msting22 said:
hans19 and others All ( Except Jenny and those who answered positively to my post) you had to say was BUMP or check FAQ....I did not ask such a question to get such angry remarks!! from what I understood this fourm was to help Students not put them down...I would appreciate it if next time that you do not respond at all or got your panties in such a bunch!!
I apologize on behalf of others who left angry remarks. When I originally responded to your post, I was laughing (hence the laughing smiley) because I thought... no, pretty much knew you were going to get bashed. And, that's why I suggested that others refrain while you did more research.
The truth is that, although this is the "Student Doctor Network" forums, most of the people that come here are anesthesiology attendings, residents in anesthesia programs, and students who are
interested in anesthesiology and wanting to discuss what
interests them about the field, not what bores them. Likewise, you came here not understanding that the subject you attempted to broach has been discussed in the past, and you phrased your questions in a provocative manner.
If you earnestly want to know the answer to your questions, might I suggest you ask them in a less accusatory and conclusive way next time. You seemed to draw conclusions, based on the way you asked, of a field that you admit you "don't know a great deal about". I've underlined the parts of your posts that seemed aimed only at getting a reaction and, if you care, suggest that you more carefully choose your words next time.
"Hello all, now I don't know a great deal about anest(1) but is seems like it has a high possibility of becoming boring(2) b.c it seems as though all one would do is mix meds(3), put patients to sleep(4), ensure that their vitals are maintained thougth the operation(5)? is that all or is there more that I am missing? In addition I was reading somewhere that anest are looked down up by the surgeons in the OR(6) any truth to this?"
(1) You admit that you don't know a great deal about the field. What have you done, besides posting here, to learn more about it?
(2) This is a common misconception. As CambieMD points out, what's boring to you may not be boring to me (and vice-versa). Personally, I find mind-numbingly boring trying to adjust Mrs. Jones' insulin regimen the 19th time she's been admitted over the past three years for uncontrolled diabetes. Hey, that may float your boat, though, and I'm not going to make a questioning assertion that it's "boring" just because it's not something I want to do.
(3) There is far more to the field than simply "mixing meds". You have to know what those meds you're mixing are for, why exactly you should use (for example) phenylephrine or ephedrine in a particular instance - as well as why you should not, and exactly what meds to "mix" if a patient suddenly goes crappy on you. These are just a few, not to mention a host of other things that can go wrong... or even right, as in just making your patient wake-up nice.
(4) If you think that all anesthesiologists do is put patients to sleep, then you really don't understand the field. What about easing pain during labor? What about monitored care during minor procedures, you know, when the patient's stays awake? Who has the patient contact and is going to be there, at the head of the bed, helping ease the patient's anxiety through the procedure? I'll tell you, it's not the surgeon. What about regional blocks? What about critical care medicine, something at which all anesthesologists have to be
the experts (no one's going to look at the surgeon if the patient starts to crash)?
(5) Ditto #4's answer.
(6) If you really believe that surgeon's look down at the anesthesiologist, you have not spent much time in the OR. Myself, although I've only spent about a total of seven months in the OR so far during my clerkships, I can tell you that I've never seen an instance where the surgeon looks down at the anesthesiologist. Quite the contrary, actually. The surgeon knows that the anesthesiologist is there to make sure that things go smoothly. If an anesthesiologist tells a surgeon, "you're done" and to stop the case, watch what happens if the surgeon doesn't. I saw an anesthesiologist tell a gyn surgeon to "finish up" a case one time because they'd spent too much time in the abdomen and this guy just couldn't resist trying to continue to debulk. He said back to the anesthesiologist, "I just have a little more to go, give me a few more minutes." The anesthesiologist said back to him, "You really need to finish now and start closing the patient." Guess who won that one? I'll give you a hint: it wasn't the guy with his hands in the patient's belly. Now, tell me that surgeons "look down" on the anesthesiologist.
It appears that your prejudice, based on the way you asked those initial questions, lead us to believe that you already had in your mind that anesthesiologists are mindless order takers and automatons who exist only to knock patients out for procedures. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and base this misperception on your current ignorance about the field. If you are really interested in learning more, I suggest that, in addition to reading more posts on this forum before further posting yourself, you read the following links as a good primer:
http://www.asahq.org/career/gradeschool.htm
... and ...
http://www.asahq.org/career/faq.htm
🙂
-Skip
