Why I DIDN'T... Anesthesiology

Anesthesiology is an attractive specialty for many medical students. There's the lifestyle, the above-average compensation, the minimal charting, the low on-call responsibilities -- the list goes on. That being said, it still wasn't for me. Choosing a specialty is one of the most important decisions you make during medical school and everyone has their own personal reasons for choosing what they do. Here's what I liked about anesthesiology, what I didn't like, and why I ultimately chose to specialize in plastic surgery instead.

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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Introduction
00:54 - What I Liked About Anesthesiology
06:24 - What I Didn't Like About Anesthesiology
11:50 - Final Thoughts

LINKS FROM VIDEO:

#anesthesiology #medicalschool #whyididnt
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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. 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).

[Anton-fhxr]

An anesthesiologist told me: if OR is your favorite place in the hospital - become an anesthesiologist. if OR is your favorite place in the world - become a surgeon.

[yourfavoritenrd]

What people forget about anesthesia is that we're in the OR all day. If you see an anesthesiologist on their phone in the case when the patient is stable, think about when you're in your workroom between writing notes etc and take a break to be on your phone. It's the same for us, we're literally always in the OR, it's our office. Also as mentioned elsewhere we do many kinds of nerve blocks, have great POCUS skills, place central lines and swans, and our airway skills include awake fiberoptic intubation, bronchoscopy, double lumen tubes/bronchial blockers etc. I don't really know what other procedures there are. Also, don't forget that we also work in the ICU and L&D, it's a great place to be a bit of a specialist and a bit of a generalist if that's something you want.

[sigma]

I love Anesthesia. As an Anesthesiologist, I love the skills that you develop to deal with any surgical procedures (in ANY surgery specialty) and/or emergencies where you can show your experience, your education and your training. I also love procedures being that you can do ultrasound guided nerve blocks, invasive monitoring lines, trans esophageal echocardiograms, spinals/epidurals or pain procedures. I don’t like to be standing up for hours (like the surgeons), my legs would hurt without any movement. But what I love the most is being able to do the Anesthetics for the sickest of patients and deliver those persons back to their families alive and well (and hopefully without pain!!). What’s not to love!

[TheTheaterThug]

Surgeons are the captain of the sailing ship, anesthesiologists are the captain of the sinking ship

[Aquamayne]

2nd in command until Anesthesia cancels the case 😂

[intrepidtomato]

I think these are extremely useful. Even if your pros and cons don't line up with somebody else's, it is good to hear an honest, unbiased opinion from somebody who has done those rotations.

[henriquelaydner]

About who’s the first and second in command, that’s only an ego issue. A mature and healthy professional relationship between surgeon and anesthesiologist always put patient’s safety in first place and decisions are made in common ground. In some aspects I think of my job as being the surgeon’s Jiminy Cricket, counterbalancing their almost uncontrollable desire to operate, which sometimes can blur their best judgment.

[hqgtwrk]

Anesthesia PGY1/CA0 here-- great vid 😊 Don't forget about nerve blocks as part of the procedures we get to do-- there are so many different kinds and I'm eager to master this area of multimodal pain control and the ultrasound we use to achieve it!

[jaredkhan]

I’m applying to med school now with the goal of being an anesthesiologist and all these “cons” made me wanna do it even more!! I’ve been shadowing anesthesiologists a loot and work for a surgeon so I have a good feeling I will enjoy this career when I eventually get to it!!!

[nicholasbraganca]

One big phrase I’ve heard about anesthesiology is “Hours of boredom, minutes of panic.” I can’t stand the boredom, which is why I am trying for surgery 😁

[iasian]

Great stuff, lol some of the cons were pros for me, hence ended up becoming an anesthesiology resident. No ward rounds, no clinic was already enough to win me over.

[joshbritton]

Always looking forward to these videos, as it helps me hear from someone’s personal experience about the good and bad. Thanks for making quality content!

[tmellis]

For me I love that anesthesia combines basic science and procedures. I also really like that I work with a wide range of specialties. Keeps in interesting

[kgrfirdjy]

I thought it was fascinating seeing how my pain management anesthesiologist also was trained in niche surgical procedures including placing a couple of spinal cord stimulators in me for severe abdominal pain. This quality of life approach has a deep sense of intrigue to me as a registered nurse who has worked in emergency medicine. I want to learn more about pain management nursing once I go back to work while I am awaiting a pancreas transplant. I would love to attend CRNA school after working a few years.

[habib]

6:41 is exactly how I felt when I shadowed an anesthesiologist. I liked what they do but I kept looking over at the surgery

[richiemd]

You talked about procedures and patient ownership in terms of General Anesthesiology. You subspecialize in Critical care, Cardiac or pain, you're doing a ton of procedures.

[hubby_medical]

These videos are interesting overall, maybe more so as a medical student. As a business owner, you are killing it, while you didn't use your MD for patient care, your page in a way is contributing to patient care by encouraging/exposing doctors now and in the future for years to come. Great page, really wish you would finish your medical training for the selfish reason of I bet you would make killer plastic surgery learning content.

[andy]

The bad things that you listed are the reason there is a high demand for anesthesiologists right now. Many new graduates can make 500k right now with 100-150k sign on bonus.

[Alex-opty]

With anesthesia you still have call and weekends, plus OR cases always start super early in the morning in America (this was actually the biggest con for me, I'm not trying to wake up at 5am as an attending). Lifestyle is still better than surgery but probably not as great as strictly outpatient specialties

[truthteller]

Midlevel encroachment is a HUGE issue that isn’t talked about as often! Recently optometrists are lobbying in California to be able to perform surgery!! Pls make a video talking about this issue more 🙏