2026 CAS Pinnacle Rounds: Celebrating National Anesthesia Education
Our member-exclusive education program – CAS Pinnacle Rounds: Celebrating National Anesthesia Education continues in 2026, featuring new anesthesia teaching rounds from the country, submitted by Canadian universities. As a CAS member, you have access to new ideas and perspectives covering a diversity of topics to help enhance your knowledge.
The CAS Pinnacle Rounds is a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Each round is eligible for 1 hour of Section 1 credit.
Note - Your CAS Membership must be in good standing for the event date in order to access the member discount. You will be able to register as soon as you receive the renewal confirmation. Click here to renew.
Click on each event below for details on the upcoming rounds. All events are listed chronologically. For information on our past rounds, please check the events archive page.
Time is Brain: Stroke Management and Review of Nova Scotia EVT Process Times From an Anesthesia Perspective
April 15, 2026
8 pm ET
More than 97,000 strokes occur in Canada every year, with incidence increasing over time. Anesthesiologists in Canada are typically involved in endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) management, albeit in varying degrees across the country. In this talk, we will review community and perioperative stroke management guidelines and typical anesthetic considerations. We will then cover Nova Scotia's current institutional standards, practices, and performance using data from our provincial stroke registry, before reflecting on the broader impacts of international clinical trials on EVT practices and the role of anesthesiologists in the care of stroke patients.
Moderator: Dr. Kan Ma
After completing his residency at McMaster University in 2017, followed by a Trauma–Neuroanesthesia and Critical Care Fellowship at St. Michael’s Hospital in 2018 and a Neurosurgical Anesthesiology Fellowship at Northwestern University in 2019, Dr Ma is now the Associate Fellowship Director of the Trauma–Neuroanesthesia and Critical Care Fellowship and the Clinical Lead in Neuroanesthesia at St. Michael’s Hospital. He also serves as an Associate Editor for the Neurosurgical Anesthesia section of the Journal of Clinical Anesthesia.
Presenter: Dr. Kristin Ko
Dr. Kristin Ko is a PGY-3 anesthesiology resident from Dalhousie University. She completed a BSc in neuroscience, MASc in biomedical engineering focusing on neural tissue engineering, and MD all at Dalhousie; only leaving the province to briefly work in Wisconsin in biologics manufacturing before medical school. Born and raised in Halifax, she is hoping to eventually practice in Nova Scotia and loves her home province. Outside of the anesthesia world, she likes to ski, try new foods, participate in resident advocacy and leadership through various boards and committees, and play with her cat, Nora.
Learning Objectives:
After attending this round, the participants will be able to:
- Describe the management of acute ischemic stroke and key anesthesia considerations that impact stroke outcomes.
- Outline perioperative stroke management and the process for in hospital stroke activations within Nova Scotia
- Appraise the standard stroke activation timeline within Nova Scotia, current institutional performance for both in and outpatient activations, and present limitations; and discuss potential improvements from an anesthesia perspective.