So You Want to Be an ANESTHESIOLOGIST [Ep. 12]

So you want to be an anesthesiologist. You like the idea of being in the operating room, being the patient’s guardian angel, and having a laidback lifestyle. Let’s debunk the public perception myths of what it means to be an anesthesiologist, and give it to you straight. This is the reality of anesthesiology.

TIME STAMPS:
00:56 - What is Anesthesiology?
05:23 - How to Become an Anesthesiologist
07:47 - Subspecialties within Anesthesia
11:00 - What You’ll Love About Anesthesiology
11:48 - What You Won’t Love About Anesthesiology
12:59 - Should You Become an Anesthesiologist?

LINKS FROM VIDEO:

#medicalschool #anesthesiology #soyouwanttobe
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Disclaimer: Content of this video is my opinion and does not constitute medical advice. The content and associated links provide general information for general educational purposes only. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Kevin Jubbal, M.D. and Med School Insiders LLC will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this video including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death. May include affiliate links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you).

[MXwideopenproduction]

"if you do your job right, the patient shouldn't remember you" what a great definition of a good anesthesiologist... Awesome video!

[mr.johnson]

Guys, he’s working on all specialties and has a poll. The comment section isn’t for inundating him with demands. Thank you Dr. Jubbal for providing quality content.

[LJStability]

I think a lot of stereotypes of anesthesiology were definitely wrong when I shadowed an anesthesiologist during medical school. It turned out that one anesthesiologist can be running multiple surgeries with CRNAs at the same time. For patient interaction, I remember most of the discussions being about the same, expect for how likely there might be a complication. Here's an example of my shadowing experience in anesthesiology to provide some context into the type of people I saw in the field and the situations they deal with.

I was with an anesthesiologist and his CRNA during my second year of medical school. Everything was going smoothly and I was learning a lot from observing what he did with his CRNA. It was actually cool to see the teamwork and focus they had despite the surgeries they were participating in. I had a good time overall. The part that was the hardest was the last patient that was in heart failure. We were told her ejection fraction was round 25% or so. She needed another assessment of her heart function in the cath lab before they could proceed with the surgery she needed. Despite the high risk patient, I remember the anesthesiologist saying, "She's not going to crash". This was despite the older nurse in the ICU having a more skeptical outlook. Again, he was pretty confident in his abilities.

We next got the patient and took her back to the cath lab. The patient's family was crying and pretty distraught. It was bizarre at first because the surgical staff was wheeling out the patient leaving me at the end of the cart telling the family she was in good hands as I turned the corner. It felt a bit more abrupt that I would've like personally. However, the patient needed immediate assessment and treatment, so I understood why it was brief.

Any how, we took the patient to the cath lab, which was pretty crowded with machines and other devices. Given how cramped it was, I nearly touched the blue tarp and got a nasty stare from one of the surgeons. I ended up going behind the anesthesia cart because anywhere else I would either be in the way or touch the tarp. I wanted to still be alive after shadowing after all! As the doctors proceeded to put in the arterial lines, the patient became very combative requiring four surgeons to try inserting the line while calming the patient. None of the efforts to calm her were working. The patient seemed to either be extremely sensitive to pain or was simply confused (she was pretty tired before being sent to the cath lab due to her failing heart so this was understandable). One surgeon eventually said, "Alright, that's enough you going to sleep now". The patient was then administered the proper anesthetics for the cath procedure to proceed. Again, not the best way to start to what I thought would be a routine surgery.

Then, the patient's heart started to go in atrial fibrillation. To say the room went insane would be an understatement. I remember that one of the blood pressure cuffs wasn't working on the anesthesia cart in the cath lab so they had to put in a line that would directly measure the blood pressure. I saw one of the residents insert the line but accidentally moved and dislodged it. After which, the anesthesiologist said, "You moved the godd*mn line!" and proceeded to go for an external jugular to not only measure by administer fluids. The CRNA then went to get the plastic laryngoscope (never knew those existed at the time) in the cart to start the intubation. However, the plastic covering around it wouldn't come off for some reason and it wasn't operating well. He ended up slamming it a bit harder in frustration on the cart and it broke; he subsequently retrieved the new laryngoscope and intubated the patient with the anesthesiologist. After which, the anesthesiologist inserted the line into the external jugular vein faster than I thought humanely possible. During this time, I was quietly behind the cart wondering what the hell I got myself into. At the same time, I remember having a deep urge to use the bathroom. However, the flurry of activity and stress in the atmosphere neither helped my personal emergency nor my shock at what was happening.

After which the patient was stabilized with the proper medication. The anesthesiologist then performed a transesophageal echo to see the patient's heart directly. As he got a good image, he was then able to measure the patient's ejection fraction using one of the computer programs. It turned out that it was worse than what was previously reported; a little less than 10% for the ejection fraction. Seeing this the anesthesiologist said, "She's a godd*amn walking dead person", in shock of how bad her situation was currently. At the same time, he calmly motioned me to come forward as if we were having a cup of coffee to get a better look at the screen. I crossed my arms tightly next to my chest because of how close everything was and all the people in the room. He then proceeded to teach some more on what was going on. To say this was bizarre would be an understatement.

After finishing our job and having the patient's procedure continue, we left the procedure and headed back to the surgical ward. The anesthesiologist was very happy I stayed calm during the whole process and didn't cause any problems. He ended up writing me a good letter to use for residency given the type of situation that occurred. After changing back into my street clothing, I headed back to the research department and be-lined straight to the nearest bathroom. I needed some time for my personal emergency and to have some time to breath. To say it wasn't what I expected would be an understatement. I later found out from him that her prognosis was poor and that she only had a few days left to live. It was a somber reminder at how quickly things can change in the hospital.

This happened during my second year of medical school. I may have forgotten some of the details or background so I apologize if some information is confusing for anyone in the surgical field. I merely wanted to provide a good example of what anesthesiologist actually deal with in the cath lab and operating room. Anesthesiologists do a lot more work than people realize, especially with the number of surgeries they have to run at the same time. In addition, they know how to do many emergent procedures and have the backs of surgeons on difficult surgeries. I often describe anesthesiologists as the ER docs for the OR. Like ER docs, there's a lot of routine in their work. But they also have the routine situations that requires their calm and focused skills to save a patient when everyone else, including the surgeons, are loosing their cool. I have a lot of respect for the specialty and appreciation for what anesthesiologist do. Despite what people think, these guys are pretty badass when it comes to keeping people alive.

[QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.”
― Roy Disney

[senanur]

My dad is a critical care anesthesiologist. He tells about his "thrilling work" everyday. Such as "Patient's heart stopped and we had 40 seconds or he was going to die but returned unexpectedly ect." I want to be a doctor too and I admire what anesthesiologist do at OR. But I can't take risks and manage them fast easly. So I will look for the best option for me. But I have to go medical school first. Ok, I'm going and studying right now!

[violeta]

I wanna be an anesthesiologist so bad 😩😩😩 med school here i come. Honestly if it’s something I’m passionate abt, I don’t care abt all the extra years or schooling and studying. I got knee surgery in the past, and I still remember my anesthesiologist. I was scared out of my mind, but she made me feel safe and prepared for surgery. I want to have that same impact on others!

[goatwhisperer]

Really interested to see a "so you want to be a neurologist" and a "so you want to be a psychiatrist"!

[lettuce]

I plan on being an anesthesiologist when I’m older, i’ll come back to this video to remind me to work hard for my goal 😁

[jessicarivera]

Literally jumped out of my seat with excitment when I got the notification for this. Like so many others, I've been waiting to see an anesthesiology video and this was great!

[davidazer]

This is exactly what I want in life. I do countless hours of research on the anesthesia field to see if I would truly be a good fit, and everything points me in this direction. Great video!

[MDForTheCulture]

I'm really liking what I am hearing, I hope to be an anesthesiologist one day.

[abrahamalhamdani]

Is this the legendary anesthesiology video? 🤩

[SultanTamalli]

Oh, yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I nearly jumped from my seat the moment I got the notification about this video. Been waiting for the Anesthesiology episode for ages, surely a lot do too. I appreciate all the hard work you guys been doing to deliver such quality content to us. Much love. <3 :)

[bia]

I'd love to see a "so you want to be an oncologist" some day.

I find the field extremely fascinating, both the work with patients as well as the opportunities regarding the academic side of things including the research behind everything.

[animeist]

After interning at a hospital studying medicine and getting to experience a surgery first hand I found this profession to be fascinating, rewarding and much needed. The idea of it being a sport also sounds engaging so you fluctuate and respond to readings based on what the patient is responding by.

[cynthiar]

You really are a life saver for your educational videos! Thank you so much for all you do! keep doing it, it is helping all of us little people out so much!

[allyanasanchez]

I'm really happy Youtube recommended this channel to me! I hope sports related specialities or professions come up soon, it's something I want to focus on in the future and I feel like I've learned so much here in such a short time.

[aquariusmirky]

I have tremendous gratitude to my anesthesiologists - having had not very good anesthesia outside the US, where I was cold and shivering and awake at one point. Good anesthesiologist make the most traumatic part of the experience physically stress-free for the patient. I think perhaps the gratitude was not expressed enough because there's not as many opportunities to see the anesthesia doctor after the surgery, but there's a ton of gratitude at heart.

[pathurd]

Totally did not start jumping up and down when I saw this

[spectator]

I'm doing my residency in Anesthesiology, and I'm currently on my 2nd year of residency. I strongly disagree with Anesthesiologists being in the shadow of Surgeons. When I do my preop on my patients, I clearly state my role as his/her physician who will be handling him/her in the OR during the surgical procedure. My favorite line when I talk to my patients, "Surgeons mainly focus on what they are operating on you. Anesthesiologists monitor you during the surgery and keep you safe and alive while you are being operated. We make the Surgeon's job possible for them to do what they need to do." LOL. This way, they remember the importance of our role as Anesthesiologists, not just mere doctors who make them fall asleep before the surgery. Most of my patients fondly remember me especially when I do my postop rounds, and thank me for making their surgery a success.