Question for Anesthesia Residents

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DrBB

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I'm currently a 3rd year medical student and am very interested in pursuing anesthesiology as a career. My question is to the residents out there - I was wondering if you guys are taught all of the basic hands-on procedures in your first year?

As I am finishing my 3rd year (I have not yet done surgery), I realized that I have not had a whole lot of experience doing things like starting IV's, doing blood draws, placing lines, etc. On my ER rotation, I was able to do some of these things but never did enough to become proficient at them.

I am assuming that these procedures should be natural for any anesthesia resident/doctor, and just want you guys to touch on how well these procedures are taught to you in your 1st year? I just don't want to look like a fool in front of others when I start residency.

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To enter anesthesia residency you must be proficient in all procedures first.

kidding
 
I had to tube a 300+ lber my first night of call on my 3rd day of internship by myself. Chew on that one for awhile.
 
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I transferred the pt from the floor to the icu. I made sure that I had all of the equipment I would need present and in working order. I induced the pt, used a laryngoscope to aid in direct visualization of the cords, and slid a tube between them.
 
I transferred the pt from the floor to the icu. I made sure that I had all of the equipment I would need present and in working order. I induced the pt, used a laryngoscope to aid in direct visualization of the cords, and slid a tube between them.

Awesome. See, thats where my question comes in....did you ever have any formal training on how to induce and intubate prior to this? How did you know dosages, etc? I'm assuming I will learn some of this stuff in surgery and in my 4th year electives, but damn...guess I'm just concerned that I won't have enough experience come the start of residency.
 
You will do at least one anesthesia rotation if you decide to persue the specialty. Act like a sponge, and absorb everything you can. I knew airway management was part of my call responsibilities so I had already reviewed/thought about what I would do. Early on as a intern, most will have a moment where they discover that they are in fact a physician and are capable of acting when needed. You do what it takes to get the job done. You're not expected to be a savant or something. I started OB at the beginning of the month. I had never done a spinal or epidural before. I still kinda suck, but get better everyday. Took care of a patient with a prolapsed cord at the end of the day today and everything went fine. Experiences like that make the specialty what it is.
 
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I had to tube a 300+ lber my first night of call on my 3rd day of internship by myself. Chew on that one for awhile.

Yeah but as we've established on this forum before :), your wacky insane throw-the-housestaff-to-the-wolves program isn't typical ...



OP, most anesthesia residents are lousy IV starters with a handful of lines and intubations behind them on day 1. Your program will teach you what you need to know. Don't sweat it. Learn and do what you can as a student but don't freak out if you graduate with single digit anything.




ETA - Wait. I may be confusing you with someone else. I'll get back to this when I've sobered up.
 
Yeah but as we've established on this forum before :), your wacky insane throw-the-housestaff-to-the-wolves program isn't typical ...



OP, most anesthesia residents are lousy IV starters with a handful of lines and intubations behind them on day 1. Your program will teach you what you need to know.

Yes, you are correct. In fact, my class was the last to go through like that. Now there are some 2nd or 3rd year ER residents providing supervision for the interns. I was just trying to make the OP sweat a little bit.
 
Yes, you are correct. In fact, my class was the last to go through like that. Now there are some 2nd or 3rd year ER residents providing supervision for the interns. I was just trying to make the OP sweat a little bit.
Don't know (firsthand) how much support the ER residents provide...
 
I transferred the pt from the floor to the icu. I made sure that I had all of the equipment I would need present and in working order. I induced the pt, used a laryngoscope to aid in direct visualization of the cords, and slid a tube between them.



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