About Us

The PostGraduate Assembly in Anesthesiology (PGA) is a four-day event sponsored by the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists (NYSSA), held each December in New York City. It is the second-largest anesthesiology meeting in the United States, drawing more than 4,000 attendees from around the world. The PGA serves as a global platform for networking and sharing the latest advancements in anesthesia. The PGA’s scientific program offers more than 190 sessions, special lectures and hands-on workshops. Attendees have the opportunity to share innovative ideas in perioperative medicine, intensive care, emergency medicine and pain management, as well as evidence-based knowledge of primary clinical relevance.

Continuing Medical Education
  • The New York State Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc. is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
  • The American Medical Association has determined that physicians not licensed in the United States, who participate in the PGA are eligible for AMA Physician’s Recognition Award Category 1 Credits™. For additional details visit: ama-assn.org.
  • The Royal College of Anaesthetists dictates that UK anaesthetists, who attend this meeting, can claim CEPD points at the rate of 1 point per hour, up to a maximum of 5 points per day, and a grand total of no more than 15 points for the PGA.
  • The American Osteopathic Association will award Category 2 credits of the AOA CME program to DOs, upon receipt of verification of attendance.
  • CRNAs must apply to the AANA for post-meeting CE Credits.  Certificates of Attendance will be provided, upon request.

Our History
The New York State Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc., launched the first PostGraduate Assembly in Anesthesiology (PGA) on December 13, 1945, at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. Originally envisioned as a biennial meeting aimed at assisting physicians returning from serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, the second PGA was held in 1947 at the New Yorker Hotel. By 1948, a venue was needed for the annual meeting of the newly formed New York state section of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Thus, the third PGA took place that year. This PGA also included a panel session titled “Diagnostic and Therapeutic Block for the Treatment of Intractable Pain,” chaired by two Harvard surgeons , illustrating the NYSSA’s commitment to utilizing the best experts for panels, regardless of their specialty. The panel’s prominence within the PGA program also demonstrated the importance of pain management to anesthesiology, even in the late 1940s.
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Beginning in 1950, the PGA became an annual event. In 1963, the meeting moved to the New York Hilton Hotel, a larger venue that allowed for the expansion of the program and increased attendance. In the 1980s, the PGA continued to grow and new innovations such as mini-workshops were introduced. Focus sessions, problem-based learning discussions, and hands-on workshops were added in the 1990s to keep the PGA on the cutting edge of anesthesiology. In the early 1990s, the general and scientific chair of the meeting began to recruit the best speakers from the international community. In 2019, Focus sessions and mini-workshops were combined and Engaging with the Experts sessions were created. Today, anesthesiologists from outside the U.S. represent approximately 30 percent of the PGA’s registered participants. What began in 1945 as an effort to provide continuing education to local physicians has evolved into an international meeting of historic proportions.
THE NEW YORK STATE SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS, INC.
228 Park Ave S, PMB 614149
New York, NY 10003-1502 USA
Telephone: 1-212-867-7140
International: +00 followed by number
[email protected]
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