How competitive is anesthesia?

[mahnster13]

Just wondering how difficult it is to get into an anesthesia residency these days and what the job outlook for anesthesiologists is. Don't care about salary, I have been interested in the field since middle school, I just want to know if I will be able to find a job were I to finish an anesthesia residency.

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[treasurefull2]

Middle school, huh? Did you sleep through your classes?

I think there are about 50 million threads about anesthesia competitiveness... do a quick search with your exact thread title...

 

[mahnster13]

haha i just realized that after i posted this

and no, actually my best friend's father in middle school was an anesthesiologist a couple years out of residency. when i told him i had been interested in becoming a doctor since 2nd grade (despite not knowing the kind of education and training required to become one) he let me shadow him for a day. i think i would be quite happy doing that for the rest of my life.

of course, right now i am awaiting undergraduate college acceptance letters, but i don't think people should be so quick to shoot someone down who has a very serious and sincere interest in the medical field. i have done my research, i know what i am going to have to sacrifice to get into medical school, i know the classes i am going to have to take, the volunteer experience i am going to need. i know the training requirements for all of the medical fields i am interested in (which is quite a few of them), i know what each field does, and i know the issues facing each.

i have wanted to be a doctor since i was in second grade because i got to watch a few surgery videos that got me fascinated with the field. i have spent a lot of time in the hospital, having a seizure when i was 1, having stitches when i was 2, visiting my mom through 2 childbirths and the removal of her gull bladder, and i admire both the people that are working there and the work that is being done there. my mom has diabetes, several of my family members and my friends' family members have lost battles to cancer, i had a friend in 6th grade who was battling with cancer and i moved before i got to find out if she survived or not, and i have too many friends with various psychological problems and addictions to drugs and alcohol. i see the people close to me suffering, and i see the infinite number of medical conditions of the people around me, and i want to DO something about it. if i become an engineer, an architect, or a biologist i will not be able to help this at all. i want to physically be able to help these people, and i want to be able to see the effects i have on the people i help.

i realize that your intention was not to insinuate that i was just some ignorant high school student who is only interested in medicine because doctors make $$$. but it seems that a lot of the people i ask for advice from seem to assume just that. don't assume that just because i ask a question like the one i asked in my first post that i don't know what i am getting into, i only ask because i obviously am not at the point where i have applied yet or even can apply, so obviously i don't know the answer to my own question in this case. and if i was only interested in money i would want to go to school for ANOTHER eight years, then submit myself to at least another four years of internship and residency. if all i truly wanted to do was make money, i would follow my girlfriend's suit and go into business. or i would go into law.

wow this was a long post, sorry everyone! just had to get that out though.

 

[ChcltSltyBlls]

hey man, don't listen to that person who wouldn't send you a nice reply. good for you for wanting to go to med school. although it is true that there are about 50 million threads about how competitive anesthesiology is, you don't deserve to get treated like that. so yeah, good luck with everything and if you need advice send me a message. however, the most important thing to remember is study hard, get amazing grades, and start some volunteering and research as soon as you start undergrad. it's amazingly competitive just to get into med school. so worry about that first.

 

[treasurefull2]

I was just pulling your chain bud...I'm sure you know what you're doing and you sound like a bright guy/gal...

Oh yeah, and research is WAY more important than volunteering for getting into med school. Although, a whole lot less fun...

 

[tabula0rasa]

By the way, you have to realize that by the time you apply for residency, the competitiveness of the different fields will change considerably. If anesthesia is going down the drain like many people on this forum thinks it is, then you'll have no problem getting into anesthesia.

 

[mahnster13]

it's fine lol
and yeah i didn't take into account that i have eight years until i would even APPLY for residency, so yeah things would be quite different by then

is research really more important?
i had actually heard the opposite on all the premed sites. that's weird. why do you think that is?

 

[ChcltSltyBlls]

while i think both are important, i think just about everyone does some volunteering. that being said, research is more likely to set you apart. especially if you can publish during undergrad. that publication will help get you into med school, help you get into residency, and beyond. so i would definitely agree that research is way more important. but you should volunteer too!

 

[lfesiam]

while i think both are important, i think just about everyone does some volunteering. that being said, research is more likely to set you apart. especially if you can publish during undergrad. that publication will help get you into med school, help you get into residency, and beyond. so i would definitely agree that research is way more important. but you should volunteer too!

I agree with Chef here. Listen to him, children.

 

[mahnster13]

so if i do get into the University of Washington and major in Physiology, getting research experience shouldn't be too hard should it?
sorry, i'm not trying to turn this into a premed discussion lol

 

[RussianJoo]

since you're only going to be starting undergrad i would have to say that 7 years from now when you'll be applying for residency, a lot of things will change in terms of competitiveness of not only anesthesia but all medical specialties. After Obama puts in his new health care plan everything might be turned around. also from what i heard anesthesia goes through cycles of about 10-15 years where it's super competitive and then becomes supper easy to get into. I think in the early to mid 90's something like 40% of anesthesia residencies went unfilled. Now it's more competitive than ever to get into anesthesia but still very doable. in 7 or 8 years when you're ready to apply it might not be competitive anymore, unlike you a lot of people choose their specialty based on life style and money. so depending on what obama does a lot of people might not go into anesthesia if they can't secure that $300K/year job like they can now, or maybe less anesthesiologists will be hired because the evil CRNAs will get more freedom to practice on their own because Obama is going to try to cut medical cost and the only way to do that effectively will be to hire more cheaper labor i.e. nurses. Also the job market might get over saturated with the high growth of CRNA schools and private practice partners might higher more CRNAs than MDs so that they can make more money for themselves.

bottom line is you have many many years ahead of you and things will definitely change, hopefully for the better but from all the obama threads on here it doesn't look like it.

good luck study hard, and focus on baby steps, that's all you can do right now.

 

[lfesiam]

so if i do get into the University of Washington and major in Physiology, getting research experience shouldn't be too hard should it?
sorry, i'm not trying to turn this into a premed discussion lol

Hi Pre-Med OP! Concentrate in getting into medschool, bud. You will have plenty of time. Heck, you may ended up deciding that Anesthesia is not for you. Medicine is a wide field. 100+ specialties!!!! All with different personalities and flavors! Exciting huh?!?!

Well, research experience is quite easy to get but getting publications is a bit harder. General advice:

0a. ALTRUISM. check your ego if you got it as the primary characteristic. if you do, you'll be able to blossom and enjoy a career in medicine.

0b. RESEARCH and VOLUNTEER only if you are sincerely interested. Otherwise, you will be bored and unproductive...seen a bunch of people who got burnt that way.

1. Start early! Perhaps you can work part-time during the school year and full time during the summer as a research assistant.

2. Apply for grants (will work on a list for you) ---> there are plenty of student research grants out there.

3. If your university has a medical school, start by looking into the medical school's research laboratories (in pathology, neurology-hot field, cardiology, oncology-another hot field, etc...) Why? Some of these faculty may be on the medical school's admission committee (RESEARCH THEIR NAME and see who is on the committee, get into his or her lab) You could also get a list of possible PIs from the department's website (MD, PhD, who are the principle investigators) and SEARCH THEIR NAMES IN PUBMED. You want a PI who frequently publishes (2+ papers per year).

4. When approaching your PI for the job, tell him or her upfront, "I want to get into medical school and I need publications before I apply. Is it possible for my work to be publish in time."

5. Was an art major for a while and still got plenty of research publications. I would suggest that you major in something unique. I think >70% premeds majored in a science field...how do u stand out from the crowd? Major in music, English, Theater, etc... While maintaining As in your premed courses.. Dude, you only get 4 years to study something beside medicine, I highly suggest the non-science route. Business major can be useful later on in your career.

6. ROCK THE MCAT AND MAINTAIN A KICK ASS GPA.

7. Volunteering is easy but...how do you stand out? Try organizing a trip to a 3rd world country and volunteer there. AIDS awareness clinic in Africa - hand out free condoms etc... Will take a lot of work but I know a few of my friends who did it successfully! Quite a life-changing perspective...3rd world medicine will make you humble and appreciate what we have here.

One step at a time! Gluck man!!!!

 

[DO4lifer]

very good work. you have a lot of focus and interest as a student who has yet to start college. the biggest piece of advice is baby steps. work hard on each achievement, but be sure to enjoy it. life flies by incredibly fast...and so do some great times.

 

[lfesiam]

very good work. you have a lot of focus and interest as a student who has yet to start college. the biggest piece of advice is baby steps. work hard on each achievement, but be sure to enjoy it. life flies by incredibly fast...and so do some great times.

AMEN brotha! Don't forget to enjoy your non-academic times in college!

 

[guitarguy09]

AMEN brotha! Don't forget to enjoy your non-academic times in college!

Don't take it for granted. Best time of your life...