Why did you choose anesthesiology?

[thomasyorke]

Hi, first year medical student here.

I'd like to know from the residents/attendings,

1. What was the key moment or deciding factor for you in choosing anesthesiology?

2. What are the make or break factors in determining whether somebody will have the right skills or "fit" for anesthesiology?

3. What was your 2nd choice of specialty after anesthesiology? How did you rule it out?


Thanks!

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[lfesiam]

Hi, first year medical student here.

I'd like to know from the residents/attendings,

1. What was the key moment or deciding factor for you in choosing anesthesiology?

2. What are the make or break factors in determining whether somebody will have the right skills or "fit" for anesthesiology?

3. What was your 2nd choice of specialty after anesthesiology? How did you rule it out?


Thanks!

1. Most important factor was my mentor during medschool, an awesome Pediatric Anethesiologist!

2. MUST BE A MORNING PERSON, A lineman mentality (not a quarterback mentality), react well to stressful situation, great attention to details, enjoy hands-on procedures.

3. There are only a few fields where you don't have to dictate and deal with a mountain load of paperwork + social issues. I want to be my own pharmacist + nurse. That said....SURGERY+SURG SUBSPECIALTIES = I liked it but did not "LOVE" it, if I was single, surgery might have been tied with Anesthesiology. ER=50% awesome stuff but the other 50% is still clinic type of problems. RADIOLOGY=dark room not for me but Interventional Rads is pretty cool. MEDICINE=too much patient interaction, dictations, paperwork, taking the pager home and having it beep all day long when you are post call. OB=don't like looking at disease women parts. FP, DERM=don't like clinic. PATHOLOGY=thought about it heavily during MS2 year but I still want short meaningful patient interaction. RAD/ONC=too depressing for me. All Anes's fellowships are one year long.

 

[cfdavid]

I know you asked for residents/attendings, but as an MS4, I DID already choose anesthesiology, so I'll respond as it may be of some use.

Simply put, nothing is ever 100%. For me, it wasn't anesthesiology or die. I like the field, but could have seen doing IM, even general.

The cool aspects of anesthesiology (which made my decision) are (in no particular order):
1) a generally great group of people that seemed happy (as opposed to what we often hear on this forum) and generally content.

2) decent hours, though early and I realize this varies greatly with practice setting.

3) broad breadth of knowledge base. Involved in patients of all ages, and undergoing such a huge array of procedures requiring anesthesia. Also, the fact that you need to know the pharm (of existing patient meds, separate from any anesthetics) but you also should know WHY they're on what they're on.... So, you really do need to know your medicine IMO.

4) a sense of "Job Well Done" at the end of a long case, with a sick patient. This includes teamwork in the OR, despite sometimes crappy environments. But, I've seen a lot of GREAT relationships in the OR.

5) a reasonably lengthed residency, though will likely do a fellowship. It's longer than some, and shorter than others.

6) Anesthesiology has it's stressors, to be sure. But, they're more "acute" stressors. What would REALLY be tiresome over time is dealing with some of the BS that those in the primary care fields do on a regular basis.

7) practice setting. Though, arguably diverse, it's nice to be in/around the OR.

8) procedures are cool, although they get old like anything (from what even CA2's have mentioned..). also, the procedures are shorter than a surgical intervention. so, if attention span is an issue or the tedium of many surgical procedures is a turn-off, you should be o.k.

I could probably go on, but these are a few that come to mind that separated anes for me.

Good luck in your decision.

cf

 

[fakin' the funk]

My choices of discipline boiled down to Surgery (General, or a subspecialty thereof) and Anesthesiology. Simply put, I wanted to work with people who might die. That is a situation in which your efforts can create a large magnitude of difference. In the end I chose anesthesiology because I didn't like actually performing the procedures/surgeries, nor the lifestyle/practice setting of surgery. Plus in anesthesia you have a way to do critical care, which is a cool blend of internal medicine cerebrality with hands-on, faster pace practice, and a broader scope of practice (and longitudinality with patients) than straight OR anesthesia.

 

[bawer234]

Question:
How much of anesthesia is "autonomic based"? I REALLY loved learning the pharmacology behind the autonomic system (SNS/PNS), about the physio and pathophysio behind acid and base balances, the results from electrolyte abnormalities, and the various consequences of drugs on the cardiovascular system.

Does this sound familiar to anyone else? I like the thought of "tweeking" the body w/ varioius drugs on an acute basis. Am I thinking about the "right" field if I associate anesthesia w/ these topics????

 

[lord_jeebus]

I think my pathway was fairly unique - when I was 18 I worked at a clinic that had a anesthesia-trained pain guy. He spent his day doing things I didn't understand with long needles, and his follow-up patients were way more appreciative than those of the internal medicine guy in that clinic. I decided that I wanted to do what he was doing. I liked my anesthesia rotation a lot more than my PM&R rotation so the choice of pathway to pain was pretty clear.

2. Someone who knows when to shut up and when to speak up. You must exude confidence at all times and think quickly yet logically under pressure. Some degree of manual dexterity is required. The OR should be your favorite place in the hospital, but (unlike surgeons) need not be your favorite place in the world.

3. Neurosurgery - but I have strabismus that manifests itself when I use surgical microscopes such that I can barely use them, and get nauseous when I try - so I ruled that out for technical reasons. Urology was a close third and I think I would be perfectly happy doing that also. I considered psychiatry as well.

I am definitely not a morning person (I curse my choice of residency a lot between 5 and 7 AM) - but being a night owl has its advantages on a busy call night.

 

[pgg]

MUST BE A MORNING PERSON

10 years ago, I never would have dreamed I'd end up a morning person. But kids, residency, and a DVR to record late night TV made all the difference in the world.