President's Corner November 2011

Dear colleagues,

This is the last time I address you as SSAI President. It has been a pleasure and honour to serve you for the last 6 years. As an umbrella society for the five national societies of anaesthesiology and intensive care in Scandinavia, SSAI has developed a lot. And it will continue to grow and expand, for sure.

Why is our co-operation through SSAI so important and worth working for? I think in order to answer this we only need to look back at what we have achieved in the last years. Successful congresses in Gothenburg in 2007, Odense in 2009, this year in Bergen and for sure another success in two years time inTurku, Finland. I am very happy that this year so many followed my challenge to “make sure you apply for leave at work, register at the Congress web page, buy your flight ticket, reserve your hotel room and get ready to meet your fantastic Scandinavian colleagues in Bergen June 2011”. We all had a fantastic time there. The scientific and social program was both excellent and innovative. Simulation based session throughout the congress, interactive voting sessions, state-of-the-art lectures and new research presented both from the podium and through electronic poster walks. Full-moon mountain walks in the middle of the night and the sun shining over beautiful Bergenduring the day – what more can you ask for? In Turku in 2013 the slogan is “Focusing on the Brain”. You may as well tick of the dates already.

Still, if SSAI was all about biennial congresses and subscription to Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, this would not have been enough. The value of SSAI is also the newly published Clinical Practice Guidelines and the one now in the pipe-line. Further, SSAI is about fostering and supporting Scandinavian Research initiatives like the 6S study about to finish. Last but not least, the added value of SSAI for the members is all the Advanced Educational Programs (AEPs). These AEPs provide a training basis not possible in the individual countries, but even more so Scandinavian networks that add value to both clinical practice and research projects. I think it is fair to say that they have all been great successes. When congratulating ourselves and the enthusiasts directly involved, we need to remember that the financial muscles to achieve all this come from the well-run Acta journal and Acta Foundation. I would like to use this occasion to thank one and each of you who have made and will continue to make all this happen!

Personally, I would like to thank all the Board members for fruitful and useful discussions. Reaching an agreement is not always easy, but aiming for consensus is a requirement for Scandinavian collaboration. I am very happy to tell you that Sigga Kalman, Karolinska University Hospital – Huddinge in Stockholm, was elected new President of the Society in Bergen. Anne Berit Guttormsen from Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen takes over her position as General Secretary. Together with Tom Silfvast from Helsinki, Finland as Treasurer, they will be the key officers of the Board the next 4 years. Please support them and the rest of the Board in every way you can.

Long live SSAI!

Eldar Søreide
President SSAI

Tuesday, 20 December 2011 22:19:18