2025 CAS Pinnacle Rounds: Celebrating National Anesthesia Education
Our member-exclusive education program – CAS Pinnacle Rounds: Celebrating National Anesthesia Education continues in 2025, featuring new anesthesia teaching rounds from the country, submitted by Canadian universities. As a CAS member, you have access to new ideas and perspectives covering a diversity of topics to help enhance your knowledge.
The CAS Pinnacle Rounds is a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Each round is eligible for 1 hour of Section 1 credit.
Note - Your CAS Membership must be in good standing for the event date in order to access the member discount. You will be able to register as soon as you receive the renewal confirmation. Click here to renew.
Click on each event below for details on the upcoming rounds. All events are listed chronologically. For information on our past rounds, please check the events archive page.
Anesthesiology, social determinants of health, and perioperative health outcomes
February 5, 2025
8 pm ET
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The social determinants of health (SDH) have broad reaching implications throughout all areas of medicine, including perioperative care. While seemingly far removed from the more social elements of medicine, evidence shows that anesthesiology is not immune to the ways in which bias, at both individual and systemic levels, influence patient outcomes. Reflection on the ways in which the SDH, including provider bias, shape perioperative care allows for the identification of points of intervention to improve health equity, both to improve individual patient outcomes as well as a step towards systemic change.
Moderator: Dr Greg Manning
Dr Manning is a Cardiac Anesthesiologist and Critical Care Physician who is working to solve healthcare problems at a system level. He completed medical school and residency training at Memorial University and is fellowship trained at the University of Ottawa. Since, he has been in independent practice in St. John’s, NL and the Ottawa Heart Institute. After completing a Global Executive MBA in Healthcare and Life Sciences at Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto) in 2022, Dr Manning has shifted his career towards health system development and is now a Senior Medical Director with Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services (NLHS). Dr Manning is the CAS Chair of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and is beginning a term as a member of the WFSA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. He aims to maximize medical outcomes, service accessibility, and positive experiences for patients. He challenges and redesigns healthcare to deliver high-impact and cost-effective services to remote communities, underserved populations, and global health nitiatives.
Presenter: Dr Kate Ross-Hopley
Originally from Saskatchewan, Dr Kate Ross-Hopley completed her residency in 2024 at the University of Manitoba. Prior to medical school, she earned a Master of Public Health at Columbia University, with an advanced certificate in Health and Human Rights. She is currently completing a fellowship in Perioperative Medicine at the University of Manitoba.
Learning Objectives:
After attending this round, the participants will be able to:
- Define the social determinants of health, as applied to anesthesiology
- Recognize the history of anesthesia as it relates to health equity
- Review current literature on social determinants of health with a focus on race as related to perioperative outcomes
- Identify gaps in current knowledge and future directions surrounding perioperative medicine and health equity
In-Flight Medical Emergencies: Challenges at 40,000 ft.
April 2, 2025
8 pm ET
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An in-flight medical emergency (IME) refers to any medical incident on board a commercial airline that has exceeded the handling ability of the flight crew. IMEs are more common than we tend to think, occurring roughly every 600 flights, and the incidence is expected to rise considerably due to increases in air traffic, flight times, and the proportion of elderly, co-morbid passengers. Physicians on board are often called upon to assist affected passengers, but most are unaware of the unique aspects of the cabin atmosphere, the resources available to them, and the policies guiding intervention in this complex, resource-limited environment. While anesthesiologists are often viewed through the lens of perioperative care, our expertise with respect to physiology, critical care, and crisis management renders us particularly useful to passengers during an IME.
Moderator: Dr Amélie Pelland
Dr Amélie Pelland is originally from Ottawa, ON, where she also completed medical school. In 2017, she finished residency at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS, and became the first fellow in the perioperative medicine program at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC. Dr Pelland is currently a clinical instructor at UBC with a special interest in perioperative medicine. Her clinical practice is based at Lion’s Gate Hospital in North Vancouver. Non-medical interests include cycling, skiing and hiking the North shore’s beautiful mountains.
Presenter: Dr David Jones
Dr David Jones is originally from Orangeville, Ontario. He completed his medical training at the University of Toronto. He is currently completing his anesthesiology residency at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He finds balance through his passion for snowboarding, basketball, and spending time with his wife and infant son.
Learning Objectives:
After attending this round, the participants will be able to:
1. Describe the characteristics of the cabin atmosphere and the physiologic changes that occur while flying.
2.Identify what resources are available during an in-flight medical emergency.
3. Consider the ethical and medico-legal ramifications of responding to in-flight medical emergencies.
4. Identify the most common in-flight medical emergencies.
5. Formulate a general approach to managing in-flight medical emergencies.
Where the Rubber meets the Road. Stroke Ambulance, Stroke Care, and the Anesthesiologist
September 3, 2025
8 pm ET
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This joint presentation will review important information regarding acute stroke and the anesthesiologist. It will focus on both neuroanatomy and physiology of stroke and include the effects of drugs we use everyday in the Operating Room. Attendees will have the pleasure of learning about the Edmonton Stroke Ambulance Project, a unique prehospital treatment model for stroke which is the first of its kind in Canada and arguably the world.
Moderator: Dr Melinda Davis
Dr Melinda Davis is a neuroanesthesiologist at the University of Calgary. She completed medical school and anesthesiology training at the University of Newcastle, Australia. A fellow of the Australia and New Zealand College of Anesthetists, Dr Davis went on to complete a fellowship in Neuroanesthesiology at the University of Calgary in 2004. Dr Davis balances her clinical work with a career in medical education where she has taught at all levels from Undergraduate Medical Education through to Faculty Development. She has served as the Program Director for the Anesthesiology Residency program and is currently the Associate Dean for Postgraduate Medical Education at the University of Calgary.
Presenter: Dr Kieran Ganton
Kieran Ganton is a fourth-year anesthesia resident at the University of Alberta. He obtained his undergraduate degree in nursing and medical degree both at the University of Alberta. When not in the OR or trying to recover from call he enjoys camping, campfires, and cards with his family and friends.
Presenter: Dr Thomas Jeerakathil
Dr Jeerakathil did his medical training at the University of Saskatchewan, and his neurology residency in Edmonton, Alberta. He completed an MSc in Epidemiology from Boston University School of Public Health, and a Stroke Fellowship with Boston City Hospital and the Framingham Heart Study. He is currently Stroke Medical Lead of the Edmonton Stroke Program, Professor of Neurology at the University of Alberta, and a general neurology, stroke and telestroke neurologist within Alberta. He is involved in research, teaching, and is the lead or co-lead for a number of quality improvement and health services research projects. He is medical lead and co-principal investigator of the Edmonton Stroke Ambulance project which means he finally got an expensive big truck after nearly 16 years in Alberta.
Learning Objectives:
After attending this round, the participants will be able to:
1. Review the overall impact of stroke and why timely access to stroke care is vital.
2, Recall key information about prehospital acute neurological treatment and the success of the Edmonton Stroke Ambulance Project (Achieve).
3. Outline the critical role that the Anesthesiologist can play in the treatment of acute stroke.