With my patient lightly and happily sedated, we are in the operating room. The whole case is a frenzy of activity. What is life like as a resident in Anesthesiology? Good luck to you. Hello, I'm TahoeDoc, your anesthesia doctor. 09-25-10 © Andrei Malov; standard license, iStockphoto. to have. Michael Sopher, MD, shares a day in his life. I attach the EKG monitor, the pulse oximeter to measure oxygen level during surgery, and the blood pressure cuff. No one is in the mood to run a code before starting this surgery. I get it on the 3rd try, luckily without taking up too much precious time. TahoeDoc (author) from Lake Tahoe, California on February 09, 2011: Well, duh Austin. "Then I'll often call patients the night before to reinforce instructions and answer questions," he says. He had general anesthesia before and didn't like trying to wake up, so is happy to have a different option. But, I can think of at least one person who had a worse day than I did. This content is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for formal and individualized diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, and/or dietary advice from a licensed medical professional. Yep, it's possible, but can I get him back? But it is our job so I never expect anything. He was true to his word! "It felt more on the edge, which suited my personality. He is pleasant and relaxed as we discuss his anesthesia options. You'll meet one of these specialists if you plan to have surgery. Tricia Mason from The English Midlands on December 18, 2011: My Mum is soon to have a total knee replacement, and it is the anaesthetic that is worrying her the most. Trish, I'm sure this is too late, but I had 2 joint replacements (shoulder and knee) and each time a regional nerve block and general anesthesia was used. Can't change the laws of physics! ", compares the work of an anesthesiologist to that of an airplane pilot: “, Even though our work typically goes smoothly, we must prepare for a huge variety of adverse events," he says. Van Norman, MD. Most of the time we actually did get to use them but it is sad when we have to throw them in the trash. The 'add on' case was different though. Before I do, I take a quick look at tomorrow's schedule. In addition, the anesthesiologist covers OB too. All in all, Mr. B was a pleasure to take care of, personally and professionally. Just when you think the day is over, that's when the worst call comes. I start giving his fluid and anesthesia medicines slowly to make sure he doesn't 'tank' - drop his blood pressure too fast and end up in cardiac arrest. Still, I'm pretty tired when I find out about the emergency. "We also protect them from trauma by lubricating and taping their eyes and positioning their arms and legs appropriately," he says. All of this will make it dangerous — life threatening — to have an anesthetic, but surgery is his only hope. I do like it overall. I'll take it - it's not great, but it's compatible with life, unlike the former measurement. I STILL have not mastered that damm mind reading thing. Whether the anesthetic is routine and easy or emergent and life-threatening, the anesthesiologist is with the patient the whole time they are in the operating room. "At UCLA, we do 30 percent of our total cases outside the OR, including cardiac catheterization, interventional radiology and GI procedures like ERCP, endoscopy and colonoscopy," he says. In the OR, I hook up a medicine that will help keep his blood pressure up a bit. Thank you for educating us about your work :). 0700 — Seven AM, it's getting late. I have had one anesthesiologist actually come and give me a gift card for helping her save a DIC patient. I think nurse anesthetist is a great job too unless you are already in medical school. They're both very legitimate paths.". ", Operating days run until about 5:30 pm. She's a good one! In the broad spectrum of anesthesia, operative care is just one of many career paths. His abdomen is full of air, blood, and stool. "What all these roles have is that patients are in difficult circumstances and we are able to bring them through. When they call us, his blood pressure is 84/36. In spite of my careful and slow 'induction' of anesthesia, his blood pressure is now 54/21. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. As always, “your mileage may vary.” A Day in Obstetrics A Day at the Outpatient Center Regional Anesthesia at … sagebrush_mama from The Shadow of Death Valley...Snow Covered Mountain Views Abound! I am familiar with the "When you need it most.." phenomenon. It takes several doses and what seems like forever but his pressure creeps back up to 90/41. Find out why an anesthesiologist has an important job to do, and learn about the training they get. If only the rest of the day would have followed suit. I am about to read your piece on the spinal, and I may print it out for my Mum. I groan and quickly grab the phenylephrine. I'm curious to know what the daily life is of an anesthesiologist during residency and after. Especially if I want to have kids either right at the end of med school or during residency. After passing on all of the important information to the ICU team, I can finally leave. A Matter of Life and Death : What Every Anesthesiologist Should Know about the Medical, Legal, and Ethical Aspects of Declaring Brain Death. An anesthesiologist is a physician responsible for keeping patients safe, comfortable, and in minimal pain during and after an operation. I'm first call the next day so I'm in the operating room that runs the latest tomorrow and then I'm 'on call' for the rest of the tomorrow night. Administer blood, blood products, or supportive fluids. If you have had surgery, perhaps you have wondered, "What does an anesthesiologist do besides send me off to sleep? Assist in the provision of advanced life support techniques including those procedures using high frequency ventilation or … ", When it comes to guiding medical students, he finds that the initial career question still applies: acute care or chronic care? I'm glad I'm not doing what you do! That's what all that training does for you. Cleanse with sterilizing soap, numb the skin with a small needle, insert the spinal needle and see the clear cerebrospinal fluid come back in the needle. You want how many units of blood? "A lot goes into keeping the patient stable. Both times we chatted to the anaesthetist ~ and my mind has, generally, been put at rest. After that, he narrowed his options to emergency medicine, intensive care medicine and anesthesiology. In this day in the life guide, you will find out: What does a day as Anesthesiologists looks like; ... Anesthesiologist, Anesthesiologist and Critical Care, Anesthesiologist Attending, Anesthesiologist General and Cardiothoracic or Anesthesiologist, Pain Management Specialist.