World Anaesthesia Day 2020: Date, Theme and Significance of the Day

There have been many discoveries and advancements in the long history of modern medicine, one of the great moment is the ground-breaking use of anaesthesia on a surgical patient on October 16, 1846. The discovery made it possible for patients to undergo surgical procedures without the pain involved.

World Anaesthesia Day commemorates the first successful public demonstration of ether anaesthesia by American dentist William T.G. Morton on October 16, 1846, at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA, USA. Special events have been held to commemorate the significant event since 1903. The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) have been celebrating World Anaesthesia Day annually since then.

World Anaesthesia Day 2020 theme

The campaign for World Anaesthesia Day 2020 is to highlight the importance of occupational wellbeing to anaesthesiologists worldwide. The WSFA is emphatic about the global anaesthesia family to come together and raise its profile of wellbeing by sharing approaches and improving professional standards.

They have issued an Advocacy toolkit document to commemorate World Anaesthesia Day 2020 campaign:

According to WSFA, anaesthesiologists experience high levels of occupational burnout, chemical dependency and mental depression. Dr Adrian W Gelb, President of the WSFA, has posted a video message on the occasion of World Anaesthesia Day 2020, in which he stressed on the wellbeing of anaesthesiologists.

Few examples of occupational wellbeing practices shared by WSFA are:

· Take routine rest breaks

· Talk to my colleagues about wellbeing

· Raise concerns about stress with my seniors

· Encourage a good work-life balance in my department

· Look after my fellow anaesthesiologists

· Implement work-place risk assessments

· Learn to say no to calls, if you feel you’re not in good shape

· feed and hydrate yourself properly during the workday

· Work on emotional intelligence, assertive communication, collaborative work, empathy and compassion

The WSFA is keen to implement the 2020 safety campaign theme worldwide have shared the same with leading anaesthesiology societies worldwide.

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