Frequently Asked Questions - Georgia Anesthesiologists, LLC (2023)

FAQs

What is the biggest challenge of being an anesthesiologist? ›

“The main stress is the life of the patient is in your hands,” said Mary Dale Peterson, MD, president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. “And we give extremely powerful drugs. You can give a drug that can kill someone in two to three minutes if it is not managed correctly.

Anesthetic drugs can stay in your system for up to 24 hours. If you've had sedation or regional or general anesthesia, you shouldn't return to work or drive until the drugs have left your body. After local anesthesia, you should be able to resume normal activities, as long as your healthcare provider says it's okay.

Abstract. After an adverse event, Five A's: Acknowledgment, Apology, All the Facts, Assurance and Appropriate Compensation, serve to meet the essential needs of patients and their families.

analgesia. muscle relaxation. diminished motor response to noxious stimuli. reversibility.

The most challenging and rewarding aspects of anesthesiology: A difficult part of our profession is that you do not know if a patient is genuinely healthy and will proceed with their surgery uneventfully until they leave the hospital. An anesthesiologist must maintain a constant state of hypervigilance.

Three-fourths of anesthesiologists are male, according to a LocumTenens.com report, and 83 percent are board certified. Twenty-three percent of anesthesiologists have worked on a locum tenens basis and 25 percent have spent five years or less in clinical practice.

To be successful in anesthesiology, it goes without saying that you must excel academically, but also an anesthesiologist has to be incredibly detailed-oriented, skillful at procedures, calm in stressful situations, and warm and caring to ease patient's anxiety.

“Thank you so much for the difference you make in the lives of your patients! Your kindness, sincere caring, and concern make everything better and are a great encouragement.” “Thank you so very much for taking care of me and being so skilled at what you do. Every day of my life will be better because of you.

Do anesthesiologists talk to patients? ›

Before the procedure, your anesthesiologist will talk with you and establish an anesthetic plan in coordination with your surgeon. At this time, your anesthesiologist will also ensure you are ready for the operation. The first priority is getting the patient safely through the procedure.

The process of waking up from anesthesia is known as emergence. During emergence, the anesthesiologist will slowly reduce the amount of anesthetic drugs in the body. This helps to reduce the intensity of the effects of anesthesia and allows the patient to regain consciousness.

Long recovery

Currently, there are no drugs to bring people out of anesthesia. When surgeons finish an operation, the anesthesiologist turns off the drugs that put the patient under and waits for them to wake up and regain the ability to breathe on their own.

In most cases, a delayed awakening from anesthesia can be attributed to the residual action of one or more anesthetic agents and adjuvants used in the peri-operative period. The list of potentially implicated drugs includes benzodiazepines (BDZs), propofol, opioids, NMBAs, and adjuvants.

The recovery from major surgery can be divided into three phases: (1) an immediate, or post anesthetic, phase; (2) an intermediate phase, encompassing the hospitalization period; and (3) a convalescent phase.

There are four main categories of anesthesia used during surgery and other procedures: general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, sedation (sometimes called "monitored anesthesia care"), and local anesthesia.

It is subdivided into three stages: preoperative, operative and postoperative.

How Much Does an Anesthesiologist Make? Anesthesiologists made a median salary of $208,000 in 2021. The best-paid 25% made $208,000 that year, while the lowest-paid 25% made $208,000.

What challenges do anesthesiologist face? ›

Summary: The consultant anesthesiologist responding to a critical airway may face a variety of challenges, including traumatized or soiled airways, patients with cervical spine fractures, and patients who have undergone sedation techniques that may have progressed to deep and general anesthesia.

Yes, anesthesiologists are happy.

A survey of 1,219 anesthesiologists found that 81% of them were satisfied with their profession. A different recent survey conducted on the happiness of anesthesiologists found that 85% of people in the profession would choose the same work again if they had a choice.

Anesthesia awareness, which is also referred to as unintended awareness under general anesthesia, is a rare complication of surgery.

First Surgical Procedure Using Anesthesia

On October 16, 1846, Boston dentist William T.G. Morton used sulfuric ether to anesthetize a man who needed surgery to remove a vascular tumor from his neck, according to “The Painful Story Behind Modern Anesthesia” by Dr. Howard Markel on PBS.org.

The highest-paid anesthesiologist is an obstetric anesthesiologist. Obstetric anesthesia is the highest-paid anesthesiology subspecialty with an average annual salary range from $217,000 to $582,000 a year.

The most critical technical skill for an anesthesiologist is . . . facemask ventilation. Why? All acute medical care follows the sequence of A-B-C, or Airway, Breathing, Circulation. Control of the airway is the most important clinical priority in anesthesia care.

Anesthesiologists typically have the following work values: Consider achievement important. They like to see the results of their work and to use their strongest abilities. They like to get a feeling of accomplishment from their work.

Anesthesiology is a respected field of medicine. With that comes a significant amount of responsibility and training.

Before the procedure

Before you have anesthesia, your anesthesiologist will talk with you and may ask questions about: Your health history. Your prescription medicines, along with any nonprescription medicines and herbal supplements.

What are the five steps to safer surgery? ›

Five Steps to Safer Surgery is a surgical safety checklist. It involves briefing, sign-in, timeout, sign-out and debriefing, and is now advocated by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) for all patients in England and Wales undergoing surgical procedures.

Be sure to eat a light meal as the last thing you consume prior to surgery. Soup is a great option, while a heavy meal with a lot of fat will take longer for your body to digest.

If an anesthesiologist fails to meet the standard of care, which involves providing the level of care that a physician in the same field would provide, they can be found negligent. Some of the most common anesthesia errors that cause harm include the following: Administering too much or too little anesthesia.

Patients and Surgeons Prefer Anesthesiologist Care

The majority of surgeons and patients think anesthesiologists are the most important guardians of patient safety during surgery.

Then, the anesthesiologist will give you medicine that makes you sleep and prevents pain. You'll get this medicine through a vein, a mask, or both. If you have general anesthesia, the anesthesiologist will stay with you during the whole surgery.

Will my child be wide awake when you start the anesthesia? In most cases, we give children an oral anti-anxiety medication before we begin. Our nurses call it "happy juice," and it makes the child more relaxed and comfortable.

Small pieces of sticking tape are commonly used to keep the eyelids fully closed during the anaesthetic. This has been shown to reduce the chance of a corneal abrasion occurring. 1,2 However, bruising of the eyelid can occur when the tape is removed, especially if you have thin skin and bruise easily.

Propofol is used to put you to sleep and keep you asleep during general anesthesia for surgery or other medical procedures. It is used in adults as well as children 2 months and older. Propofol is also used to sedate a patient who is under critical care and needs a mechanical ventilator (breathing machine).

Anesthesia won't make you confess your deepest secrets

It's normal to feel relaxed while receiving anesthesia, but most people don't say anything unusual. Rest assured, even if you do say something you wouldn't normally say while you are under sedation, Dr. Meisinger says, “it's always kept within the operating room.

Is anesthesia sleep restful? ›

Although doctors often say that you'll be asleep during surgery, research has shown that going under anesthesia is nothing like sleep. “Even in the deepest stages of sleep, with prodding and poking we can wake you up,” says Brown.

“There is a medication called Sevoflurane, which is a gas that we use commonly to keep patients asleep there's some increased incidence of crying when that medication is used,” said Heitz. But he suspects many factors could be involved; the stress of surgery, combined with medications and feeling slightly disoriented.

If you're wondering what's going on, it's called disinhibition: a temporary loss of inhibitions caused by an outside stimuli. “They get disinhibition,” said anesthesiologist Dr. Josh Ferguson. “Like if you were to drink alcohol or some other medication, but this makes them forget that they're saying that.”

Rest assured, even if you do say something you wouldn't normally say while you are under sedation, Dr. Meisinger says, “it's always kept within the operating room.

Waking up from anesthesia can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the type of anesthesia used and the individual's response to it. Generally, most people wake up within 30 minutes of the anesthesia being administered.

General anesthesia, used for major operations, causes loss of consciousness or puts you to sleep and makes you unable to move. Sedation, often used for minimally invasive surgery, blocks pain and causes sleepiness, but doesn't put you to sleep.

While there are many types and levels of anesthesia — medication to keep you from feeling pain during surgery — general anesthesia is most commonly used for major operations, such as knee and hip replacements, heart surgeries, and many types of surgical procedures to treat cancer.

Local anesthesia is for procedures such as getting stitches or having a mole removed. It numbs a small area, and you are alert and awake.

The safest type of anesthesia is local anesthesia, an injection of medication that numbs a small area of the body where the procedure is being performed. Rarely, a patient will experience pain or itching where the medication was injected.

Anesthesia won't make you confess your deepest secrets

It's normal to feel relaxed while receiving anesthesia, but most people don't say anything unusual. Rest assured, even if you do say something you wouldn't normally say while you are under sedation, Dr.

Which injection is used to calm patients? ›

Midazolam injection is used to produce sleepiness or drowsiness and relieve anxiety before surgery or certain procedures. When midazolam is used before surgery, the patient will not remember some of the details about the procedure.

Most often, either moderate sedation or deep sedation with the anesthetic propofol are used for colonoscopies. An anesthesiologist is sometimes present for moderate sedation — sometimes called conscious sedation by patients, though the term is technically incorrect.

Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) – When possible, the anesthesiologist will use a Laryngeal Mask Airway device instead of intubation because it is quicker and causes less discomfort for the patient. An LMA is a tube with an inflatable cuff that is inserted into the pharynx (the upper part of the windpipe).

Unless there is evidence of severe reflux, impaired stomach emptying, or bowel obstruction, intubation is rarely necessary and carries its own risks.

A person who falls into natural sleep doesn't require constant monitoring or observation. A patient under anesthesia, like an intensive care unit patient in a coma, may appear peaceful and relaxed, but anesthetic drugs don't produce natural sleep and may cause breathing to stop or have other serious side effects.

Hypotension (Low Blood Pressure)

While most healthy patients tolerate this transient hypotension, there are reports of cardiac arrest occurring following the placement of spinal or epidural anesthetics. Extra care must be taken in patients receiving neuraxial anesthesia that have a cardiac history.

Long format surgery may take 6-12 hours, is it safe to be “under” for this long? Sometimes it is recommended to undertake several plastic surgery procedures during one session. This is known as a long format surgery, which may take anywhere from 6-12 hours in duration.

Anxiety is particularly important, because it has the potential to affect all aspects of anesthesia such as preoperative visit, induction, perioperative, and recovery periods [2, 3].