Anesthesiology: The Backbone of Surgery

Anaesthesia is the area of medicine that focuses on treating pain before, during, or following surgery. This area of medicine is known as anesthesiology. Anesthesiologists are medical professionals with specialised training in this field. The drugs given are known as anaesthesia. Nevertheless, nomenclature may differ by region or continent. For instance, in some places, anesthesiologists may be referred to as anaesthetists and the drugs they provide as anaesthetics.

Anesthesiologists often receive training after completing medical school, which can last anywhere between eight and twelve years, depending on the nation.  Their rigorous training requires in-depth learning of fundamental concepts in important areas, such as pharmacokinetics, or the impact of a drug on the body, and pharmacodynamics, or the impact of a drug on the body. Anesthesiologists need to be knowledgeable on mechanical ventilation, various physiological monitoring devices, neuroanatomy, and other general fields of medicine in addition to pharmacology.

What types of anaesthesia do anesthesiologists provide?

The following types of anaesthetic care are typically provided by anesthesiologists:

General anaesthesia

You go unconscious after receiving this sort of anaesthetic through an IV or an anaesthesia mask especially whilst undergoing major procedures like knee replacements or open heart surgery.

Monitored anaesthesia or IV sedation

Following IV sedation, you feel peaceful, which might result in varying levels of consciousness. Depending on the approach, the level of sedation can range from mild (leaving you sleepy but able to communicate) to deep (causing you to forget the treatment). Colonoscopies and other minimally invasive procedures are frequently performed under this sort of anaesthetic. Local or regional anaesthesia may be used with IV sedation.

Regional anaesthesia

To numb a major region of the body, such as the area below the waist, a catheter or a shot are utilised. Although you will be awake, the surgical area won’t be perceptible. When giving birth and undergoing procedures on the arm, leg, or abdomen, this type of anaesthesia, which includes spinal blocks and epidurals, is frequently used.

Local anaesthetic

A tiny portion of the body where the procedure is being done is numbed by this injection to avoid discomfort, and wake aware after a few hours. This is frequently employed for procedures including mole removal, sewing severe cuts, and setting fractured bones.

Anesthesiologist Care During Surgery

In addition to relieving pain before, during, and after surgery, anesthesiologists perform a variety of other crucial tasks.

Before surgery

Before the procedure, a day or week your anesthesiologist will make sure you are fit for the operation and prepare you for it by asking you in-depth questions about your health history, examining you out, and reviewing test findings. Your anesthesiologist will respond to any inquiries you have regarding the procedure and anaesthesia. Tell the anesthesiologist about any health conditions you have, such as heart disease, diabetes, or asthma, the prescription, over-the-counter, and herbal supplements you are taking, and whether you have ever experienced issues or concerns with anaesthesia. Ask questions throughout this time. As you get ready for surgery, feeling comfortable and secure about your care will help. To guarantee your effective anaesthesia, the anesthesiologist will build a strategy just for you.

During surgery

Working alone or with an anaesthetic Care Team, the anesthesiologist controls your pain while carefully monitoring your anaesthetic and essential bodily processes during the surgery. Your anesthesiologist will take care of any chronic ailments you have, such as asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart issues, as well as any health complexities that arise at the time of surgery.

After surgery

Your respiration, circulation, degree of consciousness, and oxygen saturation are all monitored in the recovery area by the anesthesiologist, who is also on hand in case of any questions or emergencies. When you have fully recovered from the effects of anaesthetic and are prepared to go home, be transferred to a regular hospital room, or be placed in the intensive care unit, the anesthesiologist typically makes this decision. The anesthesiologist along with the surgeon develops a strategy to refine the recovery journey to help with pain management when you return home.

How To Become An Anaesthetist?

If you want to pursue this professional route, think about doing the following actions:

Clear the medical entrance exam after 10+2

You must first complete your higher secondary school (10+2) in the science stream with physics, chemistry, and biology as the required subjects in order to start a career in anesthesiology. This qualifies you to take the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) National Eligibility cum admission Test (NEET), a popular medical admission exam. You can enrol in a medical college and pursue the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme after passing the NEET.

Earn an MBBS degree

In order to become an anaesthetist, you must complete the MBBS programme. The course lasts five and a half years, including its internship year. You will learn the fundamentals of anaesthesia during your MBBS curriculum, including anaesthetic technology and anaesthesia methods in an operating room. An MBBS degree, which stands for Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, qualifies you for postgraduate study.

Pursue additional medical schooling

You are qualified to enrol in a postgraduate study in anaesthesia once you have earned your MBBS. To get accepted at this point into a post-graduate programme in anaesthesia, you must pass the National Eligibility Entrance Test (Postgraduate), also known as the NEET-PG medical entrance exam. Some universities also need a minimum MBBS score of 50%. You will get practical instruction on various anaesthetic techniques and how to monitor patients during anaesthesia during your post-graduation.

Even if you studied general medicine or science in your MBBS programme, extra medical training will prepare you to concentrate completely on anesthesiology. You are prepared to provide care in many different areas of the medical industry with this expertise.

Undergo a residency program

Start working as an anaesthetist in a residency programme after finishing all relevant and necessary courses. These programmes offer training and work experience. Your decision about the type of care you want to concentrate on during your career will be aided by this experience.

Choose a speciality

You might decide to concentrate in a certain population or kind of anaesthesia as a result of the residency programme you choose to enrol in. There are alternatives for furthering your study, whether you wish to specialise in dealing with newborns or giving cardiac anaesthetic. You could choose to start working without a specialism or enrol in a training programme at a hospital or clinic to learn a specific skill set.

Although many anaesthetic professionals opt to work in surgery, there are several alternative career options available. These may consist of:

  • Associate consultant
  • Anaesthesia technician
  • Anesthesiologist assistant
  • Clinical associate
  • Medical consultant
  • Nurse anaesthetist

The profession is underestimated primarily because the technicians are always in the backdrop of the surgery. However just think how will a surgeon perform a surgery when you are wide awake with no epidural for pain management. The profession as you observed above is an expense and acts as a backbone of a surgery and thus the average salary of an anaesthetist is ₹11,74,715 per year (as per indeed survey). If you are an aspirant of the profession and wish to begin your journey visit us at RajaRajeshwari Medical College and Hospital and book your seat today.