An aspiring Anesthesiologists questions?

[Soomie]

I am an upcoming senior in high school and I want to be an Anesthesiologist.
What classes will I take in college?

What should I major/minor in? Biology? Chemistry?

How well do you have to be in math? What kind of math?
-I'm not too great at math because I've never had anyone to help me with it. If I start studying math books, is there still a chance that I can make it through med school?

How much do they make?

What do they do during a typical day on the job?

Is it hard to be an Anesthesiologist?

What kind of schooling will I go through? Regular four year, medical, and then intern?

Are there a lot of job opportunites for the Anesthesiologist?

Is it true that after you have gone to school to be an anesthesiologist that you can be a normal doctor as well because of the experience you will have?

Is it true that the nurse anesthetist does most of the work and the anesthesiologist oversees the nurse?

what does the anesthesiologist do during surgery?

Will you have to be able to calculate the anesthesia dosage in your head?

What else can I do to prepare for this career?

Is there anything outside of school I can do that will look good for college? Volunteer at a hospital, etc?

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[AMeanCupOfTea]

If I may ask, assuming you asked all of those because you really don't know the answers, what makes you lean towards anaesthesiology instead of other fields?

 

[MaverickJR]

just lurk on the various forums like I do 🙂

 

[ButImLETired]

I am an upcoming senior in high school and I want to be an Anesthesiologist.
What classes will I take in college?

What should I major/minor in? Biology? Chemistry?

How well do you have to be in math? What kind of math?
-I'm not too great at math because I've never had anyone to help me with it. If I start studying math books, is there still a chance that I can make it through med school?

How much do they make?

What do they do during a typical day on the job?

Is it hard to be an Anesthesiologist?

What kind of schooling will I go through? Regular four year, medical, and then intern?

Are there a lot of job opportunites for the Anesthesiologist?

Is it true that after you have gone to school to be an anesthesiologist that you can be a normal doctor as well because of the experience you will have?

Is it true that the nurse anesthetist does most of the work and the anesthesiologist oversees the nurse?

what does the anesthesiologist do during surgery?

Will you have to be able to calculate the anesthesia dosage in your head?

What else can I do to prepare for this career?

Is there anything outside of school I can do that will look good for college? Volunteer at a hospital, etc?

Well, as far as what an anesthesiologist does/ is paid:

http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/467/Anesthesiologist.html

that's actually pretty decent. The pay varies a lot so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[DrYoda]

For job availability, pay and how hard it is to be an anesthesiologist: keep in mind that it'll be so long before you'll be a practicing anesthesiologist that it's anyone's guess what they'll be like when you get there. These things aren't static.

What kind of schooling will I go through? Regular four year, medical, and then intern?

College (usually 4 years), 4 years of med school, 1 year of internship and 3 more of anesthesiology residency.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I'm an anesthesiology resident.

Your coursework is the same as any premed. Major in your favorite subject because there are no favored majors in the application game. I know some anesthesiologists with degrees in engineering who are involved in product development; beyond that, major really does not factor into your career in any way.

The math involved is not that complicated, perhaps similar to that you would encounter in a general chemistry course.

Anesthesiologists today likely make more than you would make by the time you complete training.

Typical day: see patients, anesthetize them, and address medical/surgical/anesthetic complications as they occur. In an Anesthesia Care Team model, oversee 2-4 nurse anesthetists as they administer anesthetics. A typical day could also include labor epidurals or performing peripheral nerve blocks. Some anesthesiolgists work some or all of the time in ICUs or pain clinics.

Education: Bachelor's degree + 4 years med school + 4 years residency +/- additional fellowship year. Some will complete the 1st year of residency in a non-anesthesia field, usually internal medicine or general surgery.

Job opportunities: more than enough

"be a normal doctor" - anesthesiologists are licensed by state medical boards and have unrestricted license to practice medicine. why you would want to, and where you would do it, is another story.

"nurse anesthestist does the work" - define work

during surgery: be vigilant and maintain a stable anesthetic. during some cases I am constantly on my feet

Calculating anesthetic dosages in your head is not hard

 

[Soomie]

If I may ask, assuming you asked all of those because you really don't know the answers, what makes you lean towards anaesthesiology instead of other fields?

Well, I enjoyed taking Chemistry in school, and I was one of the best students in my class. I understood it, and it just clicked with me. My Grandmother is a nurse, and when I was younger, I went with her to work sometimes. I got a first hand experience of what the medical field was like. I think that I would want a job where I could help people, and feel self fulfilled in my career. I chose the medical field, because it just seemed right, and because it is a career field that I will be able to have a stable career, especially with the current economy; there are always jobs in the medical field. So, I came across the job of Anesthesiologist one day, and it sounded like something I would be good at, and something I would enjoy (the chemistry aspect, alongside the medical aspect). I asked these questions, because I want to learn every possible thing that I can about this branch of the medical field, so that I can enter college, have a goal and my plan mapped out, and work towards that goal.

 

[Soomie]

I'm an anesthesiology resident.

Your coursework is the same as any premed. Major in your favorite subject because there are no favored majors in the application game. I know some anesthesiologists with degrees in engineering who are involved in product development; beyond that, major really does not factor into your career in any way.

Does this mean that if I enjoy chemistry, that I could major in Chemistry?

Education: Bachelor's degree + 4 years med school + 4 years residency +/- additional fellowship year. Some will complete the 1st year of residency in a non-anesthesia field, usually internal medicine or general surgery.

Would it look better if one received higher than a Bachelors degree? For instance, a Masters or Doctorate?

 

[GoodmanBrown]

Does this mean that if I enjoy chemistry, that I could major in Chemistry?

Yeah, you'd be free to major in chemistry. Then you just take a few extra pre-reqs for medical school. These include physics and biology (which you'd likely take as a chemistry major anyhow) and maybe some math, statistics, psychology, and English.

Would it look better if one received higher than a Bachelors degree? For instance, a Masters or Doctorate?

If you're really interested in research (like maybe working to discover new medicines or whatever) you can do an MD/PhD. This is where you take 2 years of classes in whatever your PhD will be in, then do some years of med school, then finish your PhD, then finish med school. All in all, it takes ~7-8 years. Then, you'd do residency as normal which is another 3+ years depending on what you pick.

I know of very few people who get a PhD and then start med school. I don't think it will help that much, and it adds a ton of time. Believe it or not, getting a PhD by itself can actually take 4-7 years. MD/PhD students are fast-tracked because of their dual-degree.

The bonus of the MD/PhD is that you get paid to do it and you get a stipend. It's also very hard to get into those programs though.

 

[GoodmanBrown]

Is it true that after you have gone to school to be an anesthesiologist that you can be a normal doctor as well because of the experience you will have?

If by "normal" you mean a primary care provider like your family practice doctor, then no. Family practice is its own 3 year residency. (i.e. 3 years after finishing medical school).

What else can I do to prepare for this career?

At your stage, shadow an anesthesiologist or two and see what they do first hand.

Is there anything outside of school I can do that will look good for college? Volunteer at a hospital, etc?

Volunteering is always good and maybe some leadership experience in some high school setting. The usual. The college probably doesn't care too much that you're interested in anesthesiology.

LJ answered most of your other questions much better than I could, so I defer to his wisdom for other stuff.

 

[Soomie]

Oh okay. This is very informative. Thank you everyone who answered my questions!

 

[McBatCommander]

Remember this though. Up until the day you actually submit information for matching (in your moments of medical school) you will more then likely change your mind as to which specialty you want to do. If anyone asks you which spec you plan on taking, it's best to either say you don't know, or leave them with something very vague, cause next time they talk to you or ask, your answer may be different and you may feel a little dumb lol.

Also, be sure that you'd be ok with other specialites before you make any serious decisions, cause no one promises you a match to what you'd really like to do.

Keep your mind open, and good luck.

 

[theVster]

I applaud the fact that you're very gung ho on medicine but--I would advise against settling on only ONE thing you want to do when you go to medical school. You could just as easily want to become a surgeon before it's over.