The Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society (CAS) is proud to be celebrating 80 years of being the national specialty society for anesthesiology in Canada. CAS was founded in 1943 as a not-for-profit, voluntary organization and is guided by its vision of transformative patient care, with its mission to serve members and advance the specialty through leadership, advocacy, education, and research. CAS represents 3,000 members (anesthesiologists, GP anesthetists, residents, Anesthesia Assistants, etc.) across Canada and around the world.
Since our inception we have grown from five members and a single committee to an organization with a full board of directors, multiple committees and 14 sections each focused on a particular sub-specialty, practice profile or professional interest. In 1950 we held our first independent Annual Meeting and are excited to now be holding our 73rd Annual Meeting in Quebec City.
In our 80 years we’ve had some incredible milestones. In 1975 we approved the Guidelines for Standards of Practice, the first guidelines by any anesthesia society, which are now revised annually by our Standards Committee. The development of our journal, now called the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, was first published in 1954 and has been publishing monthly issues since 1995. In 1962 we awarded the Society’s first Gold Medal. This award recognizes a CAS member, ordinarily a Canadian, active or retired, who has made a significant contribution to anesthesia in Canada through teaching, research, professional practice, or administration and leadership. Currently, we have an entire awards program to honour CAS members.
We have created two foundations to support the values of our members. In 1979 we established the Canadian Anesthesia Research Foundation (CARF) to support Canadian research. In 1996 the CAS International Education Foundation (CASIEF) was formed to support the work of volunteer anesthesiologists overseas. These practitioners travel to underprivileged countries to work, train and support clinicians in the field of anesthesia to create sustainable training programs. CASIEF currently focuses on collaborative international partnerships in: Nepal, Rwanda, Guyana, Ethiopia, and Burkina Faso.
Historical anesthesia instruments
In 2020 CAS pivoted to launch our first virtual Annual Meeting due to the pandemic and have continued a virtual component in 2022 and 2023. In 2021 we successfully won the bid to host the international World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) conference for Vancouver 2028.This will be the third time CAS will host this event.
As we enter this milestone, we are committed to continue our mandate of being the voice of the profession and provide a community of learning and collaboration for our membership. This is accomplished through the dedicated efforts of our volunteer committees and sections. Educational opportunities and continuing professional development occurs via resources such as tailored webinars on a wide variety of topics, CPD modules, original research supported through our grants program and the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia.
Plans for 2023 and Beyond
We are proud to reflect on the last 80 years and are keen to focus on the future and how to improve CAS and best serve the membership. This year, CAS begins a new strategic planning process, taking a 360-degree view with input from board directors, members, partners, and the CAS team. This plan will allow us to assess, prioritize and develop a strong, clear, and measurable map to lead CAS into the coming years. We will build on advocacy efforts and continue to create collaborative relationships with government at the federal, provincial, and territorial levels. We aim to move forward with our issues management work focusing on health human resources and safety concerns, while also increasing our educational offerings for members.
Support of Residents
In 1967, CAS initiated the Residents’ Program, later renamed the Residents’ Oral Competition, at the Annual Meeting. To this day, we continue to support the career and development of resident with specialized programming and sessions at the Annual Meeting. In addition, CAS provides all Canadian anesthesia residents free membership to the Society during their five years of residency. Through the CAS Residents’ Section, we support the future of anesthesia, providing opportunities to network, lead and develop a sense of community. The section provides volunteer opportunities, community and mentorship for the approximately 700 anesthesia residents in Canada.
2023 CAS Annual Meeting – June 9-12, Quebec City
This year’s CAS Annual Meeting will be held in beautiful Quebec City. We are back to our full, robust and outstanding program, with contributions from 100+ speakers and dozens of engaging sessions. These include Problem Based Learning Discussions (PBLD’s), Test-Enhanced Learning Sessions and Workshops, all featuring leading experts. In addition, the Annual Meeting will host a lively exhibit hall, filled with personal interactions between attendees and exhibitors.
The conference will feature programming from our sections, including Obstetrics, Chronic Pain, Perioperative, Ambulatory, Environmental Sustainability, Pediatrics, Neuroanesthesia, Cardiovascular and Thoracic and more.
The Annual Meeting’s various social events provide an opportunity, to learn, network and celebrate. The conference will also have a select virtual stream for those unable to travel.