Residency for Anesthesiologist – Overview
Anesthesiology is a medical discipline where you learn and practice rendering patients unconscious or numb.
This is essential to keep patients comfortable and stable during obstetric, surgical or other similar medical procedures.
An anesthesiologist is required to perform pre-surgical evaluation and treatment of patients. Anesthesiologists are trained in pain management, respiratory care problems.
They are also capable of handling cardiopulmonary resuscitation and managing critically ill or injured patients in intensive care units (ICUs).
What does an Anesthesiologist do?
A physician anesthesiologist is a skilled medical doctor. They are usually required to acquire M.D. or D.O. degrees with a specialization in anesthesiology.
Anesthesiologists are extensively trained in handling all pan-operative medical decisions.
They are mainly responsible to ensure the well-being and safety of patients previous to, during and after a surgical operation.
What does an Anesthesiologist do?
This may involve inducing a state of unconsciousness in the patient, called General Anesthesia. They also require inducing Regional Anesthetics to numb only a portion of the body.
Anesthesiologists are also expected to administer sedatives when required for pain relief or to alleviate anxiety.
Administering pain relief is extremely crucial for a successful surgical operation. This is especially true when a critical patient’s life functions need to be sustained artificially.
As a physician anesthesiologist, you can also become the head director of the Anesthesia Care Team at a hospital.
Apart from the operation theater, an anesthesiologist retains several different responsibilities too. For instance, anesthesiologists handle pre-operative patient assessment.
It is incredibly important to know the patient’s current health condition in light of the planned surgical procedure.
This helps anesthesiologists to develop the safest and most effective anesthesia plan for the individual patient.
Anesthesiologists are also responsible to care for the patient’s well-being following the surgery, as the effects of anesthesia wear off.
As an anesthesiologist, you will be responsible for managing post-operative acute pain along with cancer pain.
Also includes chronic pain, cardiac respiratory resuscitation, respiratory therapy and blood transfusion.
How to Become an Anesthesiologist?
To become a physician anesthesiologist, you have to complete a 4-year undergraduate degree that fulfills pre-med requirements.
Similar to physicians, you will then be required to get enrolled in a medical school following your undergraduate education.
Once you have completed medical school, you will then need to enroll in a four-year anesthesiology residency program.
After completing the residency program, you are eligible to appear for the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) exam.
The majority of anesthesiologists practicing in the US are certified by the board.
In essence, you will need to complete a minimum of 8 years of training after college. After you complete the residency program most anesthesiologists choose to complete an extra fellowship year of specialty training.
This specialty training may include practicing in specific areas including cardiac anesthesia, pain management, obstetric anesthesia.
The training also includes pediatric anesthesia, critical care medicine and neuroanesthesia.
Apart from this, anesthesiologists also acquire certification in a sub-specialty such as Hospice, Palliative Medicine. This requires additional training and appearing for exams.
What kind of training is required to become an Anesthesiologist?
To become an anesthesiologist you will need to have at least four years of graduate medical education.
After this, you will need to undergo three years of training in clinical anesthesia. In this, you will need to complete training for a year within the clinical base year.
This provides resident anesthesiologists around 12 months of wide clinical education in medical fields. Out of this, a maximum of one month should involve practicing to administer anesthesia.
The clinical base year is normally the first year of graduate medical studies.
How much does an Anesthesiologist earn?
The specific salary and income of anesthesiologists vary according to location, specialty, hospital and employer.
According to reports, the average academic salary for anesthesiologists in the US is around US$ 353,000 per year. The average clinical salary of anesthesiologists ranges around US$ 426,000 per year.
Anesthesiology is one of the most lucrative fields in medical practice.
Conclusion
Make sure that you choose an accredited and reputed medical school to complete your four-year medical education.
Apart from this make sure to appear for the ABA board certification exam when you are prepared. This way, you can become a successful and efficient anesthesiologist.
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