The Association of Anaesthetists, in full the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI), is a professional association for anaesthetists in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

It was founded by Dr Henry Featherstone in 1932,A. P. T. (1967). H. W. Featherstone, O.B.E., T.D., M.A., M.D., LL.D., F.F.A. R.C.S. British Medical Journal 2 (5548): 380 when GPs gave most anaesthetics in the UK and Ireland as a sideline. Anaesthetists were not respected by other specialists and were poorly paid. Surgeons provided referrals and collected and paid their fees. The AAGBI's negotiations before the NHS was established in 1948 ensured anaesthetists received consultant status. It instigated the founding of the Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (now the Royal College of Anaesthetists) in 1947 and supported the foundation of the equivalent Faculty of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (now the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland in 1959.

The AAGBI adopted the motto "in somno securitas" (safe in sleep) when it was granted the right to bear arms by King George VI in 1945. The AAGBI office is located in the centre of London.

Past presidents

1932-35 - Henry W Featherstone OBE MD LLDHon FFARCS 1935-38 - Joseph Blomfield OBE MD FRCS FFARCS 1938-41 - Zebulon Mennell FFARCS 1941-44 - Ashley Daly FRCS FFARCS 1944-47 - Archibald D Marston CBE MD FRCS FFARCS 1947-50 - John Gillies CVO MC FRCSEd FFARCS 1950-53 - W Alexander Low MC FFARCS 1953-56 - Sir Geoffrey Organe MD FRCS FFARCS FFARACSHon FFARCSIHon 1956-59 - T Cecil Gray CBE KCSG OStJ MD FRCP FRCS FFARCSHon 1959-62 - Ronald Jarman DSC FRCS FFARCS 1962-65 - Vernon F Hall CVO FRCA FFARCSHon 1965-67 - Herbert H Pinkerton FRCP (Glasg) FFARCS 1967-69 - R Patrick W Shackleton CBE DM FFARCS 1969-71 - A John W Beard MD FRCA 1971-73 - J Alfred Lee FFARCS FFARCSIHon MMSA 1973-76 - Philip J Helliwell FRCA 1976-78 - Cyril F Scurr CBE LVO FRCS FRCA FFARCSIHon 1978-80 - Stanley A Mason FRCA AKC 1980-82 - W Derek Wylie FRCP FRCS FRCA FANZCAHon 1982-84 - Michael D Vickers FRCA FANZCAHon 1984-86 - Thomas B. Boulton OBE TD FRCA FDSRCS 1986-88 - Michael Rosen CBE FRCS FRCOG FRCA FFARCSIHon 1988-90 - Maurice M Burrows FRCA 1990-92 - Peter J F Baskett FRCA MRCP 1992-94 - William R MacRae FRCSEd, FRCA, FFARCSI 1994-96 - S Morrell Lyons OBE MD FRCA FFARCSI 1996-98 - W Leslie M Baird FRCA FRCP (Glasg) 1998-00 - Maldwyn Morgan MB BS DA FRCA 2000-02 - Professor Leo Strunin FRCA FRCPC 2002-04 - Dr Peter G M Wallace FRCA FRCP (Glasg) 2004-06 - Professor Mike Harmer MD FRCA FCARCSI (Hon) 2006-08 - Dr David K Whitaker FRCA FFPMRCA FFICM Hon FCARCSI 2008-10 - Dr Richard J S Birks MB CHB FRCA Hon FCARCSI 2010-12 - Dr Iain H Wilson MB CHB FFARCS 2012-14 - Dr William Harrop-Griffiths MA MB BS FRCA 2014-16 - Dr Andrew Hartle MB ChB FRCA FFICM 2016-18 - Dr Paul Clyburn MB MRCP FRCA 2018-20 - Dr Kathleen Ferguson MB ChB DA FRCA 2020-22 - Dr Mike Nathanson MBBS MRCP FRCA 2022-24 - Dr Matthew Davies BSc MBChB MRCGP 2024-present Dr Tim Meek

Education and meetings

Events

The society holds two main annual meetings. Winter Scientific Meeting (WSM) is the Association's largest annual event. Held in London each year, WSM is the leading anaesthetic meeting in the UK with an attendance of around 800 national and international delegates. The scientific programme focuses on current issues in anaesthesia. There is a trade exhibition with around 40 companies in anaesthetics attending. WSM is aimed at all levels of anaesthetists from trainees to consultants and is a European CPD accredited meeting.

The Annual Congress is the flagship event of the Association and is held in various locations around the UK and Ireland. Annual Congress is one of the leading anaesthetic meetings in the UK with an attendance of around 800-1000 national and international delegates. There is a trade exhibition with over 40 anaesthetics companies attending. Annual Congress is aimed all levels of anaesthetists from trainees to consultants and is a European CPD accredited meeting.

The society also hosts smaller events. These include the annual Trainee Conference, the leading trainee scientific meeting in the UK, aimed at all levels of trainee anaesthetists from CT1 to ST7. It has an attendance of around 400 delegates each year. The society also holds educational seminars designed to update on new developments in a specific field of interest within anaesthesia, critical care and pain medicine.

Heritage Centre The Anaesthesia Heritage Centre contains the Association's archives, the Anaesthesia Museum and a rare book collection and is open to everyone.

The centre consists of a museum with a collection of over 4,500 objects dating back to 1774, the Association's own archives, which date back to 1932, and a reference library. The museum is a member of The London Museums of Health & Medicine.

Research

Undergraduate Award The Wylie Medal is awarded to the most meritorious essay on the topic related to anaesthesia, the topic for the essay question changes year on year. The award is open to undergraduate medical student at a university in Great Britain or Ireland. Prizes of £500, £250 and £150 are awarded to the best three submissions. The overall winners are given the Wylie Medal in memory of Dr W Derek Wylie, President of the Association 1980–82.

SAS Award The Association invites applications for the SAS Audit Prize and the SAS Research Prize. These are exclusively for SAS doctors to encourage them to undertake audit and research. Entries will be judged by the Research & Grants Committee of the Association. All SAS doctors who are members of the Association are eligible to apply for the prize.

Innovation The main aims of the Association's Innovation project are to promote innovation in anaesthesia and intensive care, to help individuals in their 'journey' from the concept to the finished product, to facilitate introduction to the medical equipment manufacturers or relevant organisation, to facilitate testing of new equipment or idea and to facilitate marketing of a new product or an idea. It involves holding workshops/clinics and seminars on the subject, having regular features in Anaesthesia News and the best innovations featured in Anaesthesia and having plenary or satellite sessions during Annual Congress and WSM London.

Professionals

Trainees The Association of Anaesthetists Trainee Committee (formerly known as GAT - Group of Anaesthetists in Training), is a section of the association which represents the interests of trainee anaesthetists across the UK and Ireland. Trainee members account for around one third of the total membership of the association. The Trainee Committee members are elected and has members sitting on the Board of Directors of the Association and representation on many other committees including the Intensive Care Society Trainee Committee and the British Medical Association Junior Doctors Committee.

SAS Specialists, associate specialists and specialty (SAS) doctors are important members of any department, especially in Anaesthesia, and make an enormous contribution to the specialty. Doctors enter the SAS grade for many different reasons. Some enter from different training systems as the SAS route provides a means for secure employment and an alternative pathway for a medical career. The Association has grants and prizes designed especially for SAS doctors such as the SAS Audit, Research Prize and the SAS travel grant.

Consultants The Association has around 10,000 members, the majority of whom are consultants.

Publications

Anaesthesia is the society's official journal,Anaesthesia with an international scope. It publishes original, peer-reviewed articles on all aspects of general and regional anaesthesia, intensive care and pain therapy, including research on equipment.

Anaesthesia Reports is another official journal,Anaesthesia Reports also with an international scope. It publishes original, peer-reviewed case reports, media content, and associated papers on all aspects of anaesthesia, peri-operative medicine, intensive care and pain therapy.

The association also publishes the newsletter Anaesthesia News.Anaesthesia News Regular features include reports from the officers and president, items specific to trainees, a history page, a specialist society page, letters to the editor and an editorial.

The association publishes guidelines on many topics relating to anaesthesia. Titles include: Best Practice in the Management of Epidural Analgesia in the Hospital Setting, Organising a Year Abroad, Good Anaesthetist - Standards of Practice for Career Grade Anaesthetists.

Awards

Honorary Membership was instituted in 1932 at the time that the Association was founded. The society also awards the following:

John Snow Silver Medal (instituted in 1946), in honour of John Snow

The Pask Certificate of Honour (1977) after the Moorgate Underground disaster

Sir Ivan Magill Gold Medal (1988) to commemorate the centenary of the birth of the pioneer anaesthetist Ivan Magill

The Evelyn Baker medal (1998) for outstanding clinical competence

The Featherstone Certificate (2001), in memory of the founder, Dr Henry Featherstone

The Anniversary Medal (2007), for the 75th anniversary.

References

External links Official website