Anesthesiology Information

[Marineguy86]

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Hello All, 1st off I would like to say hello to everyone this is my 1st post.

I'll just dive right in, I am in the Marine Corps so this may belong in the Military section but this is specifically about Anesthesiology.

a little backround...


I have been interested in doing Anesthesiology since late in my senior year of High School when I was trying to figure out what I should try to pursue. I had no clue after graduating what I wanted to do though talking to older friends and seeing my older sister go into debt and all for a major that she ended up not liking it and getting out of it. I didn't want to be in those shoes so I opted looking into the Military until I figured out what I wanted to do. Im young I can take the physical punishment so of course with that mindset went right to the Marines, from there whats the hardest thing I can try to get into the Marines?

Recon so there got that, finally, but now that I have accomplished the hardest stuff physically I have been constantly thinking about and giving it more and more thought about what I am going to do when I get out and everything I keep reading/thinking about leans towards Anesthesiology.
I figure I'll do the tough and demanding job of being a Reconnaissance Marine for now and do it well, but after I want to change from Learning how to kill people and all that crap to caring/saving people. I think Anesthesiology would still be able to give me the highspeed high risk kind of excitement I enjoy and as well be very rewarding emotionally being like... I saved 4 people from dying today for example.

So why am I telling all you complete strangers about this?

Well for one Im hoping you took the time to read it so you don't just write me off as another guy interested in it and if you know anything about Reconnaissance it takes a lot of dedication and has a high level of Physical/Mental Stresses which makes me think I could be able to handle the rigors of being a Anesthesiologist or atleast an assistant to one.


The Other Reasons...


Well now that Ive got that out of my way, I have come here for assistance/guidance/tips/recommendations

Spent a lot time in the Library/Barnes and Nobles/Internet and haven't found to much information but some. So I was hoping how would a Military guy like me right now go about setting myself and getting as much as I can knocked out of the way while im still in so when I get out (2010) that I can dive right into the Anesthesiology field. I have no College Experience so any advice I know I probaly sound dumb but I'm not, but be pretty barney style with your advice though please. Thanks for taking the time to read my post and look forward to hearing from all of you.

-Marineguy86

 

[Marineguy86]

Or possibly since your already looking at roughly 16 years of schooling to get there possibly since I am pretty late getting into it possibly doing/becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs)?

 

[tacrum43]

Or possibly since your already looking at roughly 16 years of schooling to get there possibly since I am pretty late getting into it possibly doing/becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs)?

Well...12 years: 4 college, 4 med school, 4 residency.

You seem very dedicated to what you put your mind to, but before you start down this long road, maybe you should look into shadowing some anesthesiologists, CRNA's and/or Anesthesia assistants to get a feel for what they do on a daily basis. It's not all high adrenaline all the time, and their roles are quite different in some important ways.

Oh, and welcome to SDN. It's a great resource for pre-meds! 👍 Another great resource is the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR) guide. And be sure to check out the sticky links at the top of the Anesthesiology forum, if you haven't already.

 

[militarymd]

First things first.....Bachelors Degree with pre-med prerequisites.

 

[amyl]

pm'ed you

 

[Ferdie]

first find out if you like/have talent for the science/medicine stuff. regardless if you become an anesthesiologist or anesthetist or crna, you'll have to take basic science classes and learn quite a bit of science and medicine first. try taking some college-level bio/physics/chem at a local college if you can (not sure where you're stationed).
if you're looking for something you can jump into more quickly, perhaps you could go to a technical college and become some sort of medical tech (I think being a surgical scrub tech would be a pretty cool job), and work in the ER or OR. Sounds like you have a lot of drive and ambition, so I don't mean to deter you from achieving everything you set your mind to, but you also said you want to jump into this quickly, so I'm just offering a suggestion.
best of luck to you.

 

[Termwean]

Dude: you can do it...if I can...you can. I had the same feeling coming out of HS so I joined the Navy (corpsmen, then became a Respiratory therapist through the military. total time= 7 yrs active duty) then got out and worked as a RT for 4 more yrs as civilian before even starting undergrad. I was 28 when I started undergrad. I started undergrad thinking about going into computers but after some soul searching realized that I NEEDED to stay in the medical field...switched to premed type classes. Graduated in 5 yrs (yr break in the middle for tour of Afghanistan with army national guard). went right into medical school and now soon to be a 4th yr and am thinking of either ER/ radiology/ or gas. So I am 36 and a third year medical student.

SOme tried to discourage me by asking if I thought I was too old to start undergrad/medical school etc. and be early 40's when I finish...I would say tot hem that I am going to be 40 anyways. Why not be a 40 y/o doc instead of a 40 y/o respiratory therapist having to work many overtime hours to ut my kids through school (I have 2 young kids).

Anyways, my point: You can do it. Go for it. Try to shadow a MD at your base hospital if you can.

 

[psychbender]

All I can add to this discussion is that I have seen several older medical students. In my class of ~140, we had 3 that started out over the age of 40, and have had one or two more join that club as time passed. My oldest classmate is in his mid fifties. Two months ago, my intern on an inpatient FM rotation turned 60. He's a former investment banker...medicine is his retirement hobby.

It's a hell of a long road, but if you want it enough, it can be yours.