Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists 2024 Annual Meeting

April 27 - 30, 2024 | Jonathan Ho, MD, and Ashley Oliver, MD

The UCLA Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (DAPM) was once again well represented at this year's Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA) Annual Meeting in Toronto at the end of April 2024. This year's meeting was co-located at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre with the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), allowing us to congregate with our colleagues away from the operating rooms.

Our department participated in virtually all aspects of the meeting. Jonathan Ho, MD, Vice Chair of the SCA Scientific Program Committee, helped lead the organization and execution of the entire event. Resident and fellow physicians presented abstracts, and faculty physicians discussed scientific work, led problem-based learning discussions (PBLDs), and provided hands-on instruction at workshops. Our faculty also presented in and moderated general sessions. Division members also worked with various SCA committees and interest groups, which meet at the Annual Meeting.

The opportunity to collaborate with AATS members was impactful. We participated on AATS panels, co-attended meeting sessions, and had fruitful discussions.

Our faculty who prepared talks, gave presentations, and PBLDs included Komal Patel, MD, Tiffany Williams, MD, PhD, Reed Harvey, MD, Jacques “Prince” Neelankavil, MD, and Emily Methangkool, MD, MPH. Ashley Oliver, MD, spoke on a panel at AATS hosted by the Women in Thoracic Surgery (WTS) group, discussing skills of conflict transformation and diversity in cardiovascular medicine. Resident physician Belle Benanzea-Fontem, MD, spoke on a panel for the 2024 CA-1 Junior Scholars and discussed her interest in and motivation for pursuing a career in cardiac anesthesiology.

Several DAPM members also won significant awards. Sungsoo “Danny” Kim, MD, received the SCA In-Training Grant; Sophia Poorsattar, MD, received the Women in Cardiothoracic Anesthesia (WICTA) She LEADS Award; and Ashley Oliver, MD, received the Kaplan Leadership Development Award.

Once all the hard work of the day was done, having time to get together away from the OR and visit another city was a great way for the group to come together. We made sure to enjoy Toronto by attending a Blue Jays game and dining around town! We are already well into planning for the 2025 meeting in Montreal, and are looking forward to continued involvement at all levels of this prestigious subspecialty organization.