesthesiology, for her insights on the specialty. Dr. Wright is the Chair of ASA's Committee on Professional Diversity and serves as Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
You are currently Chair of ASA's Committee on Professional Diversity. Where do you think efforts should be most focused to further increase diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the specialty?
Dr. Wright: Over the past four years in this role, I have been able to see the intentionality placed on efforts related to DEI. ASA has recently engaged in an 18-month effort related to DEI, and 12 of those months were with an outside consultant group. During that time, ASA was able to identify opportunities for the organization as they relate to DEI efforts....