An individual who wishes to pursue a career as an anesthesiologist will devote many years to their education. Anesthesiologists are medical doctors who have completed additional specialty training after graduating from medical school. The field has a high demand for precision and competency, and it provides doctors with the opportunity to work with a wide range of patients.
Anyone interested in becoming an anesthesiologist should first graduate from high school and apply to colleges during their senior year. Grades should be good in order to have the best chance of attending college, and people should concentrate on math and science studies in particular. These are especially important when preparing for medical school.
In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, medical school is combined with college. A student who wants to become an anesthesiologist in the United States must first complete a four-year college degree before enrolling in medical school. Pre-medical and science majors are two examples of appropriate majors. Some people also go to school to become registered nurses and earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Students must take the MCAT, or Medical College Admission Test, in their junior year and must do well on it. To increase your chances of being accepted to medical school, you must have excellent grades in college.
Prior to becoming licensed as physicians, students will spend three to four years in medical school, and in their final year of training, they will decide whether or not to specialize. If a student wishes to pursue a career as an anesthesiologist, he or she must apply to anesthesiology residency programs. In most cases, this additional training takes at least four years, and many anesthesiologists continue their education with a fifth year of study in a subspecialty such as pediatric anesthesiology, pain management, critical care anesthesiology, cardiac anesthesiology, or a variety of other fields. Students can also choose to concentrate on anesthesiology research.
Students in the United States will need to take oral and written exams with the American Board of Anesthesiology after completing their training (ABA). When these exams are passed, doctors can claim to be board certified. The ABA may also offer additional exams in some subspecialties.
The anesthesiologist is board certified at this point, but if he or she wants to practice somewhere else, state licensing may be required. Locum placement agencies are in high demand for anesthesiologists. If a doctor decides to work as a locum tenens, he may need a license to practice medicine in multiple states.
Most students can expect to spend a minimum of twelve years studying to become an anesthesiologist once they begin college. Pursuing this specialty takes a lot of time. Patients often notice anesthesiologists not only because “they provide the drugs,” but also because of their calm demeanor. Patients who are worried about surgeries or anesthesiology in general may benefit from patience and a calm, assured attitude, and anesthesiologists may want to work on developing a comforting and helpful bedside manner.