Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 11/17/2006

Question
How much schooling do you have to take in order to be a good anesthesiologist? I would look it up, but i thought asking someone who had the experience would be better. :P

Answer
To become an anesthesiologist you need 4 yrs of college, 4 yrs of medical school and 4 yrs of residency training. You can major in anything you want in college as long as you take the required premedical course (which any college can tell you what they are). There is no major in medical school. The things to look for in a college are the same as anyone looking for a good college. You want it to be competitive, to have a high caliber faculty, to have their own medical school (they often give preference to their graduates) and most importantly, that the faculty and coursework in your chosen major are of high quality.

As for becoming a GOOD anesthesiologist, that depends on how well you learn the material and how attentive you are to details in the OR!

Hope this helps,

Ronald Levy, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston