Anesthesiology Intro

[DIVA01]

Hey,

I'm an MS3, considering anesthesiology. But I think that I get bored generally very quickly and have heard from some that anesthesiology can be a repetitive field (and that some anesthesiologists are so bored they do crossword puzzles during procedures). Is this true? What have your experiences been like? How much patient contact is there really?

I will have to wait until 4th year to do an anesthesiology elective, so I am hoping to get an idea now. Thanks.

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[A4M]

Hey,

I'm an MS3, considering anesthesiology. But I think that I get bored generally very quickly and have heard from some that anesthesiology can be a repetitive field (and that some anesthesiologists are so bored they do crossword puzzles during procedures). Is this true? What have your experiences been like? How much patient contact is there really?

I will have to wait until 4th year to do an anesthesiology elective, so I am hoping to get an idea now. Thanks.

Go to the OR on your post call day, introduce yourself to the anesthesiologist in charge. He/she usually will be happy to have you shadow someone for the day. You can figure out how fast you get bored firstperson.

 

[threepeas]

i am an MS3 also and have been activley researching the field since school started. this was a concern of mine also, however this is my thoughts on the matter:
1. every field has boredom and repetition/routine-guaranteed; it just may seem more obvious in anesthesiology. (i have done trauma as a physician assistant and after one year i was bored because after a while even that can become routine/cook book. only about 10% go to the OR and most cases the consultants are doing the work while you act like the general practitioner while they are admitted)
2. there are routine boring days in anesthesia and more fun, engaging exciting days. you will welcome both. one day you will a long CT/neuro case, and another you will have fast turnover with shorter cases.
3. eventhough their are procedures in anesthesia it is very cerebral and doesnt lend itself to interesting observation by med students like surgery does. it is a field that changes when you sit in the hot seat and have begun to learn all the fascinating physiology and pharmacology.
4. for me i will looking to supplement my general anesthesia training with either a pediatrics OR critical care fellowship. pediatrics has been described to me as "advanced anesthesia", and CCM would allow me to do more traditional medicine. if i do CCM i will try and do each part-time maybe finally favoring one over the other. with peds you can still do..say 25% adults 75% kids.

there are many other reasons i am in the process of choosing anesthesiology, but hopefull this begins to address your "boredom" question. good luck and PM me with other concerns/questions.

 

[dhb]

1. every field has boredom and repetition/routine-guaranteed

Good to see that some people have seen the light

 

[deleted50478]

Good to see that some people have seen the light

Boredom in every field? No way. When I was a med student doing a liver transplant elective they bovied for an hour or so and sewed blood vessels together for 4 or 5 hours per transplant. I think that they had to be loving every minute. I know I was.

threepeas, I think you might have the most disturbing avatar I've seen so far.

 

[ketamine]

Hey,

some anesthesiologists are so bored they do crossword puzzles during procedures). Is this true? .

Where I work one of the nurses copies the crossword puzzle out of the newspaper and make multiple copies to place on the table in the OR doctors’ lounge. Many of the Anesthesiologist, CRNAs and circulation nurses complete them during the case. This common practice in most places I have worked. A lot of people bring in PDA’s with current news stories on them to read or to surf the net during cases. I have been at a few hospitals where the Anesthesiologists take laptops into the OR and surf the net. It is routine to see an Anesthesiologist or CRNA reading non medical books magazines or news papers during the case. One place I worked I was given the old cart of a doctor who had left, which had enough Airplane magazines to fill a two full size grocery store paper bags.

Every hospital has stories of anesthesiologist or CRNA who fell asleep in the OR. Where I was a resident one of my fellow resident was disciplined for day trading in the OR.

My favorite stores are of the Dr. who started the OR case then left to sleep in the lounge (his normal practice) and forgot the he had a patient in the OR and went home. This is a true story the OR nurses told me of a doctor who was recently fired, confirmed by the other Anesthesiologists

 

[excalibur]

Hey,

I'm an MS3, considering anesthesiology. But I think that I get bored generally very quickly and have heard from some that anesthesiology can be a repetitive field (and that some anesthesiologists are so bored they do crossword puzzles during procedures). Is this true? What have your experiences been like? How much patient contact is there really?

I will have to wait until 4th year to do an anesthesiology elective, so I am hoping to get an idea now. Thanks.

Read the FAQ stikcy atop this forum. Good stuff there. Also, try and read jetpropilot's thread on why he loves anesthesia. I feel most people going into it all share his sentiments.

I'm an MSIV who is now hooked on anesthesia. I was allowed to take electives third year, and as soon as I did the rotation in March, I knew for sure. I also get bored easily, I mean i get BORED so fast it's not funny. Anesthesiology is the only rotation where I have not gotten extremely bored. It's a whole different ballgame when you're behind the curtain. From the untrained eye, it may look like the anesthesiologist isn't doing much, but there are constant scenarios going on in his head, and the whole name of the game is anticipation.

I'm on a rotation right now at UK in Lexington. It's great up here. The other day they were letting me stick in epidurals. It was awesome. There is a great deal of variety and many ways to do things. By the end of it you must feel like you have a huge bag of tricks. "Whatcha want? Art line, central, caudal block, axillary, interscalene, PIV? You need it, I got it"

By far the best thing about the field for me is that if you decide something needs to be done for the patient, guess what, you do it! No writing order to get nurse to do it an hour later, no consulting other specialties to have a procedure done (at least not much that I've seen), and you know what else??? Patient compliance is at or near 100%!!!! It's f***in' great!

 

[dhb]

sewed blood vessels together for 4 or 5 hours per transplant

Not boring? you've got to be kidding and watching as a med student! please

By far the best thing about the field for me is that if you decide something needs to be done for the patient, guess what, you do it! No writing order to get nurse to do it an hour later, no consulting other specialties to have a procedure done (at least not much that I've seen), and you know what else??? Patient compliance is at or near 100%!!!! It's f***in' great!
Today 10:03 PM

AMEN

 

[Induc(junc)tion]

Its the only rotation I havent yet been bored on!

 

[Laryngospasm]

No patient noncompliance, 12 weeks vacation, and no clinic, and when youre off, guess what, youre freaking off, no calls about whiny patients Call my pager when im off, and youll be in for a long wait

 

[loveumms]

Every single specialty in medicine will get boring when you are in it long enough to actually know and anticipate everything that could go wrong and do something about it before that happens. To be quite honest, I hope that the anesthesiologist looks bored – that means he/she is confident in what they are doing.

 

[jetproppilot]

Good to see that some people have seen the light

This is the most important intuitive comment made on this thread.

Take it from a dude with ten years in the biz, who interacts with neurosurgeons/heart surgeons/orthopedists/GYNs/ENTs/gen surg/ etc etc every day of my professional life.

Every specialty becomes routine after a while.

And after you're over the catecholamine surge (read: first 2-3 years of practice), other things (family, hobbies) become just as important, and you find yourself trying to find a balance.

And that trying to find a balance is much easier to do if you've selected a specialty that suits your needs.

 

[SleepIsGood]

I think the reason the OP felt that Anesthesia is boring is because as a med student you really dont do much in your anesthesia rotation. Sure, you will intubate and maybe push a few drugs,etc but that's it. Imagine for a sec if you were in the room by yourself! If the case becomes difficult and there's a code...you would be the go to person...now that's a catecholamine surge!

Plus, as others have said. EVERY specialty gets routine after a while. I recall when I was a MSIV falling asleep while holding the laparoscopic camera during a procedure.

 

[Sammich81]

Anesthesia can definitely seem boring as a med student...unless you find the cool residents/attendings who will let you into the game. Half the fun is doing stuff--intubations, IVs (sooooo satisfying to get one on a kid!), pushing drugs--but the other half is figuring out what the heck is going through their brain. Why are they turning down the sevo now, but pushing morphine 5 minutes later? How come for the same changes in vitals, this attending gives phenylephrine, but this other one would give calcium? If you like obsessively running through the possible perturbations of physiology--and man do doctors do a good job causing them, both surgeons and anesthesiologists alike--you won't be bored. It seems easy and logical when you watch a seasoned anesthesiologist at work, but if you can find one who'll put you on the spot and ask what you think you should do next, you'll quickly realize--crap I have NO idea what should come next! (Even better, log some time with an attending so they can see that you are learning, and they might let you "run" the case, ie let you make the decisions but stay with you so you don't do anything bad).

I heart anesthesia.

 

[Sammich81]

Oh and the other reason it's not boring...

People are unpredictable. You think it's going to be a thrash to get an airway, and it's fine. All the extra tubes, succ...you don't even touch them. You see one that looks perfect and all of a sudden you're looking at cords shut tighter than a neurosurgeon's butt. Especially with kids...you have no idea how they're going to act until you're actually in hot water.