Career as an Anesthesiologist

An Anesthesiologist is a medical doctor who keeps a patient comfortable, safe and pain-free during surgery by administering local or general anesthetic. Once the patient enters the operating room, an anesthesiologist will be by their side throughout the surgery, making sure they are stable right through to the post-anesthesia care unit. Anesthesiology is a prestigious and lucrative field of medicine, but requires a great deal of education and expertise. An Anesthesiologist will meet with the patient prior to surgery to make sure they are suitably prepared and medically fit to endure the proposed surgery as well as the related anesthetic. Once they have done this, just before the surgery, the anesthesiologist will administer either a general or local anesthetic to the patient. During the surgery, the anesthesiologist will monitor the patient's blood pressure, heart rhythm, temperature, level of consciousness, and amount of oxygen in the blood. For a general anesthetic, the anesthesiologist will monitor each breath. This is done by measuring the volume of breath exhaled and the amount of carbon dioxide in each breath. They may also measure the amount of blood the heart is pumping and blood pressure inside the lung vessels. After putting the patient to sleep, the anesthesiologist will adjust the patient's position if necessary, depending on the surgery being performed. For example, a back operation will require a different position than a stomach operation. Also checking to make sure a patient doesn't have his legs crossed is important, as the patient can potentially sustain nerve damage if the legs are crossed for the duration of a long operation. The duties of Anesthesiologist's during surgery includes to continuous monitoring of vital signs, monitoring of the level and depth of anesthesia, making adjustments if necessary. They also do recognition of any potentially life threatening emergencies and timely intervention and ensuring the safety of the patient and taking appropriate steps to avoid any injuries to the patient’s body during the anesthetic period.