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I would like to thank the members of the Section on Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine for the opportunity to lead the Section for the next two years. We have had a vibrant and productive section for many years, and the charge I perceive is that of building on these past successes to make the Section an even more vital part of the AAP in the future. As Tom Mancuso, Immediate Past Chair, has written, the responsibilities of our Section extend to several areas and will require the involvement of many Executive Committee members and Section members.

The Section remains vitally important in formulating policy concerning our area of pediatric practice for the AAP. To this end, we have been authors or coauthors of numerous AAP publications in the last several years, including those pertaining to Pain Management in Infants and Children, Pain Management in Neonates, Pain Management for Children in Emergency Medical Systems, Do Not Resuscitate Orders for Children in the Perioperative Time Frame, Sedation Guidelines, Guidelines for the Pediatric Perioperative Environment, and Evaluation of Children Undergoing Anesthesia. We feel this area of advocacy is a critical one for our section and must be a primary focus for the future. Future efforts will include statements on appropriate airway management, the use of simulation in pediatric education, and updates of the various statements concerning pain management and perioperative treatment of children. We will also continue to review all statements that involve our areas of expertise and insist on appropriate input. In addition, as the representative for our subspecialty in the AAP, our section will remain an advocate for pediatric anesthesiology issues with the AMA, the JCAHO, and the American Heart Association through formulation policy (when asked) and responding to current issues and publications relating to our subspecialty. I plan to seek much broader involvement from section membership in both writing statements and technical reports as well as in reviewing the myriad policy statements that pass through the Section on their way to becoming official AAP publications.

Members of the Section on Anesthesiology and Pain Management maintain relationships and fill important roles in various committees inside and outside the AAP. Perhaps most important is the role Lynne Maxwell fills on the Committee on Drugs. Lynne spends endless hours helping to shape AAP policy and inform various government entities on pharmaceutical-related issues pertaining to children. Lynne follows in the footsteps of Charlie Coté, who spent many years cementing the Section's role on the committee and just recently finished an update of the landmark Sedation Guidelines. The Section also continues a vital liaison relationship with the ASA Committee on Pediatric Anesthesiology (COPA) through Randall Clark (ASA COPA Chair). Dr. Clark has made an increasing effort to include the Section's input in ASA planning and policy development regarding pediatric anesthesia. As always, our section remains closely tied to the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA) through current SPA President and executive board member Jay Deshpande.

Our view of the Section 's future relationship with the other pediatric anesthesia committees and societies is one of improved communication and clarification of roles and responsibilities for advocacy. Our section maintains the unique position of being the voice of pediatric anesthesiology inside the largest, most respected, medical organization in the world concerning the healthcare of children. Over the next two years we will focus on this role and channel the issues and concerns brought forth in the ASA and SPA on how to best care for children in the perioperative environment (or in pain) to the AAP. I will seek to maintain our leadership role on issues pertaining to sedation, airway management, simulation-based education, patient safety, quality improvement, and all aspects of pain management.

Education of anesthesiologists and pediatricians in the areas of our expertise has been, and will remain, a vital role for our Section going forward. Under the very capable leadership of Program Director Connie Houck, the Section has provided popular and well attended educational sessions at the annual winter SPA/AAP Pediatric Anesthesiology conference and the ASA Annual Meeting [Breakfast Panel]. Most recently, section members provided workshops on Crisis Management Training Using Human Patient Simulation and Acupuncture at the AAP National Convention and Exhibition. This is a particularly important effort since it highlights the peculiar ability our section has to bring patient care advances pioneered in the specialty of anesthesiology to the broader population of pediatricians [over 40,000 members of the AAP]. Similarly the Section has provided faculty for regional CME offerings from the AAP on topics within our field of expertise. Historically the Section has called on members with particular expertise in various subspecialty areas of pediatric anesthesiology and pain management to fill these educational roles. My hope for the immediate future is to continue this trend and to aggressively seek to increase our visibility and involvement with the AAP in areas where our specialty is best positioned to provide education. I will continue to ask our members for any areas of interest they can offer to this effort, and we urge them to consider taking part in this important mission for the Section.

Executive Committee members and Section members at large will continue to fill important miscellaneous roles in working toward improved healthcare for children. Section members David Polaner and Lynn Martin have developed an internet-based data collection tool for looking at the effectiveness and safety of pediatric regional analgesia and anesthesia. In addition, we remain intimately involved with the [internet based] nation-wide efforts of the Pediatric Sedation Research Consortium to gather information on the practice of pediatric sedation across all specialties involved in this care. Clearly the Section is developing a "niche" in expertise on large database quality improvement projects for children. I see an important role in disseminating the findings of these projects within the wide-ranging membership of the AAP.

The Section fills a vital need for pediatric patient advocacy within the AAP and must continue to evolve this role. As Chair of the Section I will seek to promote our role and our expertise within the AAP and focus our efforts, working in concert with other pediatric societies, to be sure our efforts are not redundant. In general, I hope to improve communication with section membership and push for more involvement from section members to maximize our ability to advance the healthcare of children while not burdening or becoming too dependent on particular individual members. Look for the Executive Committee to send more information on our meetings encouraging your participation through our website and direct emailing. We will circulate AAP documents we are working on for broader input and ask for more input on educational and advocacy efforts. I look forward to a productive two years.