Expert: Dr Ian Jackson - please note UK based - 11/19/2006

Question
Hi, i am in high school and doing a research paper on the career of anesthesiology. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me on the topic?
1. Do you as an anesthesiologist get health benefits and/or what is your insurance policy like?
2. Pros and Cons of being an anesthesiologist
3. Do you get to spend a lot of time with the people you love.
4. What did it take to become an anesthesiologist
Thanks for your help,
cass

Answer
Hi there
Now I work in the UK so life is a little different over here!
We do not have health benefits/ insurance in the UK
Pros
You get to work with your hands - so good if you like hand skills.
You get to work with a large variety of people - we provide anaesthesia for a huge range of surgical specialties and each has its own little special requirements we need to know about. In the UK we can also work in specialised chronic pain clinics, in Intensive Care and providing analgesia (and anaesthesia) for pregnant mums on maternity. This latter bit is very satisfying as one minute you have someone in agony and then a few minutes later you can leave them feeling comfortable with a huge smile on their face.
Cons
Risk. Every day you are anaesthetising patients you are taking a very calculated risk. Risk is all around us no matter what we do in life - driving a car, riding a bike or even taking a walk. However we are responsible for looking after someone who is anaesthetised. They cannot look after themselves. Anaesthesia is very safe but many patients are extremely unfit. Despite all our efforts sometimes a patient dies - this can be very difficult to deal with on a personal level. Not many jobs expose you to this risk day in day out.
Training has changed fundamentally and so what I did is not the new way. I spent 5 years at Medical School training to be a doctor and then a further 7 years of Post Graduate Training to become an Anaesthetist. During that time I had very little time at home and when at home had to study hard for my Post Grad Exams. It was tough.
Now however I have been a Consultant for 17 years and I would say I now make time for my family. Life is still very busy but it is important to find time for your loved ones.
So I think the above story gives you an idea of what it took to become an anaesthetist.
Hope it helps
Dr ian Jackson