Likes and Dislikes in Anesthesiology

For a number of reasons, I didn't get much time on my Anesthesiology rotation. That's a shame, because it was quite enjoyable! Here are my Likes and Dislikes.

1) Anesthesiology is not boring

The stereotype of the anesthesiologist slumbering behind the curtain is still alive and well, but I found myself to be quite busy when on the service. The actual act of putting someone under general anesthetic, sedation, or otherwise providing pain relief is not a simple process. There is a lot of preparation and planning that goes into it. Deciding what supports are needed, from the type of respiratory support, to the number of IVs, to the presence of an arterial line takes some quick decision-making. Securing all these supports, especially in the fast-paced setting of an OR, is not an easy task. Intubating is hard, and I failed at it, a lot!

2) Ok, sometimes Anesthesiology is boring

In ORs with regular turnover between cases and reasonably complex anesthetic requirements, there is plenty of action. In ORs where neither of these is the case... well, it can get pretty dry. Cases that last for half the day mean hours of sitting doing not a whole lot for Anesthesiologists. If the patient becomes unstable or threatens to, then things can get interesting, but that happens relatively infrequently, a testament to the efficacy of what Anesthesiologists do. On the other side, cases which only require mild or moderate sedation do not involve much preparation, and so tend to proceed like clockwork. I still found these cases interesting for a few weeks, but I doubt I'd be able to sustain interest for years or even months.

3) Teaching, teaching, teaching

Anesthesiologists, at least the ones I worked with, were really great about teaching. I got to go over a wide variety of topics not just once but multiple times. Aspects of medicine I hadn't touched on previously were like second-nature after finished the rotation. Even with limited time on the rotation, I felt like I got a lot of key points of my education covered thoroughly, simply due to dedicated teaching time and repetition of important elements. I really wish more of medicine had the degree of emphasis on teaching and focus in topics as Anesthesiology seemed to.

4) Happiness Test

Anesthesiologists seem pretty happy. Sometimes a little bored, no doubt. Saw more than one playing Candy Crush during an OR. I think the downtime helps though. Medicine is such a whirlwind, it's easy to get caught up in it. Anesthesiology comes with built-in breaks, slowing things down even if just by a small amount. A little bit of boring can be enormously beneficial.