Welcome

Bishr Haydar, MD
Program Chair

Welcome to the SPA-AAP Pediatric Anesthesiology 2025 Meeting. We’re thrilled to have you join us. Our theme this year is “It’s Our Small World: Shaping the Future of Pediatric Anesthesia.”

As the the essential perioperative experts for our smallest, most fragile patients, we face incredible challenges in our daily work. Questions constantly arise, and this meeting is designed to inform all of us about some of the latest advancements in our field. It will spark spirited debate and conversation about difficult questions. Who better suited to answer our difficult questions better than us? The conversation will be vibrant and engaging.

As anesthesia clinicians, we perform extraordinary work every day. Our hope is that you'll leave this meeting energized and motivated, armed with new knowledge and skills. Our goal is straightforward—to help you become the best pediatric anesthesia clinician possible and to welcome you into deeper, more meaningful involvement in our wonderful community.

If you are not able to attend in-person, we certainly welcome you to attend virtually. So please join us and get involved!

We have new and recent innovations to our program, including:

1. On-Demand Content: allows you flexible timing so you can attend workshops and enjoy the destination (introduced in 2024)
2. Paired PBLD sessions: you get two PBLDs in one sitting, and can enjoy a rich, personal discussion with four moderators (two per PBLD) (new this year!)
3. Member-submitted brief lectures (“PEDx” style) (new this year!)
4. A “Trainee Track” created by SPAERS (Subcommittee in Pediatric Anesthesia Education for Residents and Students) to give a personalized, enhanced experience for our students and trainees (new this year!)
5. A “virtual” option which allows you to watch our sessions live, or to watch a recording later, if you cannot attend in person.

Whether you are building technical skills at a Workshop, learning through non-lecture formats at our Seminars (introduced in 2024), or sitting with the “greats” at our Expert Roundtables, there is so much to learn and enjoy at our meeting. Please take full advantage of our meeting by:

• Networking with colleagues and leaders in pediatric anesthesia
• Joining a SPA Committee or Special Interest Group and contribute to our Society
• Learning the latest research and fascinating cases through the poster sessions and online abstracts
• Meeting the exhibitors and learn about new pediatric anesthesia-specific technology, medications and opportunities

We are honored to welcome our Distinguished International Scholar, Professor Suellen Walker, and to feature a keynote speech by anthropologist Tom Pearson. While we could highlight specific sessions, we are genuinely excited about every single talk — each promises valuable insights for our practice. We encourage you to explore the program in detail. Our dedicated Planning Committee has curated a diverse array of topics and ideas, aiming to offer something novel and intriguing for everyone.

Please join me in acknowledging the Ruggles Team (especially Kim Battle) for their tireless work supporting SPA and these meetings, and our amazing planning committee who put this together for you:

Vanessa Olbrecht (Co-Chair)
Aditee Ambardekar (Co-Chair)
Christine Mai (Shadow)
Chelsea Willie (Shadow)
Franklin Chiao (Shadow)
Justin Long (AAP)
Lisa Jones (APP Symposium)
Tamra Kelly (APP Symposium)
Peggy McNaull (SPA President)
John Fiadjoe (SPA Vice President and Education Committee Chair)