Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 2014, 41, 550–551
doi:10.1111/vaa.12217
Obituary
A Tribute to Dr. Steve Haskins Steve Haskins died in a plane crash on April 26th 2014 and his passing is a great loss for our profession. Steve was a pioneer in both anesthesia and critical care and his approach to critical care grew out of his training in anesthesia. He received his DVM degree at Washington State University in 1969. He then went to New York for an internship at the Animal Medical Center, an uncommon thing to do at that time when there were very few internships offered. He came back to the mid-west to do a residency and Master’s degree at the University of Minnesota, which he completed in 1973. During this program he did clinical work at the veterinary hospital but also spent time training at the medical center with physician anesthesiologists. Following his post-DVM training, he stayed on at Minnesota, first as an instructor and then as an assistant professor. In May of 1975, he joined the faculty at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis where he stayed until his retirement in June, 2006. The ACVA was officially formed in 1975 and Steve’s credentials were accepted by the Charter members. An oral examination was arranged for ten qualified individuals and Steve was one of the five that passed, in October 1976. At UC Davis Steve only did small animal anesthesia during the day but he was expected to be on call for large animals and did his share of colics! Steve is best known for his career in Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care but he was also an innovative anesthesiologist. One of his early publications was on CT1341, then known as Saffan, and now finding its way back on to the market as alfaxalone (Alfaxan) – this was published in 1975 – nearly 40 years before the drug was licensed in the USA! His approach to anesthesia and critical care was based on an outstanding knowledge of physiology. He gained this knowledge by reading the literature, studying his patients and then asking his residents to challenge his explanations in rounds sessions that were known as ‘Stump the Chump’. This was a great approach to minimize fuzzy thinking for himself and his residents. In pursuing these physiological processes he wanted to monitor his patients more carefully. While he may not have originated the use of the Doppler to measure blood pressure in dogs and cats, he was certainly one of the first to apply it on a routine basis. Having found out how simple and reliable it was he proceeded to passionately promote this technique to the many people he spoke to at local and national meetings. Steve was also one of the first to recognize the
550
Obituary
possibility of catheterizing the dorsal pedal artery, first in dogs and then in cats, and this has become the primary site that most of us use when we need a direct arterial line in these species. In a series of papers Steve took a close look at the cardiopulmonary effects of various anesthetic drugs in normal, otherwise unmedicated dogs (also uncommon for the time) and then continued to examine these effects in hypovolemic dogs. His techniques, while doing these studies, were always meticulous. The animals were instrumented awake and he was consistently very gentle and persuasive with the dogs to accept this invasive instrumentation, with arterial, venous and Swan-Ganz catheters. The hypovolemic model involved taking blood from the dogs until their pressures reached 60 mmHg – an approach that was clinically relevant but did not endanger the lives of the animals. The data he collected in these studies are the foundation for how many of us approach the hypovolemic patient in our clinical practice. Steve’s greatest skill was teaching. This was evident to all who came in contact with him in the clinic, as students in the DVM program and to anyone attending a meeting where he was speaking. As you listened to him you could sense his underlying enthusiasm for the subject and his struggle to explain it in the clearest way possible. If he didn’t like how he had stated something or he sensed that the audience wasn’t following, he would pause and collect his thoughts before launching on another approach. The first time I saw Steve do this I was afraid that he had fallen asleep on his feet because that pause was so uncomfortably long, but the ensuing diatribe was worth waiting for! This profound knowledge of his subject, his cutting-edge understanding of his discipline and his ability to sense the audience’s grasp of the material ensured that Steve was invited to many professional meetings across the globe. If the topic related to critical care or emergency treatment, Dr. Steve Haskins’ name was always at the top of a conference organizer’s list. Steve was involved in setting up the intensive care unit at UC Davis and moved over to doing and teaching critical care, full time, in 1985. However, his understanding and abilities as an anesthesiologist were not forgotten. After his retirement from UC Davis he was invited to fill in for one of his former critical care residents at the University of Pennsylvania. While he was there the anesthesia section was very short staffed and Steve was asked if he would be willing to return to being an anesthesiologist. His calm presence, skills and enthusiastic teaching led them to ask him to continue his service in anesthesia for much of the following year! When you observe people this skilled, and with such an encyclopedic knowledge of their discipline, it is simple to assume that they are just so intellectually gifted that it comes to them easily. Steve had the intelligence but his skills and knowledge came through incredibly hard work and dedication. It took many long hours to get the intensive care unit off the ground and Steve put in the effort day after day, typically working a 12 or 13 hour day shift and then carrying on through the night if the patients in the ICU needed his care. He was compassionate in his approach to patient care and his love of animals was evident if you saw him in the clinic or visited his home. Through the years he adopted several dogs that had been in his research projects and even had a few goats that had been part of an analgesia study. Although his clinical focus was small animals he enjoyed horses and loved riding his Peruvian Pasos. Even after Steve ceased doing anesthesia he continued to be a significant participant in the anesthesia residency training program at UC Davis and he was involved in the training of at least 30 anesthesia residents over his career. Many of these individuals have gone on to train and teach at other institutions carrying with them Steve’s undying interest and curiosity into the processes of life. Steve was a wonderful person with a great sense of humor, he was an outstanding teacher and mentor, a compassionate, dedicated and caring clinician, a pioneer in the two disciplines he embraced and still made a fabulous martini! His physical presence will be missed enormously but his legacy in the hearts and minds of those who knew him and studied his work will continue for many, many years. Peter J Pascoe School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
551
© 2014 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia, 41, 550–551
doi:10.1111/vaa.12217
Obituary
A Tribute to Dr. Steve Haskins Steve Haskins died in a plane crash on April 26th 2014 and his passing is a great loss for our profession. Steve was a pioneer in both anesthesia and critical care and his approach to critical care grew out of his training in anesthesia. He received his DVM degree at Washington State University in 1969. He then went to New York for an internship at the Animal Medical Center, an uncommon thing to do at that time when there were very few internships offered. He came back to the mid-west to do a residency and Master’s degree at the University of Minnesota, which he completed in 1973. During this program he did clinical work at the veterinary hospital but also spent time training at the medical center with physician anesthesiologists. Following his post-DVM training, he stayed on at Minnesota, first as an instructor and then as an assistant professor. In May of 1975, he joined the faculty at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis where he stayed until his retirement in June, 2006. The ACVA was officially formed in 1975 and Steve’s credentials were accepted by the Charter members. An oral examination was arranged for ten qualified individuals and Steve was one of the five that passed, in October 1976. At UC Davis Steve only did small animal anesthesia during the day but he was expected to be on call for large animals and did his share of colics! Steve is best known for his career in Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care but he was also an innovative anesthesiologist. One of his early publications was on CT1341, then known as Saffan, and now finding its way back on to the market as alfaxalone (Alfaxan) – this was published in 1975 – nearly 40 years before the drug was licensed in the USA! His approach to anesthesia and critical care was based on an outstanding knowledge of physiology. He gained this knowledge by reading the literature, studying his patients and then asking his residents to challenge his explanations in rounds sessions that were known as ‘Stump the Chump’. This was a great approach to minimize fuzzy thinking for himself and his residents. In pursuing these physiological processes he wanted to monitor his patients more carefully. While he may not have originated the use of the Doppler to measure blood pressure in dogs and cats, he was certainly one of the first to apply it on a routine basis. Having found out how simple and reliable it was he proceeded to passionately promote this technique to the many people he spoke to at local and national meetings. Steve was also one of the first to recognize the
550
Obituary
possibility of catheterizing the dorsal pedal artery, first in dogs and then in cats, and this has become the primary site that most of us use when we need a direct arterial line in these species. In a series of papers Steve took a close look at the cardiopulmonary effects of various anesthetic drugs in normal, otherwise unmedicated dogs (also uncommon for the time) and then continued to examine these effects in hypovolemic dogs. His techniques, while doing these studies, were always meticulous. The animals were instrumented awake and he was consistently very gentle and persuasive with the dogs to accept this invasive instrumentation, with arterial, venous and Swan-Ganz catheters. The hypovolemic model involved taking blood from the dogs until their pressures reached 60 mmHg – an approach that was clinically relevant but did not endanger the lives of the animals. The data he collected in these studies are the foundation for how many of us approach the hypovolemic patient in our clinical practice. Steve’s greatest skill was teaching. This was evident to all who came in contact with him in the clinic, as students in the DVM program and to anyone attending a meeting where he was speaking. As you listened to him you could sense his underlying enthusiasm for the subject and his struggle to explain it in the clearest way possible. If he didn’t like how he had stated something or he sensed that the audience wasn’t following, he would pause and collect his thoughts before launching on another approach. The first time I saw Steve do this I was afraid that he had fallen asleep on his feet because that pause was so uncomfortably long, but the ensuing diatribe was worth waiting for! This profound knowledge of his subject, his cutting-edge understanding of his discipline and his ability to sense the audience’s grasp of the material ensured that Steve was invited to many professional meetings across the globe. If the topic related to critical care or emergency treatment, Dr. Steve Haskins’ name was always at the top of a conference organizer’s list. Steve was involved in setting up the intensive care unit at UC Davis and moved over to doing and teaching critical care, full time, in 1985. However, his understanding and abilities as an anesthesiologist were not forgotten. After his retirement from UC Davis he was invited to fill in for one of his former critical care residents at the University of Pennsylvania. While he was there the anesthesia section was very short staffed and Steve was asked if he would be willing to return to being an anesthesiologist. His calm presence, skills and enthusiastic teaching led them to ask him to continue his service in anesthesia for much of the following year! When you observe people this skilled, and with such an encyclopedic knowledge of their discipline, it is simple to assume that they are just so intellectually gifted that it comes to them easily. Steve had the intelligence but his skills and knowledge came through incredibly hard work and dedication. It took many long hours to get the intensive care unit off the ground and Steve put in the effort day after day, typically working a 12 or 13 hour day shift and then carrying on through the night if the patients in the ICU needed his care. He was compassionate in his approach to patient care and his love of animals was evident if you saw him in the clinic or visited his home. Through the years he adopted several dogs that had been in his research projects and even had a few goats that had been part of an analgesia study. Although his clinical focus was small animals he enjoyed horses and loved riding his Peruvian Pasos. Even after Steve ceased doing anesthesia he continued to be a significant participant in the anesthesia residency training program at UC Davis and he was involved in the training of at least 30 anesthesia residents over his career. Many of these individuals have gone on to train and teach at other institutions carrying with them Steve’s undying interest and curiosity into the processes of life. Steve was a wonderful person with a great sense of humor, he was an outstanding teacher and mentor, a compassionate, dedicated and caring clinician, a pioneer in the two disciplines he embraced and still made a fabulous martini! His physical presence will be missed enormously but his legacy in the hearts and minds of those who knew him and studied his work will continue for many, many years. Peter J Pascoe School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
551
© 2014 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia, 41, 550–551
