Dr. Sydney Thomson is a Bay Area native who did an Internal Medicine residency at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.  During that time, she rotated with the Anesthesiology ICU team at Stanford, under the direction of Dr. Myer Rosenthal.  This led her to change her career path and do a second residency in Anesthesiology at Stanford.  Double-boarded, she enjoyed serving the community and the poor in private practice for over 27 years at O’Connor Hospital in San Jose, while it was owned by the Daughters of Charity.  Turbulence, politics, and market changes resulted in 2 hospital bankruptcies, a disastrous hedge fund takeover, and now ownership by the Santa Clara County Health System.  The circle is complete!  These experiences helped her to realize the importance of stepping out from behind the drape and participating in organized medicine and political advocacy.  As CSA District 3 Director, she advocates with local, state, and federal representatives on behalf of our profession and the safety of our patients.