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I'm a 1st year anesthesiology resident. I can help with questions regarding the specialty, applications/rotations.
We have a very active forum at the partner site: Gas Forums.
Here are some basics:
1) What do you enjoy most about your specialty?
I love the minute to minute decision-making required. Anesthesiology enables surgery to happen. Patients appreciate you. You see the results of your actions immediately. You take care of all ages from the premature babies to the geriatrics. We practice applied pharmacology and (patho)physiology, most of us find this very rewarding. We also take care of the sickest patients in the hospital at times.
2) Is there anything you dislike about your specialty?
Sometimes you won't be recognized for the work that is done. Others think physicians are not needed in anesthesiology. When the job is done well, others think it's easy and not worthy of having gone to medical school.
3) What is a typical schedule like for your specialty? Are the hours/shifts flexible?
For residents, most work from 6 or 6:15 am to anywhere from 4-6p. There's a lot of variability between programs. Call for me will be about 5-6 times a month with 1 Saturday or Sunday per month too. Our ICU rotations are busier with Q3 call (but still <=80 hours). As attendings, the hours are what you make of it. Some people just work for outpatient centers, < 40 hours a week. Others can choose to work >70. It really depends on the job you look for.
4) Where do you see the specialty going in the next 5 years?
The specialty has recovered from the late 90s where very few American med students applied (~350 for 1200 spots). This was from fear of not being able to find jobs, competition etc. The applicant pool has gotten more competitive which means very good things for the specialty. A lot more people are interested in subspecializing. There's also a shift in making the training more geared to critical care. The role of the anesthesiologist outside of the OR is still being debated (ie what does perioperative medicine mean?).
I'll develop this thread/FAQ as soon as time permits.
CWL
If you're curious: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawford_Long
We have a very active forum at the partner site: Gas Forums.
Here are some basics:
1) What do you enjoy most about your specialty?
I love the minute to minute decision-making required. Anesthesiology enables surgery to happen. Patients appreciate you. You see the results of your actions immediately. You take care of all ages from the premature babies to the geriatrics. We practice applied pharmacology and (patho)physiology, most of us find this very rewarding. We also take care of the sickest patients in the hospital at times.
2) Is there anything you dislike about your specialty?
Sometimes you won't be recognized for the work that is done. Others think physicians are not needed in anesthesiology. When the job is done well, others think it's easy and not worthy of having gone to medical school.
3) What is a typical schedule like for your specialty? Are the hours/shifts flexible?
For residents, most work from 6 or 6:15 am to anywhere from 4-6p. There's a lot of variability between programs. Call for me will be about 5-6 times a month with 1 Saturday or Sunday per month too. Our ICU rotations are busier with Q3 call (but still <=80 hours). As attendings, the hours are what you make of it. Some people just work for outpatient centers, < 40 hours a week. Others can choose to work >70. It really depends on the job you look for.
4) Where do you see the specialty going in the next 5 years?
The specialty has recovered from the late 90s where very few American med students applied (~350 for 1200 spots). This was from fear of not being able to find jobs, competition etc. The applicant pool has gotten more competitive which means very good things for the specialty. A lot more people are interested in subspecializing. There's also a shift in making the training more geared to critical care. The role of the anesthesiologist outside of the OR is still being debated (ie what does perioperative medicine mean?).
I'll develop this thread/FAQ as soon as time permits.
CWL
If you're curious: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawford_Long