Expert: Dr Ian Jackson - please note UK based - 2/19/2008

Question
Hi, I'm currently a sophomore in high school thinking about becoming an anesthesiologist.  I like science a lot and math comes pretty easily to me. The thing I'm worrying about is being able to start my family.  How does an anesthesiologist balance family life? I want a fairly large family and I'm afraid that if I get into school working to become an anesthesiologist, I'll already be 30 when I'm done and it will be difficult to begin a family so late.  I'm still debating whether this is the career to follow... What questions do you think I should ask myself to be sure anesthesiology is the right career for me? Thank you!

Answer
Hi Brittany
I must point out I am UK based and trained and so my comments are based on my experience over here.
I am not sure if your plan involves doing medicine to become a doctor and then to specialise in anaesthesia but I'll base my answer on that premise. I have a lot of female anaesthetic colleagues as anaesthesia in the Uk does allow one to balance family life and work with some more control - compared to other hospital based specialties. It is also very interesting as there as so many avenues that you can follow by providing anaesthesia services to different specialties. So certainly in the UK it is seen as being very compatible with family life.
However you still have to be committed to the job. When a patient is in trouble or a list is running late you cannot just down tools and go home to your family. Similarly unlike many jobs there can be problems if a child falls ill and you then have to manage how to look after them and manage your job. That is true in all walks of life but in many it is easier to find temporary cover e.g. you have seen a difficult patient and talked them through how you are going to look after them for a big operation that is high risk for them, your child falls ill that morning - what do you do? Again much depends on the family links/support you have and I believe if you want to have an ambitious career and a large family then you need to consider what family support will be available. The best thing you can do is try and find some female anaesthesiologists in your locality and explain your quandry and have a chat to them. I'm sure there are large differences between our systems that I can't really help you with. However the pressures on family/work balance I have outlined are probably true across the world.
I will finish as I started, anaesthesia is a great career and I have no regrets in having taken up my profession.
Kind regards
Dr Ian Jackson