A Message from the President

February 2025

Dear AACPD Members,

Welcome to the Association of Anesthesiology Core Program Directors (AACPD). The AACPD aims to support anesthesiology program directors (PDs) through education, mentorship, networking, advocacy, and engagement to advance the specialty of anesthesiology and our training programs. We look forward to collaborating with you and hope you find value in society membership.

History of the AACPD

The first efforts to organize anesthesia chairs and PDs began in 1964 when the Southeastern University Department of Anesthesia Chairmen (SUDAC) held its first meeting at Emory University. In the late 1960s, SUDAC leadership approached chairs at other academic departments, leading to formation of the Society of Academic Anesthesia Chairmen (SAAC).

In the 1980s, the Association of Anesthesiology Program Directors (AAPD) was formed by Anesthesiology residency programs that were not affiliated with medical schools and held annual meetings jointly with the SAAC. During this time, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) required PDs to also serve as the department chair. Due to progressively increased workload of anesthesiology PDs, the ACGME changed the requirement that the anesthesiology chairperson must serve as program director in 2003. Subsequently, in 2008, SAAC was officially restructured to become the Society of Academic Anesthesiology Associations (SAAA) and more recently, the Society of Academic Associations of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine (SAAAPM).

The SAAAPM is an umbrella organization supporting the Association of Academic Anesthesiology Chairs (AAAC), Association of Anesthesiology Core Program Directors (AACPD), Association of Anesthesiology Subspecialty Program Directors (AASPD), and Association of Anesthesiology Program Administrators and Educators (AAPAE). Associate membership in AACPD and AASPD can also include physicians with significant roles in anesthesiology education such as vice chairs of education, associate program directors, DIO’s, or PDs of non-ACGME approved fellowships. Medical Student Clerkship Directors can attend and participate in our annual meeting as “affiliate members.”

AACPD Leadership, Past and Present
Current Council members:

  • President: Andrea Dutoit, MD – University of Nebraska Medical Center
  • President-Elect: Susan Martinelli, MD, FASA – University of North Carolina Hospitals
  • Secretary: Crystal M. Manohar, MD, MBA, FASA – University of Texas Health San Antonio
  • Past President: Jed Wolpaw, MD, MEd, FASA – Johns Hopkins University
  • Councilor: Bryan Mahoney, MD, FASA – Mount Sinai Morningside and West
  • Councilor: Timothy W. Martin, MD, MBA, FASA – University of Florida
  • Councilor: Sara E. Neves, MD – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  • Councilor: Emily Stebbins, MD – University of Vermont Medical Center
View AACPD Council Leadership Page

Past Presidents:

  • Stephen Rupp, 2008-2009 – Virginia Mason Medical Center
  • Ted Sanford, 2009-2011 – University of Michigan
  • Catherine Kuhn, 2011-2013 – Duke University
  • Joy Hawkins, 2013-2015 – University of Colorado
  • Karen Souter, 2015-2016 – University of Washing
  • Manuel Pardo, 2017-2019 – University of California San Francisco
  • Charles A. Napolitano, 2019-2021 – University of Arkansas
  • Timothy R. Long, 2021-2023 – Mayo Clinic, Rochester
  • Jed Wolpaw, 2023-2025 – Johns Hopkins University

Guiding Principles for AACPD Annual Meeting Planning:

A significant benefit to AACPD membership includes participation in the annual meeting each November (future meeting dates). In planning the annual meeting, the council values input from membership and relies heavily on feedback from previous meetings. We look forward to engaging a diverse group of speakers from programs throughout the country. The annual meeting focuses on several important issues including:

  1. ACGME accreditation
  2. ABA certification
  3. Best practices in GME
  4. Leadership development
  5. Specialty trends that impact residents and training programs
  6. Networking and mentorship
  7. Advocacy

Past AACPD Initiatives:

  1. Implementation of program signaling and application improvements for Anesthesiology selections.
  2. Society of Education in Anesthesia Workshop for New Program Directors
  3. Creation of a mentorship program for new PDs and APDs
  4. Creation and maintenance of a AACPD guide for Anesthesiology Residency applicants available here and on the ERAS webpage
  5. Participation in the Organization of Program Director’s Associations (OPDA) including coordinating standardized Program Directors Association Guides for Residency Applicants found here
  6. The New Anesthesia Program Directors Manual. This document was created in 2014 and updated by the AACPD council in 2023 to orient new anesthesia core program directors to different aspects of the role.
  7. SAAAPM Survey Request Form for members. AACPD and SAAAPM have an approval process to distribute surveys to core program directors. The request form can be downloaded here.
  8. Repository for presentations at prior AACPD meetings. The AACPD web site contains links to the presentations from recent annual meetings.
  9. A Standardized Letter of Recommendation (SLOR) for medical students applying to anesthesia residency. Drs. Deb Schwengel (Johns Hopkins), Manny Pardo (UCSF), and Daniel Lee (UCSD) created Word and PDF versions. Please consider using the SLOR, as a growing number of PD's find them easier and more efficient to read and write.

On behalf of the AACPD Council, we look forward to collaborating with and advocating for you. We welcome your input and engagement as we shape the AACPD to best support you and your program.

Sincerely,
Andrea Dutoit, MD
AACPD President
Association of Anesthesiology Core Program Directors