Frequently Asked Questions
User Accounts
What’s a user account, and why should I create one on the MSA website?
Your user account puts a lot of features at your fingertips. Here’s what any account holder can do:
- Update your account username and/or password
- Update the primary contact information used by MSA to get in touch with you, including name, designations/accreditations, job title, practice, phone number, email address, and mailing address
- Apply for MSA membership
- See your current membership status
- See a list of upcoming and past events for which you registered
Members and prospective members can also:
- Manage communication preferences (i.e. your MSA email and mailing subscriptions)
And members can do even more:
- Access members-only content throughout the website, including the member directory
- See your upcoming membership renewal date
- Renew your MSA membership through a pre-populated form
- Upload a photo for use in the member directory
- Control and customize the information displayed in your member directory listing, including phone number, email address, mailing address, practice details, medical training, and social media and personal webpage links.
It’s important to note that you are responsible for keeping your own contact information and directory listing up to date. Make a note to check your account and directory listing regularly and make any changes that are needed.
» Log in to your account.
» Can’t remember if you have an account or not? Contact the office.
How do I change my username or password?
You can update your username and/or password at any time by logging in and updating your account settings. (Tip: Consider using the same username and password as for your ASA website account.)
How do I update my contact information?
You can update the contact information used by us to communicate with you at any time by logging in to updating your profile information. You can set your email and mail subscription preferences through your account communication settings.
How do I add or update my photo?
You can manage your account photo at any time by logging in and updating your account settings.
I forgot my account login information (username and/or password). What do I do?
If you have forgotten your username, try using your email address. If you’ve forgotten which email address you used with your account, please contact the office.
If you have forgotten your password, click the “Request new password” link in the login area. You will be prompted to enter your username or email address. Click “email new password.” An email will be sent to you with instructions on how to set a new password.
Tips: Select a password that’s complicated enough to be secure but easy for you to remember. If you have trouble remembering your password, note it down in a secure location. Consider using the same username and password as for your ASA website account.
Event Registrations
How do I keep up with (and register for) MSA events?
Upcoming events appear on the Calendar of Events page. Information about upcoming and past conferences is also published on the MSA conferences page. You can stay informed about upcoming MSA events by subscribing to the Calendar of Events page through the RSS reader of your choice. There’s also a past events page, so you can look back for information about events you attended in the past. (You may also find some third-party events of interest to MSA members and allies.)
Individual MSA event pages display a list of who has registered for (or, afterward, attended) the event. See who else is coming and plan ahead of time to connect and network! Event pages also display any current news items about the event.
Register for MSA events through the individual event pages. As you complete the online registration form, you will have two payment options: pay by credit card through our secure server or pay by mailing a check.
You don’t need an MSA website account to register for MSA events. But if you have one and log in before registering for an event, your event registration form will auto-populate with your contact information.
You can log in and visit your account dashboard at any time to see a list of events you’ve registered for, including your payment status.
Can I register with a hardcopy form and/or pay offline?
MSA event registration forms are completely online. As you complete the form, you will have two payment options:
- Pay by credit card through our secure server. Your registration will be completed immediately.
- Pay by check. Send your online form confirmation page with your check and your registration will be completed within 1-2 business days of payment received.
How do I register someone other than myself?
If you need to register someone and will not be attending the event yourself, open the registration form without logging in to your MSA website account (or log out, if you’ve already logged in). On the registration form, only enter the name and contact information of the person being registered within the registrant information section. DO NOT enter any of your own contact information in the registrant information section, especially email address (you may use your own contact information within the billing information section, if appropriate).
Please note that the person being registered as the primary registrant will receive the registration confirmation email, including payment information (but never sensitive information, such as a card number).
How do I cancel or modify my event registration?
To cancel or modify your registration for any MSA event, please contact the office.
Registration tip: When registering someone other than yourself, check with the person you are registering to make sure you use an email address (and other contact information) that matches the person’s existing XYZ contact record. If you use a different email address, the system will create a second contact record for the person. If you use different contact information than what’s already in the person’s contact record, the system will change the person’s contact record to the information you provide.
Membership Applications and Renewals
How do I join the MSA?
In order to be a member of the Minnesota Society of Anesthesiologists (MSA), you must be a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). To join the MSA, you will be directed to the ASA website, where you will have the ability to pay MSA and ASA dues together, at one time, on one invoice.
The Benefits of Membership page explains the benefits of MSA membership. MSA dues information can be found on the Join the MSA page.
How do I renew my membership?
You can renew your MSA membership by going to the ASA website and logging in to your ASA account. More information about renewing can be found on the Join the MSA page.
Your MSA account dashboard includes a box with your membership type, join date, expiration date, and a link to renew your membership on the ASA website.
You will receive renewal reminders directly from the ASA. When logged in to your MSA account, you will see a renewal reminder on all website pages when your renewal date is close or just past.
Don’t have an MSA account? Contact the office.
When does my membership expire?
MSA and ASA memberships are annual and begin January 1 and expire December 31.
If you are a member, you can see when your membership expires at any time by logging in to your account. Your account dashboard includes a box with your membership type, join date, expiration date, and a link to renew your membership on the ASA website.
You will receive renewal reminders directly from the ASA. When logged in to your MSA account, you will see a renewal reminder on all website pages when your renewal date is close or just past.
Member Directory
There are two directories of members on the website: a public directory with limited listing information that patients and nonmember medical professionals may use to search for MSA members, and a private directory (accessible only by current MSA members) with comprehensive listings that MSA members may use to connect with and learn more about each other.
Both directories are...
- Searchable. Look for MSA members by name, practice, and/or location.
- Always up to date. The directories are updated as soon as any member makes a change to his or her listing.
- Customizable. As a member, you have control over (and responsibility for) your own listing. You can set up one set of contact information for receiving communications from MSA and second set just for displaying on your member directory listing. You can even choose not to be listed in the directories at all.
What gets included in the member directories?
Only current members are listed in the directory.
Your initial/default directory listings include the following information as provided through your membership application:
| Private directory | Public directory |
|---|---|
|
|
Your private directory listing can also include the following as provided by you through your MSA website account:
- Photo
- Mailing address
- Medical training information
- Personal webpage link
- Social media links
Here’s a quick chart of what is or can be included in your directory listing and how to update or customize it:
| Displayed in | Manage yourprimary contact information (what MSA uses to contact you) | Directory listing options | Manage yourdirectory listing(what gets displayed in the directory) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First and last name | both | profile information | n/a (always shown) | n/a (always displays primary) |
| Designations/ accreditations | both | profile information | n/a (always shown) | n/a (always displays primary) |
| Job title | both | profile information | n/a (always shown) | n/a (always displays primary) |
| Practice group (hospital/clinic) | both | profile information | n/a (always shown) | n/a (always displays primary) |
| Practice location | both | profile information | n/a (always shown) | n/a (always displays primary) |
| Phone number | both | profile information | show primary show custom hide |
member directory settings |
| Email address | private | profile information | show primary show custom hide |
member directory settings |
| Mailing address | private | profile information | show primary show custom hide |
member directory settings |
| Social media links | private | profile information | show primary hide |
member directory settings |
| Medical training information | private | profile information | n/a (always shown if provided) | n/a (always displays primary if provided) |
| Personal webpage link | private | profile information | n/a (always shown if provided) | n/a (always displays primary if provided) |
| Photo | both | account settings | n/a (always shown if provided) | n/a (always displays primary if provided) |
| Hide listing entirely | both | member directory settings |
Please note: Your primary contact record can and will be updated by the information you provide on your membership renewal form or any event registration form. Any time you update your primary contact information with MSA, double-check your directory listing to be sure it’s still accurate.
» Not a member? Learn more and join today!
How do I update my member directory listing?
If you are a member, you can update your member directory listing at any time by logging in and updating your profile information and member directory settings.
Your member directory setting options include:
| Option: | What you can do: |
|---|---|
| Do not display my listing at all | Check this box to be completely removed from both the public and private member directories. Not even your name will be listed.
Uncheck this box to display your default listing, as well as your optional listing information as provided and selected by you through your profile information and member directory settings. |
| Phone Address Social media |
Add or change this information through your profile information. Then select one of the following through your member directory settings:
|
| Medical training information Personal webpage |
Add or change this information through your profile information. |
| Photo | Add or change your listing photo through your account settings. |
I updated my contact information, but my member directory listing hasn’t changed. What’s going on?
To give members better control over what information is made available to fellow members, we have separated some components of your member directory listing from your general contact information. You can provide one set of contact information for receiving communications from us and provide an entirely different set of contact information for publication in the member directory—including what information is or is not listed in the directory.
If you have updated your profile information and your member directory listing hasn’t changed, you may need to review and update your member directory settings.
MSA Updates and Emails
How do I keep up with legislative and other updates from MSA?
Legislative and other updates are published to the MSA website at least once per month. Updates can be about the MSA (conferences, general announcements, calls to action), reports from our lobbyist, or non-MSA events and announcements of interest to MSA members and allies.
Updates appear on the MSA home page and the News & Updates page. On the News & Updates page, you can filter updates by category. Legislative updates will also appear on the Advocacy page, and updates about the conferences will appear on the current conference event information page.
To help you keep abreast of the latest updates from the MSA, you may subscribe to the MSA news feed with the RSS reader of your choice.
I’m not receiving MSA emails. What’s going on?
No email delivery system is perfect. In today’s world of multiple email browsers and culture of firewalls and spam filters, it is increasingly difficult to guarantee that every member of our association is receiving the emails we send. Here are some steps you can take to improve the chances of you receiving our broadcast emails in the future:
- Verify your membership status. Our broadcast emails are often sent only to current members and prospective members. Log in to your account and check your membership status. If you are not currently a member, you can be added to our prospective member list by requesting more information, or you can complete an application to become a member.
- Verify the email address you have provided. Log in to your account and check the primary email address listed in your profile information.
- Check your subscription settings. You may have told us that you don’t want to receive some or all of our broadcast emails. Log in to your account and check your communication settings.
- Add us to your safe sender list. (Doing so will help ensure that our messages will not be blocked as spam.)
- Add office@msaconnect.org to your safe sender list. (If you’re using a company/corporate email account, you may need the help of your company IT department. If you’re using a personal email account, you can ask your Internet Service Provider for help.)
- Ask your company/corporate Network Administrator to add these IP address ranges to its safe sender list.
- Change the email address you use to receive our emails. Use a personal webmail account such as Google Mail, Yahoo, AOL, Juno, NetZero, etc. instead of a company/corporate email account. Log in to your account and change the primary email address listed in your profile information. (You should also then double-check your member directory settings to update which email address is displayed in your member directory listing.)
If you have taken all of these steps and are still not receiving our broadcast emails, please contact the office for further troubleshooting.