Anesthesiology, one of the highest-paying medical specialties, focuses on administering the medications that cause a loss of sensation, loss of consciousness, drowsiness and pain relief. The specialty only sounds easy if you don’t know all that it entails and the necessity of managing anesthesia administration accurately. Once you realize what tasks your career as an anesthesiologist will entail – like consulting with patients awaiting surgery, giving the anesthetics used for pain relief and monitoring patients to make sure they are tolerating the anesthesia safely – you’ll see that this medical career is more challenging, and likely more rewarding, than you first believed.
Meeting With Preoperative Patients
Except for cases of extreme medical emergencies, the work of an anesthesiologist typically begins with a consultation with patients who are awake and alert. Usually, these patients are being prepared for surgery. Before they get to the operating room, the anesthesiologist will speak to the patient about how the process of giving anesthesia will work. It’s also important for the anesthesiologist to go over the patient’s medical history, including any allergies to medications and any medical conditions or medications that could limit which types of anesthesia are an appropriate choice for the patient.
Anesthesiologists also meet with laboring mothers to administer epidurals. In intensive care units, critical care wards and emergency departments, the anesthesiologist may not have the opportunity to consult with a patient first because they may be unresponsive or already sedated.
Administering Anesthesia to Keep Patients Comfortable
Giving anesthesia to patients is the core job responsibility of an anesthesiologist. Different types of anesthesia are administered in different ways. General anesthesia may include both medications administered intravenously through a catheter and gasses that the patient breaths in through a mask. If the patient is undergoing regional anesthesia, instead, the anesthesiologist uses a needle to carefully inject the medication into the region of the body to be numbed.
Anesthesiologist is a perioperative specialty of medicine. This means that this type of doctor is involved throughout the operation process – beginning, middle and end – as opposed to only during the surgical procedure, according to the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Once the procedure is complete, the anesthesiologist stops administering the medications used for anesthesia, makes sure that the patient is recovering from these medications and may recommend how the patient should manage pain relief post-surgery.
Just as a surgeon must be good with a scalpel, an anesthesiologist needs manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported. These skills help the anesthesiologist draw blood, create airways and administer injections.
Monitoring Patients’ Breathing and Vital Signs
A patient under general anesthesia must be monitored consistently. During a procedure, anesthesiologists pay attention to the patient’s breathing as well as vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse and body temperature, the BLS reported.
The reason it is so important to monitor patients during anesthesia administration is because keeping a patient at the right level of anesthesia is a delicate balance. Too much anesthesia can result in an overdose that may hurt or even kill a patient. With too little anesthesia, the patient could be awake, aware and in pain during the surgery but not be able to communicate. Fortunately, this phenomenon of waking partially during surgery – known as anesthesia awareness – is rare, and when it does occur, patients are usually aware only for a short time and are not in pain, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists reported. However, for patients whose awareness during surgery is lengthy, vivid and painful, the experience can be so traumatic that it can leave patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Carefully observing patients’ breathing and vital signs, as well as watching them for symptoms of a severe reaction, helps anesthesiologists keep patients safe during a procedure. Unusual fluctuations in vital signs can let anesthesiologists know if the level of anesthesia is too high or too low, or if complications are developing, so that the doctor can adjust the anesthesia before the problem becomes serious.
Although patients under regional anesthesia are still monitored by their care providers, they don’t require the constant monitoring by an anesthesiologist that patients under general anesthesia do. Regional anesthesia presents fewer risks, and patients are alert.
Not Such an Easy Role After All
This specialty can certainly sound “easy” when compared to specialties like cardiology, which may encompass intricate and life-saving procedures performed on the heart, and neurosurgery, the medical specialty of performing surgery on the brain and nervous system. However, anesthesiology is an essential part of both of these specialties, as well as numerous other branches of medicine. The surgical procedures used in modern medicine would not be possible without anesthesiology, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists. The work of correctly administering the right type and dose of anesthesia and managing any complications that arise is delicate and potentially stressful.
Due to the stressful nature of the work, the medical students who are best suited for a career in the field of anesthesiology enjoy excitement in their work and can remain calm even in stressful situations, the American Society of Anesthesiologists reported.
Additional Resources
What’s the Difference Between General, Local, and Regional Anesthesia?
What Is the Typical Day for an Anesthesiologist?
What Qualities Make for a Good Anesthesiologist?
What Is the Difference Between a Normal Anesthesiologist and a Pediatric Anesthesiologist?