INTERNATIONAL NEUROANESTHESIA NEWS
A Letter from Thai Society for Neuroanesthesia (TSNA)
Manee Raksakietisak MD, FRCAT, FRCA
President, Thai Society for Neuroanesthesia
Pichaya Waitayawinyu MD, FRCAT
Executive Member, Thai Society for Neuroanesthesia
Phuping Akavipat MD, FRCAT, PhD
Executive Member, Thai Society for Neuroanesthesia
Thai Society for Neuroanesthesia (TSNA) was established in August 2014 under the patronage of the Royal College of Anesthesiologists of Thailand. The mission of TSNA is to advocate patient safety, strengthen knowledge into practice and to promote the unity together with the professional role in Neuro-anesthesia.
The members, mostly neuro-anesthesiologists from various levels of hospitals across Thailand, e.g. university hospital, teaching hospital, tertiary care hospital, and neurological institute, have assembled to be a part of the Society. The number is increasing gradually as we open-up for both ordinary member, medical doctor, and extra-ordinary members such as nurse anesthetist.
Photo: TSNA academic activity
The recent (2018) educational activities of TSNA include the Biennial Neuro-anesthesia Refresher Course which is attached to the Annual Academic Meeting of the Royal College of Anesthesiologists of Thailand. The refresher course aims to share and update knowledge in neuro-anesthesia for anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists. The last meeting was held in Bangkok on 23rd March with the theme Neuroanesthesia: Together We Can ...and We Care." We also arrange Inter-hospital Neuro-anesthesia Conferences every four months between the alternated host institutes and the others both in Bangkok and outside through tele-conference technology. The latest one was accomplished in May at Siriraj Hospital. Interesting cases were presented and discussed according to the clinical presentation. Eventually the knowledge management for this long standing explicit was transformed into a reading media, “Case Studies in Neuro-anesthesia Handbook” which was published and distributed this March.
The nurse anesthetists play an important role in caring intraoperative neurosurgical patients especially in rural Thai areas because of scarcity of anesthesia manpower. We have two formal Short Courses in Neuro-anesthesia for Nurse anesthetists annually conducted at Prasat Neurological Institute during June for two weeks and at Siriraj hospital in September for four weeks.
The Two Years Curriculum Fellowship in Neuro-anesthesia approved by the Thai Medical Council has been conducted in the leading hospitals: Siriraj Hospital, Ramathibodi Hospital, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, and their affiliated hospitals. This agenda is fulfilled with many apprentices every year. This certified subspecialty anesthesiologist in neuro-anesthesia can integrate their knowledge into practice and be a crucial linkage in the healthcare system throughout Thailand. Apart from those aspects, we also have Short Course International Fellowship Training Program in Neuro-anesthesia partially funded by the organizing Institute or Government of Thailand. In the last few years, Cambodian, Laos, Bhutanese, Mongolian, Burmese, and Vietnamese anesthesiologists took part in this three month period training at Siriraj Hospital and Prasat Neurological Institute (April-June) with their pleasure. This opportunity would be an impressive initiation for our international collaboration among the Asian Society for Neuroanesthesia and Critical Care (ASNACC) and the Society for Neuroanesthesia and Critical Care (SNACC) in the future.
