Anesthesiology

Sophie Baldwin, 11/16/23

Anesthesiologists manage patients' pain levels while they undergo medical procedures. This can include putting the patient to sleep during more intense surgeries or making them insensible to pain for smaller procedures. Anesthesiologists work with a variety of different pharmaceutical drugs and can perform small procedures, such as the intubation of a patient. They must be very attentive and quick-thinking, as they are responsible for keeping a patient pain-free during a procedure. Anesthesiologists can see a variety of patients, and they must be ready to deal with unexpected complications in their practice.

Fast Facts

• Salary: $398,000

• DO friendly? Yes

• IMG friendly? Yes

• Competitiveness: Medium

• Match rate (2015): 98%

• Average step-one: 237

• Surgical? Yes (procedural)

Becoming an Anesthesiologist

• 4 years of undergraduate

• 4 years of medical school

• 1 transitional/preliminary year

• 3 years of anesthesiology residency

• 1 year of fellowship (optional)

Work-life Balance

Anesthesiologists typically have a medium-stress lifestyle. Anesthesiologists can work in a variety of practices, and their stress levels can vary depending on where they work. Typically, anesthesiologists have flexible lifestyles and can choose to work as much or as little as they'd like. They usually will not take their work home with them, meaning they are rarely on-call. Anesthesiologists are compensated well for the number of hours they work, making this specialty a good work-life balance career.

Fellowships

• Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology (1 year)

• Critical Care Medicine (1 year)

• Obstetric Anesthesiology (1 year)

• Pediatric Anesthesiology (1 year)

• Pain Medicine (1 year)

Job Satisfaction and Outlook

• 81% are satisfied with their career (NIH PubMed)

• 10-41% report burnout (2022) (NIH PubMed)

• 3% projected job growth (2021-2031) (AMA)

Sources

https://residency.wustl.edu/choosing-a-specialty/specialty-descriptions/anesthesiology/

https://www.prospectivedoctor.com/how-competitive-is-an-anesthesiology-residency/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6020557/#:~:text=Job%2Drelated%20questions%20%5BTable%202,or%20corporate%20hospitals%20(71.53%25).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7958220/#:~:text=The%20prevalence%20of%20burnout%20in%20anesthesiologists%20is%20high,from%2010%25%20to%2041%25.&text=Anesthesiologists%20practicing%20in%20the%20intensive,with%20rates%20close%20to%2055%25.

https://www.ama-assn.org/medical-students/specialty-profiles/what-it-s-specialize-anesthesiology-shadowing-dr-callas