Ask an Attending Anesthesiologist Anything!

[21Rush12]

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What is considered ECs of significant matter?

+1

 

[DSM_302.0]

I love this thread. Thanks to all contributing.

 

[HomeSkool]

What is considered ECs of significant matter?

+1

He means that noteworthy ECs carry weight. Joined AMSA? Doesn't matter. Served as AMSA national treasurer for a year? Matters very much. Volunteered at the local free clinic? Doesn't matter. Founded a charitable organization doing healthcare outreach to underserved local populations? Matters very much. Played intramural soccer? Doesn't matter. Played soccer for the US national team? Matters very much.

In other words, ECs don't matter nearly as much for residency as they do for med school applications, and residency selection committees are only likely to care about your ECs if you're performing them at a truly noteworthy level. As you go through med school, you need to abandon the premed way of looking at ECs because it just plain doesn't apply. Grades and Step scores will do far more for your residency chances than ECs will, so that's where your focus should be as a med student.

 

[Lawpy]

He means that noteworthy ECs carry weight. Joined AMSA? Doesn't matter. Served as AMSA national treasurer for a year? Matters very much. Volunteered at the local free clinic? Doesn't matter. Founded a charitable organization doing healthcare outreach to underserved local populations? Matters very much. Played intramural soccer? Doesn't matter. Played soccer for the US national team? Matters very much.

In other words, ECs don't matter nearly as much for residency as they do for med school applications, and residency selection committees are only likely to care about your ECs if you're performing them at a truly noteworthy level. As you go through med school, you need to abandon the premed way of looking at ECs because it just plain doesn't apply. Grades and Step scores will do far more for your residency chances than ECs will, so that's where your focus should be as a med student.

What about ECs that are factored into AOA? If these ECs aren’t noteworthy but they helped getting AOA, would it be reasonable to just list AOA and avoid mentioning the ECs?

 

[ekmf27050]

In other words, ECs don't matter nearly as much for residency as they do for med school applications, and residency selection committees are only likely to care about your ECs if you're performing them at a truly noteworthy level. As you go through med school, you need to abandon the premed way of looking at ECs because it just plain doesn't apply. Grades and Step scores will do far more for your residency chances than ECs will, so that's where your focus should be as a med student.

Thank. GOD.
(does that make me a bad person...?)

 

[Medic741]

Thank you for posting this, we really appreciate your time and willingness to help us along the path to being docs.

Have a question about transitionining military > civilian after serving my HPSP contract.

I’m an OMS-1 and in the Army HPSP program. Have a strong interest in EM or Anesthesiology, and had a question about applying to civilian programs after serving in the Army.

If my career goes that I serve 4 years as GMO and then apply to civilian anesthesiology programs, can you give any insight into how I’d be viewed as an applicant, or if by serving GMO would I effectively shoot myself in the foot match-wise?

 

[Poit]

Do you know anyone who wasn't able to get a job after residency? What is the pay/hr of a gig in a desirable area or big city like NYC?

 

[HomeSkool]

What about ECs that are factored into AOA? If these ECs aren’t noteworthy but they helped getting AOA, would it be reasonable to just list AOA and avoid mentioning the ECs?

You could go either way, I think. The AOA status will help far more than the ECs will, but it probably wouldn't hurt to list the ECs anyway. Just don't be expecting them to do much for you.

Thank. GOD.
(does that make me a bad person...?)

My first two kids were born during my time in med school, so I devoted nearly all my free time to my family and had very little in the way of ECs beyond my school's built-in research block. If you're a bad person, so am I.

Thank you for posting this, we really appreciate your time and willingness to help us along the path to being docs.

My pleasure!

Have a question about transitionining military > civilian after serving my HPSP contract.

I’m an OMS-1 and in the Army HPSP program. Have a strong interest in EM or Anesthesiology, and had a question about applying to civilian programs after serving in the Army.

If my career goes that I serve 4 years as GMO and then apply to civilian anesthesiology programs, can you give any insight into how I’d be viewed as an applicant, or if by serving GMO would I effectively shoot myself in the foot match-wise?

I have a couple thoughts here. First don't assume you won't match into EM or anesthesiology in the military. The military is more DO-friendly than the civilian world, and someone's going to match to those spots; why couldn't that be you?

If you fail to match in the military match, you'll be assigned to a transitional year internship, during which you can apply again for a residency spot. And if you don't match by the end of your intern year, you'll start serving as a GMO. During your time as a GMO, you'll be able to continue applying every year, and the military gives your application more and more weight as you accrue time in service.

If you finish your active duty service obligation (ADSO) as a GMO, either from repeated failure to match or personal choice, you can separate and apply to the civilian match. I doubt your time as a GMO would hurt you; on the contrary, LizzyM has said that military service provides a significant boost to med school applications, and I believe residency selection committees view it the same way.

Do you know anyone who wasn't able to get a job after residency? What is the pay/hr of a gig in a desirable area or big city like NYC?

No, I don't. I know a couple who washed out of residency, but everyone I know who graduated either found employment or went into a fellowship.

Rather than giving you salary figures, I'm going to refer you to GasWork.com, a classifieds website advertising jobs in the field of anesthesia. Browse through there a bit and you can get a good idea about the market value of anesthesiologists anywhere in the country.

 

[DBC03]

Thanks again for posting this - it's very helpful!

First, for those of us who are going into medical school in very serious relationships (or, say, married for over 10 years), what recommendations do you, or Mrs. Homeskool, have for both med students and spouses/SOs for both surviving/thriving in medical school AND staying happily married/in a relationship?

This is for all of you - @HomeSkool and @getdown and @IlDestriero - Looking back on ranking residencies vs actually going through residency, what were things that you thought were really important when you were ranking places that ended up being unimportant in the long run? What were aspects of residency that you might not have initially considered important that significantly impacted on your time there? In the end, what do you recommend looking for in a residency program when ranking programs?

Also, I've heard from a few people that the first year of residency was the worst year of medical education. What are your thoughts? What made first year/intern year so bad? What are ways students can prepare for that year? What are the most important character traits to develop throughout medical school that will help make you a good resident and helpful as a team member?

 

[getdown]

Thanks again for posting this - it's very helpful!

First, for those of us who are going into medical school in very serious relationships (or, say, married for over 10 years), what recommendations do you, or Mrs. Homeskool, have for both med students and spouses/SOs for both surviving/thriving in medical school AND staying happily married/in a relationship?

This is for all of you - @HomeSkool and @getdown and @Il Disterio - Looking back on ranking residencies vs actually going through residency, what were things that you thought were really important when you were ranking places that ended up being unimportant in the long run? What were aspects of residency that you might not have initially considered important that significantly impacted on your time there? In the end, what do you recommend looking for in a residency program when ranking programs?

Also, I've heard from a few people that the first year of residency was the worst year of medical education. What are your thoughts? What made first year/intern year so bad? What are ways students can prepare for that year? What are the most important character traits to develop throughout medical school that will help make you a good resident and helpful as a team member?

I was single during medical school but was dating my now wife throughout residency. I think the biggest thing that helps is 1. communication and 2. understanding. My wife's a nurse so she understood the stressors of residency so she would always let me have my time to decompress after I got off work or when I was in a particularly busy rotation. During those times she'd just do her own thing either working out, hanging out with her friends, etc. You basically want someone who has their own interests and can occupy their own time without you. And of course communicating and talking about what's going on in each others lives makes the other person understand as well.

First, I just want to say that people will always have things to complain about at each program. Nothing can be perfect and people can never be satisfied. However, I think what happens a lot of times when looking at different programs is that people start comparing all the different little perks. Ultimately, whether one program gives you an Ipad vs another program allowing moonlighting will be a wash. In my opinion it boils down to 2 things:
1. What's the vibe of the program and does it jive with you? Will you like working with these people since you'll be seeing them everyday for 4 years.
2. Are you going to be happy at that program. This is more "you" specific in terms of what you need to be happy. Some people want to be close to family or their SO. Some want that all important prestige. Others still want to be in a warm place (raises hand). So choose accordingly. It's more important to be happy where you are since your life is going to revolve around work a lot of the time. It's a lot easier to do well when you're happy instead of miserable.

The things I found surprisingly to be kind of important is the parking situation. We had to pay for parking monthly and that's annoying. Also, food allowances turned out to be pretty important since most people in our program always ended up running out a week early.

Intern year was definitely the most challenging since you're finally a "doctor" and have authority and responsibility. Nurses will come asking you for orders or asking you what to do for so and so patient since they have x issue. It can be daunting and scary having that responsibility at first. I remember my first day of intern year a nurse came up asking what to give for the pt with a fever. My mind just froze and I couldn't think (tylenol duh). You also have to navigate or learn to navigate the hospital politics and hierarchies (calling consults, talking to other residents from different services, how things are done there). My biggest tip on this issue is ask the nurses. Be friendly with them, don't act that now you're an MD that suddenly you know more than them. WRONG!! They've been working in that hospital and know the attendings much better than you. If you're nice they can tell you what each attending likes and dislikes and spare yourself problems. They can give you tips and tricks on dealing with certain issues. As an intern you can never go wrong by asking "So, what do other people usually do for this?" Be humble, you're an intern, you don't know anything yet. Maybe once you're further along your training you can be more authoritative but starting off like that just makes you look like a douche.

It's nearly impossible to prepare much for intern year but as a med student try to learn as much as possible. DOn't be that student who's trying to leave as early as possible. Ask to do things, watch how the residents do things. Ask about foleys, putting IVs, putting/pulling central lines. Try to think independently on what the next step is for each process. Other than that you'll just have to learn by fire like everyone else.

 

[Medic2MD4me]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on anesthesia residency with kids at home. Just from perusing programs online and the forum it seems most days are a very early start but you tend to be out at a decent time, ie home for family dinner most nights. Did you find that to be the case? How did you manage during residency? We're you constantly feeling guilty about missing family time, kids school events, games, ect? I work in emergency medicine as a PA now and it's almost entirely second shift so ill go days without seeing my boys except for a few minutes in the morning. Hoping anesthesia is a little more family friendly in that respect.

 

[HomeSkool]

I had a good talk with our residency director today and asked him a bunch of questions about ECs and audition rotations. Here's what he said (and keep in mind that our program is a very competitive top-tier one):

• You don't need any particular EC, but you need something to give a little depth and variety to your life so you don't have a "thin application".
• Grades, Step scores, and LORs are very important in landing you an interview, ECs are less so, and killing the interview is what gets you high on our rank list. One of the most important questions we're asking ourselves is "Do we want to be stuck in an OR for hours on end with this person over and over for the next several years?"
• Audition rotations aren't necessary, and they tend to be either very good for your chances or very bad. We consider applicants as A, B, C, D, or F. Those who don't do an audition rotation can be any of those. Those who do an audition are generally either A+ or F by the end. If you're an all-star, you've shown us that you'd be great to work with and we have a very valuable data point on you that we don't have for non-auditioners. If you suck, well, that's a very valuable data point for us, too.

Thanks again for posting this - it's very helpful!

You're welcome! Thanks for participating!

First, for those of us who are going into medical school in very serious relationships (or, say, married for over 10 years), what recommendations do you, or Mrs. Homeskool, have for both med students and spouses/SOs for both surviving/thriving in medical school AND staying happily married/in a relationship?

@getdown's answer is excellent, and I agree with everything he said. I'll add a few additional thoughts.

Mrs. HomeSkool's advice for spouses:

• Have NO expectations regarding your spouse's ability to participate in things or help out around the house. Don't expect them to be where they say they'll be when they say they'll be there (i.e., if they say "Sure, I'll be done in time to make our dinner date with the Johnsons on Friday evening," don't expect that to actually happen). If you have expectations, you'll spend all your time being angry with your spouse, and s/he'll be miserable from being put in an impossible situation.
• Develop your own network of friends with whom you can relate or spend time. Start a book club. Arrange playdates for your kids. Make sure your social world doesn't begin and end with your absentee spouse.
• Give your spouse space to decompress when s/he needs it.
• Have an awesome Netflix queue.

HomeSkool's advice for students:

• Choose a partner who has enough emotional maturity and self-definition that they don't rely on you to provide their identity. You're going to have enough on your plate just keeping your own crap together.
• When you have time to devote to your spouse and family, put all other worries aside and be mentally present and engaged.
• Even with a spouse who has no expectations for you, realize that you'll often need to suck it up and contribute even when you don't want to. That includes having a date night and continuing to build your relationship.

And both of you need to understand that your time is no longer your own and there will be sacrifices.

This is for all of you - @HomeSkool and @getdown and @IlDestriero - Looking back on ranking residencies vs actually going through residency, what were things that you thought were really important when you were ranking places that ended up being unimportant in the long run? What were aspects of residency that you might not have initially considered important that significantly impacted on your time there? In the end, what do you recommend looking for in a residency program when ranking programs?

Piggybacking off of @getdown's answer, look for programs that don't seem to lose residents very often. If they're losing one or two residents each year, then a) there's something bad in the water there, and b) it's going to suck when you're down a couple people and the rest of you have to make up for the gaps in rotation and call coverage.

Also, I've heard from a few people that the first year of residency was the worst year of medical education. What are your thoughts? What made first year/intern year so bad? What are ways students can prepare for that year? What are the most important character traits to develop throughout medical school that will help make you a good resident and helpful as a team member?

Intern year sucks for all the reasons @getdown said. You feel like a know-nothing fool even if people aren't mistreating you because you're the least knowledgeable member of the team and everyone else is just so dang smart. If you're an asshat intern, the nurses will end you. Anesthesiologists are perhaps the most passive-aggressive physicians in the world, and we can't even compete with a nursing unit in that regard. However, the nurses can also save your bacon if you befriend them. I established with the nurses very early that I saw myself as a junior team member who could learn from their experience, and they taught me things and fed me info so I'd look like an all-star on rounds. When they'd call me with a problem, I'd usually respond with, "Got any thoughts about how you want to handle this?" Experienced nurses usually had a great idea of what to do, and it was almost always what I wanted to do anyway, so everybody won: the nurses felt respected, I made friends, and the patient got the right intervention. So again: befriend the nurses. They are very valuable team members who can make or break your intern year!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on anesthesia residency with kids at home. Just from perusing programs online and the forum it seems most days are a very early start but you tend to be out at a decent time, ie home for family dinner most nights. Did you find that to be the case? How did you manage during residency? We're you constantly feeling guilty about missing family time, kids school events, games, ect? I work in emergency medicine as a PA now and it's almost entirely second shift so ill go days without seeing my boys except for a few minutes in the morning. Hoping anesthesia is a little more family friendly in that respect.

No residency is truly "family friendly", but many anesthesiology residencies are less "family malignant" than other specialties. Whether I was home for dinner or not depended on which rotation I was on and how badly the hospital was getting beaten down. Sometimes I was home six days in a week, other times I'd go for several days without seeing the kids. What made it more tolerable is that I always knew there was an end to the residency beatdown. As an attending, I'm home for dinner most nights and I can almost always arrange my schedule to make the games, plays, birthday parties, etc.

 

[deleted887473]

How much coffee do you consume on a daily basis?

 

[HomeSkool]

How much coffee do you consume on a daily basis?

Well, I'm a Mormon, so none. But @getdown and @IlDestriero may be coffee drinkers.

 

[deleted887473]

Well, I'm a Mormon, so none. But @getdown and @IlDestriero may be coffee drinkers.

Ah sorry about my assumption. I personally do not have any Mormon aquintances and did not know about such practice till now. Hope that didn’t come off the wrong way.

 

[HomeSkool]

Ah sorry about my assumption. I personally do not have any Mormon aquintances and did not know about such practice till now. Hope that didn’t come off the wrong way.

Not at all, I thought nothing of it. 🙂

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile

 

[Robin-jay]

If you weren't an anesthesiologist, or a physician in general, what would your next most desirable career be?

 

[deleted887473]

Not at all, I thought nothing of it. 🙂

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile

I figured I needn't worry about such with someone like you who's got such rich life experiences. 🙂
Thank you for everything you do here!

 

[HomeSkool]

If you weren't an anesthesiologist, or a physician in general, what would your next most desirable career be?

Actually, I had a pretty successful career prior to med school in which I divided my time between a couple different occupations. I'd probably have just continued those things, and I actually haven't completely ruled out returning to them. These are a couple photos of me during my premed years, edited slightly to preserve my privacy:

(Someone once told me after a basketball game that I had "put on a clinic", so I listed my work in that field as clinical volunteering on AMCAS. My musical pursuits were nonclinical employment.)

If those things didn't work out, I'd probably use my MBA to work in corporate management (not necessarily within the healthcare industry).

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Actually, I had a pretty successful career prior to med school in which I divided my time between a couple different occupations. I'd probably have just continued those things, and I actually haven't completely ruled out returning to them. These are a couple photos of me during my premed years, edited slightly to preserve my privacy:
View attachment 231140
View attachment 231141
(Someone once told me after a basketball game that I had "put on a clinic", so I listed my work in that field as clinical volunteering on AMCAS. My musical pursuits were nonclinical employment.)

If those things didn't work out, I'd probably use my MBA to work in corporate management (not necessarily within the healthcare industry).

LOVE the new profile pic.

 

[Vladimir7]

@HomeSkool @Matthew9Thirtyfive

Amen y'all! We boutta make this a Christian thread haha.

On a serious note: I'm applying this summer, and while I feel like my faith plays a huge part of who I am and why I want to pursue medicine, I'm a bit wary of including it in my PS and/or discussing it in Interviews. What would you guys recommend?

@HomeSkool

1) One of the things that worries me about Anesthesiology is that you'd get sued a lot. Is this true or just hearsay?
2) Are you really getting little-to-no patient interaction? Another huge attractor to medicine for me is spending time with patients discussing treatments, lifestyles, and whatever else may be necessary to them getting better.
3) What are some cons/things you don't like and wish were different about Anesthesiology?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Amen y'all! We boutta make this a Christian thread haha.

On a serious note: I'm applying this summer, and while I feel like my faith plays a huge part of who I am and why I want to pursue medicine, I'm a bit wary of including it in my PS and/or discussing it in Interviews. What would you guys recommend?

Damn straight lol.

I haven't gotten any negative responses about including my faith in anything. I have a lot of ECs that are based on my faith, and I mentioned my faith in both my EMDP2 interviews and got positive responses.

 

[ekmf27050]

Someone once told me after a basketball game that I had "put on a clinic", so I listed my work in that field as clinical volunteering on AMCAS

DEAD @ this one
"Broke ankles and then sedated for the reduction"

 

[getdown]

How much coffee do you consume on a daily basis?

I didn't drink during med school, started drinking coffee during residency and now as an attending I only drink when I'm on call. Personally, stuff never really worked for me but I do it cause I believe in the placebo effect.

 

[Vladimir7]

I didn't drink during med school, started drinking coffee during residency and now as an attending I only drink when I'm on call. Personally, stuff never really worked for me but I do it cause I believe in the placebo effect.

Same. If anything I get adverse effects from drinking coffee. My stress level increases, I find it harder to concentrate (but more energetic), my eyes started twitching a week ago, but that could be due to reading/studying all day for MCAT. What alternatives do you use then, if any, to wake you up in the morning and get you going?

 

[getdown]

Same. If anything I get adverse effects from drinking coffee. My stress level increases, I find it harder to concentrate (but more energetic), my eyes started twitching a week ago, but that could be due to reading/studying all day for MCAT. What alternatives do you use then, if any, to wake you up in the morning and get you going?

I don't really do anything special in the morning. As much of a cliche it's true that if you love what you do, you'll never have to work a day in your life. I love Anesthesia and thankfully at the VA I do a lot of different things (staff the ORs, staff the preop clinic, I do blocks, consults) so it's not always routine. As long as I'm doing something I can keep going and not feel tired. So, find the specialty you really love and it won't feel like working.

 

[ekmf27050]

..... I don't know if I can trust people who don't require coffee to transform into functional members of society... suspicious...

 

[dj-Roomba]

Same. If anything I get adverse effects from drinking coffee. My stress level increases, I find it harder to concentrate (but more energetic), my eyes started twitching a week ago, but that could be due to reading/studying all day for MCAT. What alternatives do you use then, if any, to wake you up in the morning and get you going?

Exercise

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

..... I don't know if I can trust people who don't require coffee to transform into functional members of society... suspicious...

Coffee puts me to sleep. I also don’t like the taste.

 

[ekmf27050]

Coffee puts me to sleep. I also don’t like the taste.

~~end thread derail~~

 

[DubbiDoctor]

What are your hobbies; what do you do for fun outside medicine?

To what extent do you keep up with the latest anesthesia research? Would that be different if you were in private practice? Has the field changed enough where your residency wouldn't fully prepare you for the job you're doing now?

 

[HomeSkool]

DEAD @ this one
"Broke ankles and then sedated for the reduction"

OH. EM. GEE. Where have you been all my life?!

On a serious note: I'm applying this summer, and while I feel like my faith plays a huge part of who I am and why I want to pursue medicine, I'm a bit wary of including it in my PS and/or discussing it in Interviews. What would you guys recommend?

2 Timothy 1:7-8. It's part of who you are, it's a powerful and uplifting motivator, and you've got nothing to be ashamed of by discussing it. The very first question I got at every single interview was related to my two-year Mormon mission. People were interested, they were excited to hear about it, and it never led to any awkwardness. My general rule when I speak with others about the noble causes that motivate them, religious or otherwise, is dedicated/devout = good, zealot = not good.

1) One of the things that worries me about Anesthesiology is that you'd get sued a lot. Is this true or just hearsay?
2) Are you really getting little-to-no patient interaction? Another huge attractor to medicine for me is spending time with patients discussing treatments, lifestyles, and whatever else may be necessary to them getting better.
3) What are some cons/things you don't like and wish were different about Anesthesiology?

1. I just got done telling Mrs. HomeSkool how glad I am you asked that question, because I didn't know the answer and I was very pleased when I looked it up. It turns out NEJM published a study about this back in 2011, which I've attached to this post. But here are the pertinent images:

So it looks like we're sued just slightly less than the all-physician average and have a judgment against us just slightly more than the average, and have a median and mean payout per plaintiff that are just less and just more than average, respectively. Cool!
2) You've been deceived! I don't run a clinic (except for the preanesthesia clinic every once in a while), but I meet and speak with every patient I take to the OR. I complete their preoperative assessment, discuss my anesthetic plan for them, answer their questions, reassure them, obtain consent, talk them through the anxiety-provoking trip to the OR and induction of anesthesia, and follow up with them upon emergence and in the PACU. True, I don't get as much patient interaction as, say, an FP who spends the large majority of his/her time in an outpatient clinic, but I still get to interact with my patients. I've even done cases in which I performed a nerve block and gave no sedation, and spent the next two hours chatting with the patient about anything and everything.
3) Well, the perpetual rotating drug shortages have been really obnoxious, and it can be challenging to work in an environment with so many moving parts and different care teams coming together for a single patient's care. The thing that really gets my dander up, though, is when I have two surgeons from different services who can't agree whose case is more urgent and who then try to get me to take sides. I generally solve that by saying, "You're big boys/girls. Figure it out and come to me together with your plan." And the #1 thing that annoys me is when I have surgeons or CRNAs who argue that I'm superfluous and unnecessary. There are really just a few who do that, though.

What are your hobbies; what do you do for fun outside medicine?

I play a couple instruments, read (mostly historical fiction and nonfiction as well as fantasy and sci-fi) (of course I'm a nerd; surely that doesn't come as a surprise), play video games, work in my yard, exercise, amateur astronomize, and spend time with Mrs. HomeSkool and our little HomeSkoolinos. I save SDN for when I'm supposed to be looking after my patients.

To what extent do you keep up with the latest anesthesia research? Would that be different if you were in private practice? Has the field changed enough where your residency wouldn't fully prepare you for the job you're doing now?

I'm part of an academic department, so I go to a Grand Rounds lecture each week, and I keep up with the quarterly CME and testing requirements to maintain my board certification. I also peruse Anesthesiology each month and read the papers that seem most applicable to my practice. The only real change if I were in private practice is that I wouldn't have the Grand Rounds lecture each week. The field has changed and grown, but not to the point that I would be dangerous or seriously behind the times if I didn't keep up well (keep in mind, I've only been out of residency for five years). One of the bigger changes in the last couple decades is the advent of ultrasound to guide perineural blocks. A lot of our older anesthesiologists struggle with that, while we children of the 80s grew up with controllers in our hands and pick up that skill set pretty quickly.

 

[Robin-jay]

Actually, I had a pretty successful career prior to med school in which I divided my time between a couple different occupations. I'd probably have just continued those things, and I actually haven't completely ruled out returning to them. These are a couple photos of me during my premed years, edited slightly to preserve my privacy:
(Someone once told me after a basketball game that I had "put on a clinic", so I listed my work in that field as clinical volunteering on AMCAS. My musical pursuits were nonclinical employment.)

If those things didn't work out, I'd probably use my MBA to work in corporate management (not necessarily within the healthcare industry).

I knew I remembered seeing you at the at basketball game, and then the concert right after the game. It all makes sense now.

I was thinking of pursuing this career. Pros/cons?

I'd be interested in corporate management, that sounds interesting. Do you find it less interesting than healthcare? Less stressful?

 

[holdthemayo]

I knew I remembered seeing you at the at basketball game, and then the concert right after the game. It all makes sense now.

I was thinking of pursuing this career. Pros/cons?

I'd be interested in corporate management, that sounds interesting. Do you find it less interesting than healthcare? Less stressful?

Pros: All the monks you can eat

Cons: Coldblooded

 

[neusu]

Pretty much what the title of the thread says. I reserve the right to ridicule anyone who posts obnoxious, unfunny jokes.

What is the best, funny anesthesia joke you have heard?

 

[FlavivirusProtease]

What is the best, funny anesthesia joke you have heard?

Asking the person you're about to put under "Does this smell like Chloroform to you?"

Edit: I guess this only works with inhaled general anesthetics

 

[buckoh24]

Is a research year something that a lot of people in your field end up doing or is it not really common? I heard that research done after undergrad is considered for residency applications but I do research in an unrelated field.

Also how often do you end up getting called in at inconvenient times?

 

[getdown]

What is the best, funny anesthesia joke you have heard?

The funniest thing I've heard (not a joke) was an anesthesiologist who let go a silent and deadly fart during a bowel case that happened to be so deadly that the surgeon thought they nicked a bowel and spent a good 15-20 minutes running it before the person fessed up. Hilarious.

 

[getdown]

Is a research year something that a lot of people in your field end up doing or is it not really common? I heard that research done after undergrad is considered for residency applications but I do research in an unrelated field.

Also how often do you end up getting called in at inconvenient times?

Research generally is not needed to match into Anesthesia. It wouldn't hurt to do some research in medical school in case you decide to pursue a research heavy/competitive field. I did research in plastics as an M1 and ended up in Anesthesia so any research is nice to have.

For me, any time you call when I'm sleeping is an inconvenient time but since I take home call that usually means it's an emergency/urgent case that has to go in the middle of the night or on a weekend. But that's part of our profession and you just deal with it. Plus you don't take call that often unless you're in a very busy and small practice.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

The funniest thing I've heard (not a joke) was an anesthesiologist who let go a silent and deadly fart during a bowel case that happened to be so deadly that the surgeon thought they nicked a bowel and spent a good 15-20 minutes running it before the person fessed up. Hilarious.

Maybe that was the inspiration for that Scrubs episode where the Todd does basically the same thing.

 

[HomeSkool]

I was thinking of pursuing this career. Pros/cons?

I dunno. Do you really think you can fit a guy's whole head in your mouth?

I'd be interested in corporate management, that sounds interesting. Do you find it less interesting than healthcare? Less stressful?

I can't really comment much on that since I haven't been in corporate management yet. I just graduated with my MBA a few months ago, and I'd already been an attending for more than a year when I started working toward it.

What is the best, funny anesthesia joke you have heard?

One of my favorite jokes is one I play on some of my young (like, early 20s) male patients. I'll introduce myself and say, "So I understand we're removing that left testicle today." Most of them say, "Wait, what?!" before realizing I was messing with them (and then they start laughing). Best response I ever got was a guy who didn't even miss a beat, just stayed totally deadpan, nodded toward his wife, and said, "You're too late, she's already got both of 'em in her purse."

Is a research year something that a lot of people in your field end up doing or is it not really common? I heard that research done after undergrad is considered for residency applications but I do research in an unrelated field.

Scroll up and read post #100!

Also how often do you end up getting called in at inconvenient times?

Never ever. I'm at a level 1 trauma center that utilizes a night float system for attending anesthesiologists. When I'm on night float, I switch my body clock to be nocturnal, which means I'm in-house and awake whenever a case gets posted.

 

[Robin-jay]

I dunno. Do you really think you can fit a guy's whole head in your mouth?

I haven't decided which to apply for, alligator vs. crocodile.

I heard matching was easier for alligators.

I can't really comment much on that since I haven't been in corporate management yet. I just graduated with my MBA a few months ago, and I'd already been an attending for more than a year when I started working toward it.

Was the MBA expensive/time consuming?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I haven't decided which to apply for, alligator vs. crocodile.

I heard matching was easier for alligators.





Was the MBA expensive/time consuming?

There was a huge surge in Crocodile numbers in 2009, so it should be dying down about now. Now’s the time to match and ride the wave.

 

[HomeSkool]

I haven't decided which to apply for, alligator vs. crocodile.

I heard matching was easier for alligators.

That's true for the most part. While crocodiles and alligators are both underrepresented in medicine, virtually all crocodiles originate outside the US and are therefore FMGs. On the other hand, the US has a large native alligator population, and Alligator-Americans will naturally have an easier time getting into US residency programs than those who originate outside the country.

Was the MBA expensive/time consuming?

It wasn't expensive for me because I used my Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to fund it. Most MBAs that I looked into cost between $50K and $100K for the whole program. And yes, it was time-consuming. Even though I studied in a program built for working professionals, the coursework wasn't watered down. There were a lot of times my life consisted of work-school-sleep-repeat all week with a brief respite for part of the weekend.

 

[Allnew]

What advice would you give to a freshman in college who wants to be an anesthesiologist? What undergraduate major would you recommend? Anything you would do differently and why?

 

[DubbiDoctor]

What undergraduate major would you recommend? /QUOTE]

The one that will get you the highest GPA.

 

[HomeSkool]

What advice would you give to a freshman in college who wants to be an anesthesiologist?

Work hard and keep your eye on the prize. Stay honest and don't do anything stupid that's going to end your future before it begins. There's no one else as hot as Mrs. HomeSkool, but you can certainly try for second place. Remember that it's OK to change your mind about specialty or even going into medicine if you find something that interests you more. Be responsible with your money. And follow Tucker's advice:

What undergraduate major would you recommend?

Whatever major

1. Interests you
2. Is employable with a bachelor's degree
3. Will be conducive to a high GPA

Anything you would do differently and why?

I'd try to spend less time along the way stressing about things out of my control. It takes away focus from fixing the things I actually can fix.

 

[Goro]

Work hard and keep your eye on the prize. Stay honest and don't do anything stupid that's going to end your future before it begins. There's no one else as hot as Mrs. HomeSkool, but you can certainly try for second place. Remember that it's OK to change your mind about specialty or even going into medicine if you find something that interests you more. Be responsible with your money. And follow Tucker's advice:

Whatever major

1. Interests you
2. Is employable with a bachelor's degree
3. Will be conducive to a high GPA

I'd try to spend less time along the way stressing about things out of my control. It takes away focus from fixing the things I actually can fix.

*ahem*...Mrs Dr Goro is quite the hottie herself.

 

[DubbiDoctor]

*ahem*...Mrs Dr Goro is quite the hottie herself.

*When your wife reads your SDN post history*

 

[IlDestriero]

As long as we’re measuring, Dr. Destriero’s wife actually was a model and is the shiniest trophy in the case.


--
Il Destriero