• Local Chapter: This chapter would include anesthesiologists from a single
  practice group such as a hospital, private practice, or academic institution. It
  may or may not include men, anesthesiology residents, and medical students.
• City Chapter: This chapter would include anesthesiologists in private practice and academia across a city and surrounding areas. It may or may not include men, anesthesiology residents, and medical students.
• State Chapter: This chapter would include anesthesiologists in private practice and academia across the state. It would include men, anesthesiology residents, and medical students.
• Affiliate Chapter: This chapter would include anesthesiologists in private practice and academia nationally with a specific anesthesia focus, i.e.,cardiac or critical care.

• Local Chapter: Make a list of names of all the women in your group and their contact info. Decide if you want to include men, anesthesiology residents, or medical students in some or all of your gatherings.
• City Chapter: Make a list of all the anesthesiology groups in your city (+/- surrounding area). Find a contact person for each group. Decide if you want to include men, anesthesiology residents, or medical students in some or all of your gatherings.
• State Chapter: Find a way to communicate with anesthesiologists across the state. This could involve your state’s medical society, social media, emails, phone calls, or connecting with others at a national meeting, such as the WIA Annual Meeting.
• Affiliate Chapter: Find a way to communicate with anesthesiologists who share the anesthesia focus across the country. This could involve a national organization that already shares this focus, national meetings, social media, emails, and phone calls.

Survey/poll your target members to determine what needs they have in their professional and personal lives that you hope to address.

• Survey Monkey
• Facebook Polls
• Google Forms
• Emails
• Phone calls
• Face to face conversations

As themes emerge from your needs assessment, recruit leaders to help you as you proceed. You will need a critical mass of buy-in to gain momentum.

Determine the goals and objectives for your WIA Chapter based on the
needs of your target audience.

The mission statement may be as general as the mission statement for WIA, Inc. or it can be more specific to your local needs.

For reference:

Local/City Chapters: Assess interest and availability for gatherings. Consider quarterly meetings with a mix of informal and formal agendas. For example, social events could include happy hour, painting, and yoga as an opportunity for people to get to know one another and build supportive networks. Organized events could include speakers for professional development, journal club to discuss articles of interest, or speed mentorship.

State/Affiliate Chapters: Consider an annual meeting with an agenda that includes the opportunity for networking and mentorship as well as professional development.

Contact your WIA Chapter Liasion to register your chapter. Provide the name of the chapter, such as WIA-Affiliate, WIA-State, WIA-City, or WIA-Local Group. Include leader’s names and contact information (email/cell phone) as well as your mission statement.

Registration allows WIA, Inc. to track local activity, respond to local needs on a national level, and provide resources and connections.

Bi-directional growth: Local groups may consider combining efforts to produce city events, and city groups may consider combining efforts to produce state events. State events may encourage the development of city and local groups.

• Pick a date (consider using doodle.com to help!)
• Find a venue based on planned attendance and forum
• Arrange speakers, if necessary
• Consider CME
• Arrange food, if necessary
• Determine funding (consider gofundme.com, department funds, industry sponsors, individual funds)
• Take pictures to advertise for subsequent events
• Collect feedback to guide future event planning
• Collect contact information of attendees for future participation, recruitment of leaders, and growth

• Please share your successes and challenges with your WIA Liaison so we can learn from your collective experiences!
• Consider publishing your chapter’s activity in the WIA Newsletter
• Encourage others to start chapters as well!