What can you anticipate from a career in anesthesiology, one of the best-paying medical specialties?
Whether you work in general anesthesiology or a specialty, a typical day might be very different depending on your work environment.
The one thing you can count on is that you’ll be dealing with patients one-on-one, whether they’re undergoing surgery, recovering from an injury, or giving birth.
If you’re interested in a profession in pain management, an anesthesiologist is the right fit.
The Task of Treating Pain
As a medical professional, an anesthesiologist serves a specific purpose: to alleviate pain. In contrast to anesthetics, analgesic drugs do not numb the patient, but rather alleviate pain.
Patients who get general anesthesia are rendered unconscious, but those who receive regional or local anesthetic are just numbed in certain regions of the body.
Anesthesia and analgesia can be provided by anesthesiologists, as well as intravenous sedatives to help the patient rest. Patients may fall asleep or just feel sleepy, depending on how profoundly they are sedated.
Anesthesiologists aren’t just a one-stop-shop for IV meds. During preoperative care, they visit with the patient to go through the anesthetic process and their medical history.
Preoperative anesthesia and ongoing monitoring of the patient’s condition by anesthesiologists are essential to a successful surgical treatment.
Checking on patients in recovery, the anesthesiologist explains any post-anesthesia symptoms or concerns to the patient.
Multiple patients are likely to be treated on a normal day by an anesthesiologist. When it comes to working as an anesthesiologist, you have the opportunity to work with a wide variety of patients.
American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) claimed that within the course of the same workday you may find yourself in preoperative rooms, operation rooms, recovery rooms, critical care units, labor and delivery units, and diagnostic testing suites
There is so much variation in general anesthesiology that it’s an excellent career choice for those who don’t want to perform the same thing over and over again.
However, not all anesthesiologists are like this. Subspecialty training in anesthesiology has the potential for a more stable working environment for anesthesiologists.
According to the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, if you specialize in obstetric anesthesiology, you will spend most of your time delivering pain medication to laboring moms, such as epidurals.
Using a spinal block or, in an emergency, general anesthesia, you’ll help moms get ready for a Cesarean delivery.
When it comes to pain management and sedation for patients in the intensive care unit of a hospital, critical care anesthesiologists are the ones to call.
Some anesthesiologists work at an outpatient or ambulatory surgical centers, while others work in hospitals.
Patients may be subjected to potentially unpleasant treatments in endoscopy and colonoscopy suites of testing centers, specialist medical practices, or physicians’ offices.
Days that Go On Forever and Nights
The normal workday for anesthesiologists who work in hospitals is lengthy. Many anesthesiologists arrive at the hospital as early as 6 a.m. to begin their day.
12-hour shifts are common in the workplace, although they aren’t usually. You may be forced to work longer hours due to unanticipated complications or crises.
If you work in an intensive care unit, a labor and delivery ward, or an emergency department, you may be required to work evenings, overnights, and weekends.
Trauma surgeries, emergency treatments, and labor cannot be arranged in advance for a convenient time, despite the fact that regular business hours are more likely for routine surgeries.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists says that if you are on-call, you can work for up to 24 hours.
Even though anesthesiologists often work more than 40 hours a week, they still have more time than medical trainees, who may work up to 80 hours a week, according to STAT News’ study.
