Goals & Objectives

• Equip anesthesiology trainees with the skills needed for leadership, administration, and advocacy.

• Support Leadership Track members in achieving their career goals while strengthening the MSA’s mission and impact.

• Ensure track members successfully complete a year-long consulting project under MSA guidance.

Why?

• Few formal avenues exist for trainees to develop essential leadership skills.

• Strong leadership directly impacts patient care, healthcare system performance, and financial outcomes.

• This initiative supports trainees driven to lead in clinical and administrative roles.

Why Now?

• Anesthesiology is growing in competitiveness and popularity, making leadership skills more valuable than ever.

Who & When?

• Two senior anesthesiology trainees (Rising CA2, CA3 or Fellows) per year.

• Paired with 1–2 mentors, based on need and availability.

• Track duration: May 2025 - June 2026.

Benefits

• Funded opportunities to attend ASA conferences and the ASA Leadership Academy.

• Mentorship, networking, and hands-on leadership experience.

• Deeper understanding of business and leadership principles specific to anesthesiology.

Program Structure

Experiential Learning

• Completion of a year-long consulting project under MSA guidance.

• Participants may collaborate or work on separate projects, based on interest and need.

Mentorship

• Dedicated mentors to support project completion.

• Guidance from MSA executive leadership (e.g., MSA president).

• Transitional mentorship for incoming Leadership Track members.

Funding, Conferences & Networking

• Funding to attend the ASA Advance and ASA Legislative Conferences.

• Funding to complete the ASA Leadership Academy.

• Direct collaboration with the MSA Executive Committee and its broader professional network.

Detailed Information for Applicants

Rationale:   By providing a formal opportunity for leadership development, we aim to educate our young professionals to better navigate the complex and dynamic landscape of anesthesiology, policy-making, and healthcare delivery. To bridge the gap between clinical medicine, the business that funds it, and the policy that regulates it, we must prepare our early career anesthesiologists for future careers in clinical, administrative, and executive leadership. We aim to do this by providing opportunities for formal and informal mentorship, leadership networking, experiential learning, and ASA conference participation. In doing so, we hope to cultivate skilled leaders capable of guiding the MSA, other high-functioning healthcare organizations, and the field of anesthesiology into the future. 

Track Summary:  Track members will successfully complete a year-long consulting-type project under the guidance of the MSA. Proposed projects will be selected by the MSA based on need and urgency. The MSA will provide project mentors to serve as points of contact to assist in project completion. If applicants already have mentors they prefer working with who have intimate knowledge of a proposed project, they may co-apply as a pair. Pre-identifying mentors and co-applying will be given strong consideration when selecting candidates. Track members will present their project progress at two or more MSA meetings over the course of the year, and present their final project at the MSA Annual Meeting in May. 

Track members will have the opportunity to attend both the ASA Advanced, and ASA Legislative conferences and be reimbursed $1500 per conference. They will also be reimbursed $525 for successful completion of the ASA Leadership Academy. They will attend MSA Executive committee meetings, participate in mentorship of the incoming Leadership Track, and will collaborate closely with MSA leadership.

The Track lasts approximately 1 year - from May 2025 - June 2026

Allowing for mentorship between current and incoming track members.  

Applicant Selection

Selection: 

• Two track members per year. 

• Applicants must be a CA2’s, CA3’s or Fellow’s beginning July 2025

• Applicants must provide: 

• • CV and relevant or unique experiences.

  • Letter of interest.

  • Letter of endorsement from their Program Director or Department Chair. 

• Applicants may co-apply with a pre-identified mentor to facilitate the mentorship process

• • Mentors may hold positions within the MSA, but this is not necessary

  • If mentors are not a part of the MSA, they should still be able to guide the track participants successfully through the selected project or adequately connect them to resources and others who can. 

Selection criteria:

• Active MSA membership (preferred)

• Relevant or unique prior experiences.

• Good clinical / academic standing with their program. 

• Demonstrate an interest in and commitment to leadership, advocacy, innovation or continued learning.

Structure

Experiential Learning; Consulting Project

Mentorship