Perspective: Meeting Program Chair 2012
By Anne Stormorken, MD
2012 SPS Conference Program Chair
On May 21 and 22, I had the privilege of serving as Meeting Program Chair for the 2012 SPS Conference, held at the Wyndham Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. University Hospitals Health System partnered with Case Western Reserve University to host the SPS Sedation Provider Course® on May 20 at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. Our audience numbered more than 160 and travelled from the far corners of the USA as well as Canada. We continue to attract a broad number of individuals interested in learning about pediatric procedural sedation including physicians, nurses, dentists, child life specialists and other allied health professionals.
Our focus for the main conference this year was “Expanding the Horizons of Pediatric Sedation”. We are often called upon to adjudicate provision of procedural sedation to children with increasingly complex medical problems not only within all areas of an institution but also often at affiliated satellite locations. Additionally, consumers are becoming increasingly interested in the risk-benefit ratios associated with exposure to analgesics and sedative agents commonly used in procedural sedation. To address many of these issues, invited speakers Constance Houck, MD and Leslie Hall, MD thoughtfully evaluated the role and impact of analgesics and sedatives during the sedation continuum.
Terri Voepel-Lewis, RN, MSN presented a thorough review of the literature regarding necessary monitoring to ensure effective and safe procedural sedation. The morning finished with a provocative discussion by John Berkenbosch, MD on the current state of understanding of the long-term impact of sedatives on neurodevelopment in children. The lunch hour on Monday was filled with “Research Year in Review” efficiently performed by Michael Mallory, MD, Janey Phelps, MD, and Terri Voepel-Lewis, RN, MSN. Expert opinions concerning difficult sedation scenarios were solicited during “Stump the Attending” and enthusiastically provided by Aaron Calhoun, MD, Mick Connors, MD, Gregory Hollman, MD, and moderated by Patricia Scherrer, MD. Monday ended with Professor’s Rounds led by the entertaining duo of James Hertzog, MD and Gregory Hollman, MD and provided a forum allowing researchers to present and discuss their displayed posters.
James Hertzog, MD moderated the abstract and poster presentations on Tuesday morning, leading animated discussion over a wide variety of topics. Focusing on institutional approaches to sedation training and credentialing, Aaron Calhoun, MD presented the role of simulation science and Jason Reynold, MD followed with a discussion of regulatory agency and institutional constraints on sedation providers. The lunch session on Tuesday framed the presentation of many awards, including the Non-Physician Award received by Tricia Smith from the American Family Children’s Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin and the Physician In-Training Award received by Dana Aronson Schinasi, MD, from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
The 2012 Joseph P. Cravero, MD Leadership Award was presented to Deborah LaViolette, RN. The remainder of the general sessions on Tuesday afternoon focused on processes involving quality improvement and outcomes assessment. Lia Lowrie, MD presented the results of the recent SPS quality meeting in November, followed by a roundtable discussion of quality issues involved in outpatient procedural sedation as experienced by Gerald Ferretti, DDS, Michael Mallory, MD and Jana Stockwell, MD. Joseph Cravero, MD ended this session with an overview of outcomes research in pediatric sedation, how to advocate for the application of this information in one’s sedation practice and the future of large database research in this field.
Continuing the popular trend from last year’s conference, we provided a total of 30 breakout sessions to conference attendees hoping to satisfy interests from a broad spectrum of backgrounds, interests and practices. Experts in pharmacology, JCAHO preparedness, procedural pain, outcomes research, strategic planning, customer satisfaction and the care to technology-dependent children shared their wisdom and expertise. The most challenging aspect was extricating attendees from the experts to begin the next sessions!
I had a very enjoyable experience as Meeting Program Chair; however, I must acknowledge all of the help and support from the SPS members who enthusiastically roll up their sleeves every year and make each conference a huge success. We could not continue to present an annual conference without the generous support of our exhibitors and sponsors. Thank you all and here’s to seeing everyone in Houston in 2013!
