Anesthesiologist

<p>I have been thinking about the kind of medical profession I would like to get into, and I've narrowed it down to an anesthesiologist or a neurosurgeon. Although I know what a neurosurgeon does, I'm having a bit of difficulty finding out exactly what an anesthesiologist does.</p>

<p>I know that they give sedatives to patients, read over client's charts and decides how long and what meds to give to a patient after surgery. I know they also advise the patient beforehand what to expect during and after surgery, but that seems almost too simple. I'd like to know all the areas a anesthesiologist may work in in detail.</p>

<p>If anyone could possibly help in any way, it would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks,
Brittney.</p>

<p>Anesthesiologist generally handle the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care of the patient. The post-op is generally short term in the PACU and then is generally taken over by the surgeon in the SICU (or specialty ICU). The draw for many is that they get to be in the OR, and dont have to worry about being on the floor (like rounding and figuring out 10 reasons a patient has an infection, etc) which is handled by IMs. They are apart of the code team and will handle the airway. They are consider experts of nonsurgical airways, so if a difficult airway is expected in the ED, they might call a gas resident down. Surgical airways are generally done by ENT or gen surg. They get to do a lot of procedures such as intubations, lines, epidurals, spinals, transesophageal echocardiograms (TEEs), bronschoscopes, local/regional blocks, etc. They oversee the ICUs, except for the MICU. However, that is not universal. And obviously they monitor the patient throughout the surgery. The complex procedure include liver transplants and a coronary artery bypass graft. After residency, some decide to practice the ACT model and they will supervise two CRNAs (or AAs). They will be in the room for induction and waking up, and they will come by to make sure things are going well. CRNAs/AAs are usually limited to the simple cases like a lap chol. They also can do pain management stuff for cancer suffers, addicts, etc. Fellowships include CT, peds, trauma, pain, OB, neuro, and critical care. They can also can an operation if they feel the person is not healthy enough to survive it.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Anesthesiologists work in a variety of practice settings. Operating room anesthesia is provided in tertiary-care academic medical centers, community hospitals, "surgi-centers", and military hospitals. This encompasses anesthesia for general, cardiac, neuro, ENT, orthopedic, ophthalmologic, pediatric, and transplant surgeries. In the obstetric suite anesthesiologists provide epidural, spinal, and general anesthesia for vaginal and cesarian deliveries. Anesthesiologists my provide, or assist CRNAs in providing sedation and airway control for psychiatric patients undergoing ECT, as well as patients in the cardiac catheterization lab, and endoscopy suites. Anesthesiologists work in pain clinics, performing pain management techniques in an office, or OR setting using fluoroscopy for needle guidance. Anesthesiologists work as critical care doctors in the MICU/SICU. So-called "office-based anesthesia" is a growing field in which anesthesiologists assist in office-based surgery by providing anesthetic care that approaches or equals the standards expected in a hospital.

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<p>Some gas procedures:
1. New</a> York School Of Regional Anesthesia - Techniques
2. EMRAPTV</a> Episode 31: Glidescope demo
3. RASCI</a> - Movies and Description of Blocks
4. Anesthesia</a> Machine Simulation - Virtual Anesthesia Machine - VAM
5. Anesthesiology</a> Elective
6. Neuraxiom</a> Ultrasound Guided Nerve Blocks
7. EMRAPTV</a> Episode 8: New sedative cocktail Ket-o-phol</p>

<p>
[quote]
So can anyone tell me what an anesthesiologist is responsible for in the hospital environment? If anyone knows what an anesthesiologist needs to be particularly proficient in (I would guess biochemistry for starters), that would be great too. Heck, any leads are good!

[/quote]
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<p>Key subjects include physiology (heart, lung, etc), pharmacology (propofol, roc, ketamine, etc) and anatomy (brachial plexus, naso/oropharynx, etc). But they still need to know other subjects.</p>

<p>wow i did NOT know anesthesiologists did all that</p>

<p>Just a clarification, when I said " the surgeons in the SICU (or specialty ICU)." I did not mean SICU = specialty ICU. It means surgical ICU. There are also specialty ICUs at some hospitals for neuro, cardio, peds, etc.</p>

<p>Also, ' They can also cancel an operation if they feel the person is not healthy enough to survive it."</p>

<p>wow, thanks. that sounds like the kind of profession i want to get into..</p>

<p>thanks for the help :)</p>