Association of Veterans Affairs Anesthesiologists

William T. Schmeling, M.D., Ph.D., is a Wisconsin native. He completed undergraduate education at Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey and returned to Wisconsin for his Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy, and Doctor of Medicine degrees, all received from the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Wisconsin. Subsequently he completed his first postgraduate year in the Department of Medicine, the University of Wisconsin Medical School with a subsequent residency in the Department of Anesthesiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin affiliated hospitals. He also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Neuropharmacology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Upon completion of residency, Dr. Schmeling continued in academics at the Medical College of Wisconsin, with joint appointments in Anesthesiology and Pharmacology and Toxicology, and was appointed Professor with Tenure in 1995. Since 1988, Dr. Schmeling has directed Anesthesiology Services at the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center and has assumed increasing responsibilities, currently serving as the Division Manager for Consultant Care at that institution. Dr. Schmeling served as President of the AVAA from 1998-2000. Dr. Schmeling was appointed Chairman of the Field Advisory Council for the Headquarters Anesthesia Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs in August of 2000. Dr. Schmeling's research interests have centered on the effects of pharmacological and anesthetic agents and their actions within the Central Nervous System and on the Cardiovascular System.

I welcome you to the Field Advisory Committee forum. The FAC serves as a medium for input from all anesthesia providers in the Department of Veterans Affairs to the Director and Deputy Director, Headquarters Anesthesia Service. As such, it represents a unique "pipeline" which bypasses the direct authority of the Undersecretary for Health Headquarters. This autonomy allows for frank, insightful, and sometimes provocative issues to be brought to the foreground with hopeful ultimate address and resolution at the Headquarters level. I would invite all of you to utilize this forum in a fashion consistent with the previous observations. Specifically, all issues of concern, whether at a local level, or at a national level, may be posted for discussion, referral to appropriate sources, and hopeful resolution after presentation to the appropriate Department of Veterans Affairs personnel. I will attempt to, on a regular basis, respond to all postings and ensure that appropriate personnel within the Department of Veterans Affairs post their responses on this forum. Welcome!

Click to download the minutes of the August 2000 FAC meeting in Seattle (Acobat PDF file). Click to download the minutes of the April 2002 FAC meeting in Washington, D.C. (Acobat PDF file).