General Questions from a First Year

[Don8455]

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Hey everyone, just have a few questions on the specialty. I am a first year med student who is very intrigued with the field of anesthesiology.

1. From what people tell me the interest in anesthesiology has been on the rise the past few years. If I choose to go into the field I won't be out of residency for another 7 years or so. Do you think the demand will still be as high then?

2. What are the legal implications of choosing the field? Are there a lot of lawsuits in an anesthesiologists career, regradless of how he or she performs? Does there seem to be a "blame the anesthesiologist" frame of mind when someone is lost on the table?

3. I've also heard of the reasonable hours an anesthesiologist has. Do they tend to have more of an outside life than some of their counterparts in other fields?

4. Do you think its smart to choose to go into anesthesiology at this time?

I won't bother with any CRNA questions, as it seems everyone asks them. Thank you very much for your time. Any answers whatsoever will be greatly appreciated.

Don

 

[prominence]

Originally posted by Don8455
Do you think its smart to choose to go into anesthesiology at this time?

no offense, but this is the dumbest question i have ever seen someone post in an ANESTHESIOLOGY forum.

 

[Don8455]

Sorry, scratch question 4 I guess. I just cut and pasted this from a previous email. Or change the wording to "Why is it smart to go into anesthesiology". Thanks for taking the time to be negative though.

 

[apma77]

ya i second the notion.this question is pretty stupid

 

[wundabread]

Wow, those are pretty worthless replies, too.

I'm not a resident, but just so somebody answers something without calling you a *******, here goes:

1. Demand - Who knows. More procedures are less invasive these days, but then technology is allowing sicker and sicker people to go under the knife. Coupled with the baby boomer glut and there should be plenty of work for about the next 20 years. But no speculation about the future of medicine has ever been much better than a wild guess.

2. Lawsuits - Yeah, anesthesiologists get sued a lot. Well, more than some less than others. Be good at it and you will get sued less. Don't let this be a deciding factor about what you do for the rest of your life. If you like the work I would guess it will be a minor irritation. If you don't like the work, I can see how it could be really frustrating.

3. Lifestyle - It's above average, but some people like to work more. It seems that having control over how many hours you work is pretty good, most people work a lot only if they want to.

4. Smart Choice? - I think it all depends on if you want to do it for the rest of your life. Every field has pros and cons, it just depends on you like best. Check out a bunch of stuff and choose honestly. Don't pick to impress others or only for lifestyle; even a short week seems long when you hate your job. Conversely, time flies when you're having fun.

Nobody knows how stable any field in medicine is, so no matter what anybody tells you go with your heart and hold on. Every field is moving quickly and changing rapidly, both internally with innovations and externally with the health care system. Don't bother trying to predict too much, you will only disappoint yourself.

Take all this with a grain of salt; I'm just a 3rd year student. However, much of this comes from advice I was given by people I respect and who love their jobs.

Hope that helps.

 

[Don8455]

Thanks Wundabread. I will definately take your advice to heart. I stumbled on this site and thought it would be really useful. And in some cases it is. However, as with any forum, it is filled with the opinions of many that tend to be pretty erratic. That, in combination with the occasional smart a** reply (see above), is enough to make this first year run away and never come back (from the site, not the field of anes.).

Thanks to all who contribute positively, and genuinely would like to help those who post.