ASA Resident Distinction Award

Earning the ASA Resident Distinction Award is a prestigious honor in the specialty as it indicates a superior level of service, leadership, advocacy and education that distinguish residents from their peers. Recipients of the award have surpassed the standards set for them and have excelled in numerous aspects within their communities. The Resident Distinction Award was created to help develop anesthesiology residents' professional citizenship, leadership and scholarship capabilities. Not only does this encourage personal growth within residents, but also allows them to experience some of the many benefits that the ASA maintains for their members.

Recipients of the award will receive the following:

• ASA Resident Distinction Award certificate
• ASA Resident Distinction Award swag
• Listing on the ASA website and recognition in the member profile

ASA Resident Distinction Award Criteria Checklist/Eligibility 

The criteria required for earning the Resident Distinction Award designation demonstrates a candidate’s commitment to advancing the practice and securing the future of anesthesiology.

Download criteria (PDF)

The additional criteria enable the candidate to demonstrate their dedication in four areas: (1) Leadership, (2) Advocacy, (3) Scholarship, (4) Commitment to Lifelong Learning. Candidates must meet seven total requirements, with a minimum number as indicated below from each of the categories. Selected requirements must have occurred within the past five years. 

Download dedication areas (PDF)

Checklist for Residents

Residents are eligible for the ASA Resident Distinction Award after the start of the CA-1 year.

To confirm if applicants are eligible, residents must review the checklist mentioned above. For the additional criteria pertaining to Leadership, Advocacy, Scholarship, and Commitment to Lifelong Learning, applicants must describe their engagement for each selected requirement, with each description having a 250-word limit.

In addition to the general application, applicants are responsible for obtaining a letter of recommendation from their program director and two letters of recommendation from ASA members with FASA designation. Applicants must also receive endorsement from their state component society.

An application may be submitted at any time. The application will be forwarded to the ASA Committee/Application Reviewers for review and a final decision. The committee will notify the applicant of its decision within 4 weeks of submission.

PLEASE NOTE: Any application that takes longer than two (2) months to process from the date of submission will be removed from consideration. Any application removed from consideration can not be recovered and applicants must start a new application. This includes Program Director Endorsement. 

LINK TO APPLICATION: Resident Distinction Award Application

Recipients of the Resident Distinction Award

2026 Governance Year Recipients 

Amit Aggarwal, DO

Neil Rens, MD

Jacob Boudreaux, MD

Ammar Toubasi, MD

Joshua E. Insler, MD

Michael Balce, MD

Gio Gemelga, MD

Eric Do. MD

2025 Governance Year Recipients

Karan Sethi, MD, MBA

Sally Nagia, MD

Justin Cordova, MD

Jackson Dunitz, MD

Harshika Chowdhary, MD

Hyunjoo Ko, MD

Sungyoung (Hiva) Lee, MD

Yena Son, MD

Nicholas A. Bohannon. MD

Sebastian Amaya, MD

Nicholas A. Bohannon, MD

Vincent Bargnes III, MD

Andrew Ray, MD, MBA, MSc

Tejas Kollu, MD

Abigail Schirmer, MD

Natalie Jane Koons, DO