Is there more to it than just sitting around?

[drboris]

Sorry the first post didn't work.

So, I have shadowed several anesthesiologists and I have noticed that in each case there is always at least an hour or two where they just sit around and are there just in case. I like many aspects of anesthesiology, but I know that I can't just sit there and watch the surgery as it happens. So, is this the norm or do patients need anesthesiologists more often than induction and waking up? I know there are emergencies during surgery, but it seems like there is still a lot of "just plain sitting and doing nothing" time.

Am I judging too soon or is this the way things really are in anesthesiology?

Thanks

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[bulletproof]

Thread covering the issue of "boredom" in anesthesiology:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=79579

 

[militarymd]

Sitting around staring at the monitors is ALWAYS better than

1) battling hypotension
2) battling hypoxemia
3) waiting around for the blood bank to get you your blood so you can battle hypotension
4) battling malignant dysrhythmias or ischemia

 

[Justin4563]

NO its pretty much sitting around all the time.. Between cases waiting for my surgeon to show up 2 hours late.. sit around waiting for the surgeon to tell me he or she is done and do some more sitting and dwaiting for the patient to wake up. Then you go to REcovery to wait for t he nurse to get you vitals.. so you can chart them so when the lawyer asks you what the vitals was you know. I wait to go home all day long so i can get in my BMW and hit the courts and the weight room.. absolutely nothing really happens ever... I cant believe the residency is 3 years.. It should be 6 months..

 

[blocks]

I hope there's not more to it than sitting around. As soon as I'm done with intern year, I plan to invest on a lazy boy recliner to use in the OR in place of the stool.

 

[Justin4563]

a lazy boy recliner along with tons of supermarket style magazines the wall street journal a black berry and a phone that gets reception in the operating room..

well make an anesthesiologist out of you yet

 

[Justin4563]

and of course the new YOrk times crossword puzzle for those longer cases

 

[Justin4563]

and of course it wouldnt hurt to have a resident in there with you.. swap 30 minutes you are in there.. 30 minutes he or she is in there.. teach them a little anesthesia a lot of investing and finer things in life..

 

[blocks]

a lazy boy recliner along with tons of supermarket style magazines the wall street journal a black berry and a phone that gets reception in the operating room..

well make an anesthesiologist out of you yet

I feel ya...I was thinking about installing a mini-fridge in the lower cabinet of my Datex Ohmeda

 

[VentdependenT]

I feel ya...I was thinking about installing a mini-fridge in the lower cabinet of my Datex Ohmeda

Good call. And you should pull the inline "AIR" hose out and swap the machine's AIR tank with one of jasmine fragrance. So during turn over you can can just crank it and have the best smelling OR around. Thats hot.

 

[Justin4563]

im going in extra early to get one of the good chairs to sit on.. because sitting around is a big part of the job.. Have to have that down.. an a knack for investing and talking on the phone would be a good asset as well.

 

[southerndoc]

im going in extra early to get one of the good chairs to sit on.. because sitting around is a big part of the job.. Have to have that down.. an a knack for investing and talking on the phone would be a good asset as well.

Isn't it harder to invest as an anesthesiologist than as an EM physician? We can always stop in between patients and make a trade. If you guys are in the OR, there isn't a computer at the head of the OR table.

At any rate, I think the original poster has answered his/her own question by posting this in the anesthesia forum. For sure he/she is leaning toward anesthesia.

Each specialty is not without its problems. Some people cannot stand the primary care in the emergency department. For me, I like it. Seeing a hypertensive patient who has ran out of meds is just as rewarding as intubating, lining, and cardioverting a patient. Seeing a patient at 3am with back pain for 6 months can oftentimes be humorous, and sometimes rewarding (caught a case of AS recently).

Having said that, my plans are not to practice emergency medicine full-time when I finish residency. I plan a fellowship in toxicology followed by full-time non-clinical work. Maybe I'm jaded at emergency medicine and don't know it? Hardly. I can honestly say I love my career, and will no doubt at least work 8-10 shifts/month in the ED if at all possible.

DrBoris, if you are still in limbo of which to choose, I would apply to both fields and see which you like best.

 

[powermd]

Seeing a hypertensive patient who has ran out of meds is just as rewarding as intubating, lining, and cardioverting a patient.

Bold statement there. Either you're totally FOS, or, well, I don't really see an alternative.

 

[jetproppilot]

Isn't it harder to invest as an anesthesiologist than as an EM physician? We can always stop in between patients and make a trade. If you guys are in the OR, there isn't a computer at the head of the OR table.

At any rate, I think the original poster has answered his/her own question by posting this in the anesthesia forum. For sure he/she is leaning toward anesthesia.

Each specialty is not without its problems. Some people cannot stand the primary care in the emergency department. For me, I like it. Seeing a hypertensive patient who has ran out of meds is just as rewarding as intubating, lining, and cardioverting a patient. Seeing a patient at 3am with back pain for 6 months can oftentimes be humorous, and sometimes rewarding (caught a case of AS recently).

Having said that, my plans are not to practice emergency medicine full-time when I finish residency. I plan a fellowship in toxicology followed by full-time non-clinical work. Maybe I'm jaded at emergency medicine and don't know it? Hardly. I can honestly say I love my career, and will no doubt at least work 8-10 shifts/month in the ED if at all possible.

DrBoris, if you are still in limbo of which to choose, I would apply to both fields and see which you like best.

I could do either. Both are interesting enough with good pay and lifestyle, although I hate the night work.

 

[southerndoc]

Bold statement there. Either you're totally FOS, or, well, I don't really see an alternative.

I enjoy interacting with people. So long as they are nice, I enjoy seeing them -- even if they are primary care patients. Seeing someone who is a total arse though, well that's another story. I see enough of those, but I usually just shrug it off. Some people are just born to be arseholes and could care less if someone is trying to help them.