- Joined
- Apr 28, 2017
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 7
I'm a domestically educated and trained board-certified anesthesiologist who recently relocated to Southern California, far away from my the professional network I had developed over the last ~20 years. I've had no problem finding plenty of work, but I'm surprised by the poor candidates I seem to be competing with--lazy, dangerous, out-of-date, just generally "out to pasture."
On occasion I've worked in facilities where the plastic surgeon in an adjoining OR arrives with his (or her) own anesthetist (and it's almost always a CRNA, though there is one guy who works with a physician anesthesiologist). I would grant that most of these surgeon's anesthetists are slightly above average (they speak fluent English, they appear professional), but listening to their interactions with patients and PACU nurses, I can't help but wonder why these great anesthesia jobs (seriously, what can be a better anesthesiologist's gig than working with talented surgeons among healthy patients in spa-like settings, without call??) don't seem to be staffed by great anesthesiologists.
Now, in my own case, I've put myself behind the 8-ball by relocating late in my career, and into a city flush with anesthesia training programs. I certainly understand that. And, as I made reference to in the title, I don't hang out at country clubs, golf courses, race tracks, or private hangars, so I'm unlikely to get a lot of "face time" with plastic surgeons looking to trade up.
But, in an efficient marketplace, an Ivy league anesthesiologist with excellent personal skills, who stays abreast of the state of the art, who can provide his own ultrasound (for no-charge TAP blocks), propofol pump (for TIVAs*, which drop the rate of PONV to almost zero), and will agree to work for 75% of the going rate would be fielding offers left, right, and center...not taking to an Internet forum to wonder why the best gigs for his skills seem to be in the cataract room.
So, question one remains: How would a competent, but new-to-town, anesthesiologist crack into the upper tier of outpatient surgery?
Question two: Are you are a plastic surgeon in Orange County in need of a top-tier anesthesiologist whose skills won't break your patient's bank? If so, send me a direct message.
*I know that TIVAs are generally more expensive to the facility than sevoflurane. That is why I can, if needed, provide my own propofol. You may either pass the savings on to your patient, or pocket the savings yourself.
On occasion I've worked in facilities where the plastic surgeon in an adjoining OR arrives with his (or her) own anesthetist (and it's almost always a CRNA, though there is one guy who works with a physician anesthesiologist). I would grant that most of these surgeon's anesthetists are slightly above average (they speak fluent English, they appear professional), but listening to their interactions with patients and PACU nurses, I can't help but wonder why these great anesthesia jobs (seriously, what can be a better anesthesiologist's gig than working with talented surgeons among healthy patients in spa-like settings, without call??) don't seem to be staffed by great anesthesiologists.
Now, in my own case, I've put myself behind the 8-ball by relocating late in my career, and into a city flush with anesthesia training programs. I certainly understand that. And, as I made reference to in the title, I don't hang out at country clubs, golf courses, race tracks, or private hangars, so I'm unlikely to get a lot of "face time" with plastic surgeons looking to trade up.
But, in an efficient marketplace, an Ivy league anesthesiologist with excellent personal skills, who stays abreast of the state of the art, who can provide his own ultrasound (for no-charge TAP blocks), propofol pump (for TIVAs*, which drop the rate of PONV to almost zero), and will agree to work for 75% of the going rate would be fielding offers left, right, and center...not taking to an Internet forum to wonder why the best gigs for his skills seem to be in the cataract room.
So, question one remains: How would a competent, but new-to-town, anesthesiologist crack into the upper tier of outpatient surgery?
Question two: Are you are a plastic surgeon in Orange County in need of a top-tier anesthesiologist whose skills won't break your patient's bank? If so, send me a direct message.
*I know that TIVAs are generally more expensive to the facility than sevoflurane. That is why I can, if needed, provide my own propofol. You may either pass the savings on to your patient, or pocket the savings yourself.
