What 'exactly' does an anesthesiologist do?

Question

Now I know in general what they do, they put the patient under, maintain them throughout their procedure, and make sure all that good stuff is going down as it should.

You see I'm a Jr. in high school and at that point in my life where I'm exploring all my interests and career opportunities. At first I wanted to be a veterinarian of small animals, and then my focus shifted to graphic design and computer sciences, now its back to the medical field. Anesthesiology just really appealed to me in that aspect, as I had a discussion with my anesthesiologist before a heart surgery I was undergoing and it seemed like a really interesting career.

So back to the point, I know what their main purpose is in an operation, but what is it that I would actually be doing say if I was an anesthesiologist? Like what would be the time line of my work day? What would be the steps of my job in a surgery, what drugs/chemicals am I using to put the patient under, what forms of administration, what tools would I need to be familiar with, that sort of thing. Thanks for your responses! I'm really interested!

Answer 1

An anaesthetist (English), or anesthesiologist (US English), also "anaesthesiologist," is a medical doctor trained to administer anesthesia and manage the medical care of patients before, during, and after surgery.

Answer 2

Here's a long answer I gave months ago to someone else.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

It gives you a little taste of what we do, and answers a few other questions.

Answer 3

The timeline of your work day would be as normal, and it really isn't an interesting job. I have a friend who is an anaesthesiologist and he just injects people with radiation for bone x-rays and just reassures them. That is really it, if you want to advance in the medical field, you will need to do further study. Good luck and all the best to you, it is certainly a good idea to get thinking about what you want to do most now, rather than leaving high school a lost drone and wasting precious years. Even if you can’t figure out the one thing it is you want, don’t limit yourself to one thing while you’re young.

Answer 4

Well, to beging with, all the questions you asked specifically regarding drugs, chemicals, and tools, etc. are what you would learn about in school. However, if you are really interested in this field you should first explore career paths in this area. For example, you don't have to go to medical school or be an M.D. to work in this field. In fact you could enter it as an RN specialist or anesthesioligst nurse specialist in half the time. It is also a very highly paid field and you should know these are the ones usually handling the actual procedures.

Answer 5

If I was to pursue medicine, I'd want to be an anesthesiologist! They're basically responsible for administering pain relief before, during and after surgery, and discussing pain relief options with patients. There are specialist colleges you'd attend after completeing a medical degree to learn everything you need to know in a particular medical field, so don't stress if you complete a degree and have no idea about the filed you're interested in. You'd need to familiarise yourself with different needles (like what is needed for different operations, such as administering an epidural), different gases used during surgery, and the different pain medications and they're alternatives (eg: you definently do not give a drug addict morphiene or codeine as part of a pain relief programme, you'd need to know what else there is avaliable to give them). Basically you'd be a drug specialist, but I find the field fascinating!