Anesthesiologist

What it’s like to be one. I like this quote: “The OR is the same everyday, and somewhat boring. They say it’s 90% boring, and 10% ‘oh sh**!’”

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Anonymous
My wife is an anesthesiologist. She likes it; I would never choose this career, neither would my children.
Call is always busy, mainly with OB, but also with surgeons who post elective cases at all odd hours that they can’t do at their surgery centers. It really becomes onerous as you age or have children, and all almost all her female colleagues have quit by age 42. I am never on call.
There is virtually always a lawsuit pending, usually with lots of money demanded. Some of these suits are from poor protoplasm gone bad, or maybe it is the surgeon, maybe it was a perioperative event. Doesn’t matter; your name is on the chart. Then there are known complications of anesthesia, central line placement, etc. that occur. Doesn’t matter. I have never been sued.
The ephemeral nature of the patient/physician relationship as an anesthesiologist and the fact the patient doesn’t usually choose you to be their doctor doesn’t help engender trust. I am sought out and respected, a “miracle worker” to many.
And forget about lunch. She survives on “power bars” and such eaten on the run in between cases. I take an hour and half for lunch, most days eating at home, sometimes working out at the gym, sometimes tending to investments that can yield far more with a few keystrokes than her day at work.
As for the money, it might seem like “a lot” to some, but not to me or my colleagues. You are essentially an hourly wage earner. There is a fairly narrow range of income and if you are Harvard-trained stellar or take the most difficult Medicare cases you won’t be as economically productive as the FMG doing high volume non-Medicare bread-and-butter. You are a warm body to almost all concerned. I am an individual with my name on my door and credentials/reputation that attract business.
You are an independent contractor to the hospital in a technical sense, but you better be well behaved and take care of whatever surgeon demands at whatever hour or risk contractual termination. You will serve on all sort of hospital committees, uncompensated of course. I am an independent business owner, have nothing to do with hospitals, and serve on no committees or boards on an uncompensated basis.
So what is the upside? Like I said, she likes it! And that is good for everyone concerned.
Anonymous
To the point. I have met many anesthesiologist’s that use to be FP’s, IM’s, peds, and surgeons (or in residency for such). I have never met a FP, IM, ped, or surgeon who used to be an anesthesiologist. I think that says something.

Anesthesiologist

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