Opinions on anesthesiology

[Amadeus]

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I've lately been hearing that anesthesia is becoming competitive. Can you guys tell me what you think of this. How well does the field stack up in terms of job placement, lifestyle, and so forth. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[dtreese]

I'm not gonna bash anesthesiology, but my girlfriend's dad was an anesth. I say was because he was so overworked he had a TIA. He tells med students he knows to pick something else.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Take a look at the Anesth forum over at http://www.Medschool.com - its pretty well traveled and you'll find lots of answers to your questions over there. More actual med students and residents seem to post there than here.

Happy hunting! 🙂

 

[Amadeus]

Kimberli,
How did you get to the forum on medschool.com....it seems like it's down. To the reply to the other response I actually heard that anesthesiologist have good lifestyles.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Originally posted by Amadeus:
•Kimberli,
How did you get to the forum on medschool.com....it seems like it's down. To the reply to the other response I actually heard that anesthesiologist have good lifestyles.•

Try http://students.medschool.com

At the left side of the screen are links to Discussion Forums. Click there and Anesthesiology is listed under the Clinical Years/ Rotations header. It you are still having problems opening them (I haven't) you may need to upgrade your Browser, as it seems to be unable to read older scripts.

Hope this helps.

 

[ckent]

I think the field is on the verge of being taken over by nurse anethetists (CRNAs). I'm not in the field, but that is the impression that I get from Anesthesiologists. The nurses are certified to do the exact same thing as the physicians are, and they do the same job, except they only get paid ~80,000- 90,000 vs. avg anesthesiologist salary of 200,000. A recent study showed that those patients who had CRNAs did no worse then the patients who had physician anesthesiologists too.

 

[Amadeus]

Thanks Kim. I must disagree about CRNAs. I think they're more of a help than a hindrance. They still need supervision and hence the anesthesiologist will still be needed to supervise several crnas. If anything I hear they make the grudge work easier so that the anesthesiologist can focus on the medical aspect. Any other thoughts about this field? What about pain management?

 

[pre-hawkdoc]

Here's what my uncle, chief of cardiothoracic at SUNY Upstate told me about anes:
"It's a lifetime worth of training for a moment worth of panic."
Basically just eludes to the fact that no one really cares about the anes. until something goes wrong, then he/she is the star of the show.
Personally, I don't think anes. are a dying breed or that they'll be overtaken by CRNAs, and as long as there's a need for surgeons, there'll be a need for anes. too.

 

[GreatPumpkin]

The CRNA scare has been going on for years, but it has not come out that way. Many states and hospitals will not allow CRNAs to be unsupervised. Right now the salaries for Anesthesia are outragous. Just check out the jobs on www.gaswork.com. I did a rotation in Anes. this year. I didn't like the relationship between the surgeon and the anes. Many treated the Anesthesia docs like they were just glorified nurses. This is probably worse here at a big Univ hospital. I here in the community it is a much nicer job. At one time years ago Anest. was one of the hardest residencies to get into. As far as lifestyle goes Anes. can be very nice. With the huge demand right now, there is alot of flexability in what you can work out. Groups that use CRNAs have it esp. nice because many use them as first call.

 

[Amadeus]

Yes indeed that's what I hear. It seems difficult to believe that cRNAs will replace anesthesiologists simply because they are not as well trained and because of public outcry. I do think that the field has a great lifestyle especially if one works outside the academic setting. In addition you don't have to be running around all day from place to place like most other specialties and you're sitting down most of the time. I just don't know how long this shortage will last.

 

[Mikado]

What's a TIA?

 

[turtleboard]

TIA is a transient ischemic attack, sorta like a "mini-stroke," with few neurologic deficits if at all. Patients who have TIAs usually develop full-blown CVAs (cerebral vascular accidents, i.e., stroke) within 5 years.