Central Line

Episode Number: 115

Episode Title: Early Career Membership Program

Recorded: November, 2023

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

VOICE OVER:

Welcome to ASA’s Central Line, the official podcast series of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, edited by Dr. Adam Striker.

DR. ADAM STRIKER:

Welcome to Central Line. I'm Dr. Adam Striker, your editor and host. Today we've got a great episode planned for you. We're going to talk to one of the young anesthesiologists who will lead our specialty into the future about how ASA is engaging that particular cohort and why it's important that we do so. I'm joined by Dr. Kyle Robinson, who is in his third year of practice and has taken advantage of ASA's new Early Career Membership Program. This program gives new members three years of member benefits for one low price. I think it's an important program and I'm excited to talk about it. So, Dr. Robinson, welcome to the show.

DR. KYLE ROBINSON:

All right. Thanks so much, Adam. Appreciate the invite and the opportunity to share a little bit about my experience here in the first couple of years of practice.

DR. STRIKER:

Before we do that, do you mind telling our listeners a little bit about yourself, where you're practicing and how you came to maybe know about the program?

DR. ROBINSON:

Yeah. So I'm a again, third year out. I'm a general anesthesiologist. I practice just 15 minutes south of Portland, Oregon, and I'm in a hospital-based community practice. I work for a physician owned anesthesia group that staffs most of the hospitals in the Portland area. And this practice is of particular interest to me. And because this is the community where my wife and I were both born and raised. And so now we're here raising our kids and taking care of people that we've known from all stages of our lives. So this is this has been a really good start for me.

But as far as my involvement in the ASA, you know, I was fortunate to have some wonderful mentors in medical school that not only pointed me towards the the specialty of anesthesia, but also encouraged me to be involved in the ASA. I served as the president of the medical student component and then kind of carried that on and ended up serving as the president of the resident component as well. So the ASA has really been kind of there every step of my anesthesia training and upbringing and is, of course, now here in my first couple of years as a young attending.

DR. STRIKER:

I do want to talk about your first few years in practice, and just get your perspective on what challenges you and your colleagues face as new physicians, or at least your viewpoint of what the challenges are in your first few years, and maybe some struggles that you and your peers uniquely have experienced that some of your older colleagues have not had to in the past?

DR. ROBINSON:

Yeah, I think one of the biggest things when we come out is there's certainly common threads that all generations of anesthesiologists experience. You know, you're balancing personal demands with family and friends, getting yourself professionally on on a good foundation, both in your own clinical practice and the actual practice you're working in. But I think it also, you know, there's an increasing demand, an increasing need, I think, to engage in our local groups that we work for, engage in our hospitals that we're working with. And then, of course, the ongoing need for advocacy and relevance, both at the state level and at the national level. And so I think the biggest thing is not so much whether or not we want to be good anesthesiologists, whether or not we want to be engaged in these causes, but just finding that balance and taking on those additional responsibilities, and I guess engagements and commitments that we have in a sustainable manner for us to have that career progression that we all hope for, but in a way that's going to keep us being, I think, advocates for ourselves and advocates for our specialty as it's more and more of an issue I think in these early years, especially as we look around at the overall political climate of what's happening in anesthesia, and I think what's happening across medicine as a whole.

DR. STRIKER:

Do you have specific concerns when it comes to the evolution of practice that you share with your younger colleagues? That may not be as as much a priority as your more senior colleagues?

DR. ROBINSON:

You know, I think there was probably a time in anesthesia and probably medicine in general, where advocacy was something that, for those who were interested, had the opportunity to engage, to do something with. But I think more and more it's it's getting to the point where it's becoming a necessity, where if we're not the ones at the table sharing our opinions, sharing our concerns about patient safety and just the management of patient care in general, decisions are going to continue to be made by hospital administrators who are, as time goes on, more and more less clinical based and more maybe business based as well as, you know, decisions that are being made at state capitals by people who maybe don't have any kind of clinical background. So I think it's just more relevant than ever that we're present again. We're present within our groups, within our hospitals, and then again within our own advocacy circles. And again, I know that's probably what every generation says coming out, but I think we're just at a time when that's that's more relevant than ever. And it's certainly going to have a large impact on our careers, not only in these first little bit, but when we look at a 20 to 30 year timeline of exactly where medicine is going to go, I think it's more relevant than ever.

DR. STRIKER:

You bring up a good point. It's always been relevant and every generation probably feels that relevancy as it pertains to their own current practice. But one thing that probably has changed a little is the practice model now, and that more and more physicians are employed rather than self-employed or owning their own groups. And I think that perhaps due in no small way contribute to the perception of value of professional societal involvement, if you will, just because the dynamics of compensation and responsibility have have changed over the years.

DR. ROBINSON:

Absolutely. Especially coming out in these first couple of years. It's been interesting talking with my peers and colleagues, especially even just with my cohort, you know, people going into fellowship, going to different parts of the country, going into different kind of practice settings, and really kind of reflecting with them with kind of where we're at and what those different setups look like. And obviously the benefits and drawbacks associated with, you know, everything from a true solo practice to staying in academics versus being employed by maybe a larger organization. There's a lot of differences there that certainly deserve our attention and are relevant to the direction that we're going as a whole.

DR. STRIKER:

Well, let's talk about just the transition period from residency to your first years in practice. Maybe talk a little bit about how that evolution occurs, especially for residents that are listening to this. What should they expect their first year out compared to their second year? Also, compared to residency? There's certainly a difference in the constant intake of education during residency, or at least the way education is absorbed, as opposed to when you're out in practice and then the different responsibilities maybe just just talk a little bit about your perception or your experiences and how that transition occurs.

DR. ROBINSON:

You know, I think, you know, coming out of training with kind of the latest and greatest with techniques and evidence-based practice and all that goes into, you know, a very up to date and fresh anesthesiologist. I have been surprised as time has gone on in these first couple of years, that when I first arrived, I had a lot of my, you know, new partners and mentors, they would really go out of their way to ask me, kind of like, so how do you do this? How do you do that? And I remember thinking, you know, these are people who are 15, 20 years into practice. They know how to do this stuff certainly better than I do. And now, a couple years out, I'm starting to realize I'm doing the same thing with the new grads that are coming out, too. Because even in just a short couple of years, practice guidelines change. There's new medications that are coming around. Certainly there's all kinds of new regional techniques. I was surprised at how much I knew, and I think I was more nervous than I needed to be about the opportunity that I'd have to share that. And now it's something that, as someone who's a little bit older in my group, I really try to encourage our new our new grads who are joining us and create opportunities, I guess, for them to share that knowledge base, because as someone who is at a community practice, who's away from the academic center where maybe that's more at the forefront, or the grand rounds or a little bit more focused on those kind of ceiling and updates. It's something that I've come to come to appreciate, and I really, really rely on my my new colleagues to help, help keep me relevant. And I can see how very quickly, over, over the course of a couple decades career, if you're not paying attention to those things. And again, really encouraging and kind of building up the young folks as they're coming through, you can certainly fall behind on the ever changing world that is that is medicine and clinical practice.

DR. STRIKER:

How important is having good mentorship when you get out in practice?

DR. ROBINSON:

I think it's essential. You know, I've been fortunate, like I said, to have good mentorship throughout medical school training. And now I'm at a practice that is made up of, it’s physician led. It's all anesthesiologists. And at our sites, we have a really strong mentorship program that ensures that we're going to continue to, you know, kind of take those first couple steps into an early career, but then also set us up for success, for kind of meeting our long-term goals and getting involved the way we want to.

DR. STRIKER:

Is there something you wish you had learned during residency that would have helped you in your first year of practice?

DR. ROBINSON:

I think probably the biggest thing that I hear in kind of working with my peers and talking with them was that, you know, you come out of training and you're excited. And I hear regularly with our applicants, I don't want to go to a smaller site because I don't want to lose anything. You know, I just got done learning all of these skills, and I just want to apply them all. I want to refine them all, and I just want to be what I was at the end of training, but better in all aspects. And I think the reality of the situation is there's going to be aspects of any clinical practice you choose where sacrifices are going to be made in some way. Maybe you're not doing as much regional as you did, or you're not getting OB exposure or pedes, or maybe you're not doing the big cases with really sick patients. There's always going to be something. And so I think, you know, I would say to people who are getting ready to graduate or are thinking about the next steps they're going to take, like, really think about what they enjoy, what they enjoy about practice and focus on that. And when they're making that decision of where they want to be, set yourself up for success to where you're going to have those needs met that are most important to you. For me, being at a community practice, I get so much satisfaction out of taking care of the people that I grew up around and the neighborhood that I grew up around, and now again, raising my own kids in that community where I'm caring for the people involved in their lives as well. So I would say, find those things that are most important to you because just like anything else, it's a lot of work and it is work at the end of the day, but I think we can, it's okay to let certain things go in the name of setting up a practice that you're going to be most happy with and is going to sustain you for for many, many years.

DR. STRIKER:

This is an excellent point, and I want to stay on this for just a second. Do you think that residents don't get the proper perspective in residency about variations in practice? Do many of them assume that what they're training in is what they're going to be practicing in, or don't even know how to look at the variety of practices out there? What's your thought on that?

DR. ROBINSON:

I mean, I think we tend to put things in buckets a little bit too much when we're in training. So you're either going into academia or you're going to work in private practice. And sometimes it's just, I mean, as binary as that. Other times we break it down maybe a little bit more to region or maybe who your employer is or, you know, kind of who's paying the bills and that kind of thing. But in reality, again, even just thinking within my own group, we cover ten hospitals and a number of ASCs, and I can tell you the personality of every hospital is quite different. So don't think that it's undersold. I think our perspective on it is maybe just a little, um, just a little naive at that stage because we're worried about so many other elements. But coming out, you quickly realize, especially if you visit more than one site or spend some time working at any number of sites, whether that be differences in academic settings, employed models, whether you're doing a team model and managing the, you know, CRNAs or residents, or working in solo practice like myself, there's every flavor under the sun. And I think it it helps to have your eyes wide open to that and also recognize that a private practice is not a private practice to another private practice. It can be all very different. And again, all the more reason why I feel like finding kind of those, those things that really sustain you while you're in those years and kind of getting trained up. I think it makes that transition a little smoother because that's what we all want. We want to be good at what we do. And part of being a good anesthesiologist is enjoying the process. And we have a great specialty and a great opportunity every day to care for patients. And I love that I've found a setting and a practice model where I can say, I look forward to going to work, and I enjoy what I do and look forward to many years in this career.

DR. STRIKER:

Where do you typically turn to for help? Do you typically ask colleagues that are around the same experience level as you? Do you ask older colleagues? Who do you typically ask for help?

DR. ROBINSON:

Yeah, as I. A little earlier. I think in the especially in the first year, I really relied a lot on my cohort from residency. You know, these are people that you were in the trenches with, that you know really well. They've been through some some high, high successes and some some difficult times as well. And just because everybody's in a little bit different practice, it's very, um, it's it's very sweet to continue those relationships and not only asking clinical questions but also sharing experiences. Again, those highs and lows as they continue beyond your training. So I think my cohort has been a great, uh, place of support. And certainly I have colleagues that have specialized or work in a setting where they know quickly learn more than I did and know more than I know about certain aspects of anesthesia. So I regularly turn to them for kind of curbside advice or questions. But again, I'm also fortunate, like I said, to work in a practice where I'm very close with my partners. They were very supportive early on. They were very invested in kind of my experience and my growth. And so, yeah, I think working in a setting where you have partners that you can rely on and trust and the kind of people that you want to work with, and also the kind of people you trust to take care of your own family. I think that makes a certainly a big difference in providing opportunities for to for you to feel good about your own clinical judgment and growth as, as opportunities to learn come along.

DR. STRIKER:

Well and circle back now to your involvement. How does the ASA factor in as a resource, especially in these early years, and how do you view the society as a resource overall for early career physicians?

DR. ROBINSON:

Yeah, you know, talking with some of my colleagues in other specialties, I look at how the ASA has--and obviously currently and experienced myself--the medical student component and the resident component are really model professional appendages to our professional organization. It's so cool to see just the level of engagement, the level of involvement at those two levels. And then, of course, inevitably one element is this, there's this inherent kind of drop off that happens as everybody transitions from, you know, a homogeneous, academic trained setting where your engagement and kind of professional activities, all of the things that ASA represents, is kind of an inherent, just kind of part of the process to now it becoming something that you need to personally kind of seek out.

It's been interesting in my own setting because, you know, I think, man, I was as engaged as anybody was. But the first year is just kind of balancing out those aspects that we talked about: getting your feet underneath you, feeling good about your own practice, getting boards behind you, which is not an insignificant amount of time and preparation, dedication on top of everything else that might go into, you know, moving to a new city, getting comfortable and feeling good about the overall kind of practice setup that you have going on. So, you know, I think what's been great about the ASA, especially this Early Career Membership Program that we have, is it's created the opportunity for the doors to be open for you, to participate, for you to engage with. Obviously a lot of benefits there. But I've also appreciated not feeling pressured that I need to be doing more or extending myself beyond what I feel is comfortable. And now, I mean, it was great this last year, I was able to participate in the annual conference as part of the Early Career Membership Program registration fee that was covered, and it was just so rewarding to be able to step back into that in a timeline that I felt like was was right for my professional development, and not something that I was trying to force, even though it meant that I was less less involved and less engaged than than maybe I had been in the years during my training. And certainly then I want to be as my career continues to progress.

DR. STRIKER:

Well, we're going to talk about the specifics of the early career membership program and how you see it working. But let's take a quick break first. So please stay with us.

VOICE OVER:

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DR. STRIKER:

Okay. Well, let's talk about the early career membership program. We've already touched on it, obviously, and you mentioned how it took you a little while to get re-engaged or you were obviously dealing with other issues, getting out into practice, logistics, figuring out finances, location, stuff like that. How important do you think it is for the ASA to be reaching out to younger anesthesiologists and engaging them early? And does this program do a good job of that, considering all the other issues that you alluded to that were probably more priority when you first got out of residency? So considering all those factors, is this program the right kind of a program suited to engage members in that regard?

DR. ROBINSON:

You know, I think it is. I think the ASA’s taken the right approach. You know, the biggest thing is, anesthesiologists range in, you know, the full spectrum of staying in that academic track and being very much kind of engaged in everything that's going on with maybe a lot of support, a lot of educational resources to folks who are out there practicing on their own. And so I think the task for the ASA is tough, because really, you got to provide an opportunity to the lowest common denominator of what's available. And so I personally, I like I like the way that the ASA has done this. I think these first three years in particular, they're ones of big transition. And really I think what the early career pathway provides is, is it's just resources. It's resources for you to, you know, once board preparation is done to be able to engage in the educational opportunities again, to know what's going on with patient safety, relevance, to kind of really serve up what's most relevant to our specialty. As obviously the world of information is very loud and very crowded, I think it's helpful to have that kind of delineated out, or at least kind of served up nice and easy for us. And again, I think it'll pay dividends in the long run because as the ASA creates these resources in that place where we can turn tom inherently for folks like me, for folks who, you know, do feel that calling to reengage or to engage in their own, again, hospital or state or at the national level, that opportunity is right there. So I personally like the approach. I like that I didn't feel pressured one way or another. And I certainly appreciate the resource that it's provided, as I've kind of now got into the swing of sustainability for my own educational needs and for my own interest in advocacy that continue to be a part of who I am and part of the thing that's made my experience in anesthesia, I think, satisfying and and enjoyable.

DR. STRIKER:

There's certainly a decent amount of younger physicians out of residency that are not engaged with the ASA once they finish residency. You know, you gave some great reasons for why that was the case for you. And it's probably the case for a lot of young physicians. Do you perceive that to be the major factor, or do you talk to younger physicians who specifically feel the ASA, or professional societies in general, are not valuable or catering to their needs, or they don't need to be involved?

DR. ROBINSON:

It's the competing interests more than anything else. I don't think anybody's turned off or has a bad feeling about what the ASA does or doesn't represent. I think it's just competing interests. You know, as we all know, a lot of our lives have been either slowed down or maybe put on hold for that shining special day when we finish our training and become an attending. And as we all know, it's it's a continuum. It continues. There's there's always something. And so I don't think that it's the lack of engagement that we see at the early side of things is an indifference to the specialty and the need or a problem with what the ASA represents or is or isn't doing. I think it's just a lot of competing interests that we all face at this important transition in our lives. Because really, what's most important, and again, you're talking with someone who leans that way and I've always enjoyed the advocacy arm of of anesthesia. But I'm no good advocating for the specialty if I don't first make sure that I'm settled and have a strong foundation in my clinical abilities and my own trajectory within my practice, because, again, those are the things that are going to sustain us. There's a lot of other ancillary pieces that need to be in place and that we certainly have a responsibility towards. But but that's that's certainly the foundation that's going to allow us to to be the best kind of physicians we can and certainly the best kind of advocate we can in whatever circles we choose to serve and spend our time.

DR. STRIKER:

Do you feel that the program, the Early Career Membership program, has altered your perception of the value of the ASA specifically, or professional societies in general that you might not otherwise have realized had you not been a part of the program?

DR. ROBINSON:

You know, I was actually pleasantly surprised because after attending the ASA this year, again in my third year, I was really pleasantly surprised. As you know, I'm like, okay, boards are well behind me. I'm now attending a, you know, the annual conference. Again, I'm getting the value of, you know, just being with and surrounded by the networking opportunities that that provides, which, you know, you kind of forget and you realize, man, this is this is what it's all about. It's not necessarily, you know, what a one specific talk was about, but it's that that networking opportunity that being together provides. And having been someone who's now been around it for ten years, it felt good to come back after and just to be around that and see those familiar faces and, you know, to know that you're working together with like-minded people. That was certainly satisfying. But but since that time, I, you know, now I'm like, okay, well, how do I get my CME going and get all these requirements done? So I'm making sure I'm on the right track to continue my ABA stuff. And I've been really pleasantly surprised with the early career education package that's come out, and that it matches up almost exactly with the additional requirements outside of mocha that the ABA has set before us. So the patient safety, the CME opportunity. I'm trying to figure out exactly how this all works and exactly what I do need to do to stay in good standing. And it was it was a pleasant surprise to see that that was really packaged up nicely and in a very relevant way to my own practice. That really helped kind of sharpen those things that were a little dull or I'd kind of forgotten about. And then also again, presenting that new evidence and the new maybe practice guidelines that that certainly continue to kind of refine the the work that I do daily. So that that was a pleasant surprise that I didn't expect as a result of just starting to kind of dabble back in and explore the resources that the ASA had as part of this early career kind of package that they have for us.

DR. STRIKER:

Sure. Well, specifically the early career membership program, it gives anesthesiologists. And in the first few years of practice, tons of resources at a low cost. I know it includes one registration fee for both the practice management meeting, which is now ASA ADVANCE, and the annual meeting. Why don't we talk a little bit about your experience at the annual meeting, and do you think it's important for early career members to attend the annual meeting?

DR. ROBINSON:

Yeah, I think the biggest thing for me was as as someone who's a regular or who had been a regular in that scene, I can't overstate the satisfaction of of being shoulder to shoulder, whether it be in, you know, learning opportunities like the CME lectures that were being provided, sitting in my committee meetings. I also this year is kind of part of this I now serve as a delegate for the state of Oregon. Being in those settings again, I think adds tremendous value to just the community of anesthesiologists that we are. You know, I think locally we're, you know, very much hopefully supported in our own practice. But I think seeing the relevance to what's going on nationally, you know, I think a big aspect of it that's been built out is, you know, you're reunited with the people that you practiced with, whether it be your cohort that left or, you know, reuniting with your professors that taught you and that you spent a lot of time with in training. And then again reengaging as a whole with the educational process as well as with these committees that that provides. I think all of that, you know, just provides tremendous value and sustainability to kind of refocus what's important and help remind us that the opportunities for us to be engaged, the opportunities for us to contribute, extend far beyond just the walls of the hospital that we work in. So I think there is a lot of opportunity for the first timer at a conference like that or a veteran like, and I know I went with a couple of people this round that I trained with who I hadn't seen since training, and it was their first meeting that they had attended. And it was interesting hearing, you know, kind of the fire it lights in them. And it's not necessarily, you know, one fire and brimstone talk or one motivating topic. It's just the overall experience that I think is really unique and really kind of helps keep us focused. Because if you ask me, I just finished training yesterday, but the reality is, is time goes quick and opportunities like that are pretty rare and pretty special. And so I think they add a tremendous amount of value. Whether you're an early career physician like myself or someone just someone just dabbling in later in their career.

DR. STRIKER:

You've touched on a little bit. But another aspect of care that that we are concerned with currently is burnout, wellness. Separate topics, but they. But they go hand in hand. You know, I was talking to some colleagues at the most recent meeting, and we all agreed that, you know, just being able to to engage with colleagues outside of your own group around the country, in addition to the educational piece, you realize that a lot of people are in the same boat. You're not the only ones with similar problems to deal with. You feel maybe the tasks aren't as daunting. It doesn't cure all, but I think it helps. And then and you had mentioned that it, you know, kind of lights a fire under individuals to get more involved. I have to think that that helps a little bit in some small way when it comes to wellness or burnout or professional satisfaction, that when you tend to live meeting, if you can, it's not always easy to do that, but when you can that it can make a difference in, you know, your outlook on on your profession and maybe just keep it fresh and keep it somewhat somewhat exciting.

DR. ROBINSON:

Yeah, absolutely. Probably that sustainability aspect of it. You know what really drives people? The things that they find value in, I think that's going to be different for everybody. So, you know, obviously 100% of anesthesiologists might not feel that that's a something that they're able to do for a number of reasons or something that's the most important aspect of what they do. But I think it creates a certainly a significant opportunity to cover a lot of those bases. And like I mentioned earlier, I've been impressed with the way that the ASA, it's almost like we're assuming that nothing is being provided and that no support is in place such that the support programs that, again, the professional society provides, not only creates, you know, covers those bases, but it creates a model for the state societies to follow. The reason why I think we find so much satisfaction in being in a setting like that is we all trained in an academic setting of some sort where, you know, the learning was paramount, the mentors were incredible, and you just had people around you that you really looked up to, not only as physicians that were, you know, particularly capable, but just as people and role models. And inherently, when you come back to a truly academic based conference like that, I think a lot of those kind of good feelings and a lot of those kind of experiences and camaraderie that you built during residency and training, those come pouring back. And so it's certainly something that's familiar to all of us, no matter how how distant we happen to be from training.

DR. STRIKER:

You mentioned that you hadn't attended the meeting for a couple of years. Is that right?

DR. ROBINSON:

Yeah, exactly. The last two years, I wasn't able to participate.

DR. STRIKER:

Did did this make a difference in you deciding to attend, the fact that the registration fee was included in this program?

DR. ROBINSON:

I mean, I think that that certainly helped. Um, you know, I was trying to decide, again, this is obviously a conversation that you have with your your spouse and your family and your practice, because there's all kinds of things you have to coordinate with the time off and everything like that. But I was trying to decide, is it going to be this year or is it going to be next year? I think the open door policy and resource kind of abundance that the Early Career Membership Program provides made that really easy because it was like, well, the registration is also free. Those little things just give you enough of a nudge or just, I guess, decrease one more barrier to making it something that you, you want to be involved with. So like I said, I think most of what I've found from exploring around the educational tools that are available, taking advantage of things like the free registration, they're more of just like kind of icing on the cake or just one less barrier to me making that that choice and that decision. I think really that's what we want is you don't want people to feel like they need to take on a leadership role simply because they showed up to the meeting or had some kind of interest. What you want is you want to create that opportunity for them to be presentm for them to kind of get a sense of what's going on. And then at an end of a meeting like this, as one of my colleagues said, who was her first time attending, she said, I'm looking forward to coming back next year. And, you know, she doesn't have some significant role on committees or ASA leadership or anything like that. I thought that was cool and it's really how I felt. And we just got done scheduling our vacation, and I was like, I made sure I tagged that week so that so I'd make sure I'd be able to be there because that's what we want. And I think that's the effective approach that the ASA has done, is, is creating a setting and a venue that makes us want to makes us want to come back the next year.

DR. STRIKER:

We've touched on a number of the issues with regard to the resources, but I'd want to refocus this question just so it's easier for a listener, maybe to comprehend what the program encompasses. The program includes educational resources and resources to help with personal finance, wellness, clinical career advancement. What resources have you used and do you feel that so far they've met your needs?

DR. ROBINSON:

Yeah, but also the mentorship program that's that's been truly it's still in its beta phase, but the mentorship program has been another impressive side of it. And I think, again, like I said, I think it's it's created kind of that all encompassing, no assumptions about any kind of support, no assumptions about the practice setting. So so for me, again, as someone in private practice away from kind of that academic drive, the CME that it's been provided specifically in the early career education package that comes with our membership, that's been great because you don't realize how spoiled you are in residency with the way that the educational topics are dished up to you, whether that be the attending sitting in the room with you, who's sharing the thing that they're passionate about, or the things that are being brought up on your education days, or the things that are being brought up in grand rounds. That's just not, the educational opportunities just aren't as prevalent and as in our face, at least in my own clinical practice, speaking for myself. So the educational side of things and the education package, the patient safety, the CME, all the things that the ABA wants us to be doing to not only maintain our, you know, credentialing, but also to make sure that we're the most up to date physicians we can be. That's been probably the biggest value for me. Again, I happen to be in a practice where I feel like the mentorship is fantastic. I'm in a place where I feel like the personal finance things, in addition to my own interests and kind of hobby in that section, the educational portion has been kind of that void that I was really glad that the ASA could be there to kind of fill, and again, put me on a good path moving forward so that I can continue to to fill in gaps as, as they come up and as I take those next steps in my career.

DR. STRIKER:

Wonderful. It seems like a great program from what I can tell. I wish I had something like this when when I had started out, and I was fortunate also to have a great group of colleagues and mentors. But I think this is great, and I certainly hope that a lot of early career physicians take advantage of it. Before I let you go, what's next for you? How do you see lifelong learning or continuing medical education driving your career? Has this helped you start down a path that you'd like to see for the rest of your career?

DR. ROBINSON:

I feel really fortunate to be where I'm at right now. Like I said, I'm very satisfied and the clinical work that I do, the practice setting that I'm in, kind of having those foundational pieces in place to where I can continue to become more and more engaged. Like I said, I currently serve on an ASA committee. I represent my own state as a delegate. And I hope to continue having that be a strong part of who I am. It's always been a part of my educational experience. So for me, it's worthwhile use of my time. It's a worthwhile way for me to, I think, give back in some capacity to the specialty that I've really fallen in love with and has provided, you know, a great life for myself, but also just the satisfaction that comes from kind of expanding your your sphere of influence and the opportunity you have to to make a difference. Because the differences that we make at these levels and working in our hospitals, working at the state level, working at the national level, and most importantly, like in networking and the experience you have along the way with this, I think that adds another level of satisfaction and another level of purpose to the things that we're doing and caring for our patients day in and day out.

DR. STRIKER:

Well Dr. Robinson, I’d love to keep talking about this, it's been great and I appreciate all your time and your insight. I think this is a really a valuable program. I love the idea that younger physicians have resources to draw upon to help their career, not only currently, but in the future. And so I really do appreciate the time you took tonight to to talk to us about this.

DR. ROBINSON:

I appreciate it, too. And just as I said early on, you know, one of the things I came to appreciate most was when my older partners would insist on me, insist on asking me, you know, tell me about your techniques. Tell me about what you're doing. Tell me about what's going on. Because drawing those things out of us, I think, gives us confidence. It helps us take those next steps. And likewise, even in this interaction, working with you and talking with you today, Adam, this has been really satisfying. And I think it's one of those things that that that really helps kind of push, push us in the right direction. And again, keep that door open for for people to, to engage and to ask questions and maybe to become part of the process on their own when the time is right and the season is right in their own life. So I appreciate this wonderful evening that we've had together, and the opportunity I've had to reflect on my first couple of years and just the appreciation I have to to be an anesthesiologist, to be represented by a wonderful professional community, and to be in a place where where I love what I do and I'm able to provide for my family.

DR. STRIKER:

Wonderful. Well, look forward to seeing you soon and good luck with the rest of your career, but I'm sure we'll see each other very soon.

DR. ROBINSON:

All right. Look forward to seeing you at the next annual meeting.

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DR. STRIKER:

That's right. And for our listeners, if you want to find out more about the Early Career membership program, simply go to asahq.org/ecmp. You can find out all the details of the program. And thank you all for joining us on this episode of Central Line. Please tune in again next time and take care.

VOICE OVER:

Shake off the stress of residency with ASA's Early Career membership program. See how much you can gain and save with this program at asahq.org/ecmp.

Subscribe to Central Line today wherever you get your podcasts, or visit asahq.org/podcasts for more.

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