Can you choose your anesthesiologist

Some particularly important information he or she needs to know includes the following:. Reactions to previous anesthetics. If you have ever had a bad reaction to an anesthetic agent, you need to be able to describe exactly what the reaction was and what your specific symptoms were.

Give the anesthesiologist as much detail as possible, such as you felt nauseated when you woke up or the amount of time it took you to wake up. Current herbal supplements. Certain herbal products, commonly taken by millions of Americans, may cause changes in heart rate and blood pressure, and may increase bleeding in some patients. The popular herbs gingko biloba, garlic, ginger, and ginseng may lead to excess blood loss by preventing blood clots from forming.

In addition, St. John's wort, and kava kava, may prolong the sedative effect of the anesthetic. The American Society of Anesthesiologists advises anyone planning to have surgery to stop taking all herbal supplements at least 2 to 3 weeks before surgery to rid the body of these substances.

Any known allergies. Discussing any known allergies with the anesthesiologist is very important, as some anesthetic drugs trigger cross-allergies, particularly in people who have allergies to eggs and soy products.

Allergies to both foods and drugs should be identified. All recent and current prescription and over-the-counter medicines. It is also important to let your surgeon and anesthesiologist know about both prescription medicines and over-the-counter medicines you are taking, or have recently taken. Certain prescription medicines, such as coumadin, a blood thinner, must be discontinued for some time before surgery.

In addition, as many people take a daily aspirin to prevent heart attack, and certain dietary supplements, doctors need to be aware of these habits, as they can prolong bleeding and interfere with medicines used by anesthesiologists.

Cigarette smoking and drinking alcohol. Cigarette smoking and alcohol can affect your body just as strongly and sometimes more strongly than many prescription medicines you may be taking.

Because of the way cigarettes and alcohol affect the lungs, heart, liver, and blood, these substances can change the way an anesthetic drug works during surgery. It is important to let your surgeon and anesthesiologist know about your past, recent, and current consumption of these substances before surgery.

Undergoing surgery can be a good motivator to quit smoking. Most hospitals are smoke-free and doctors, nurses, and other health professionals will be there to give you support.

In addition, you will heal and recover faster, especially in the incision area, or if your operation involves any bones. Smoking cessation before surgery also decreases pulmonary complications after surgery, such as pneumonia. Quitting smoking also reduces your risk of heart disease, lung disease, and cancer.

Use of street drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, or amphetamines. People are often reluctant to disclose the use of illegal drug, but you should remember that all conversations between you and your surgeon and anesthesiologist are confidential. It is crucial that he or she know about your past, recent, and current use of these substances, as these drugs can effect healing, and responses to anesthesia.

It is important to keep in mind that the only interest your doctor has in this information is learning enough about your physical condition to provide you with the safest anesthesia possible.

I have to use technical skills to perform procedures on patients, I have to use intellectual skills to problem solve, and I have to use personal skills to help patients get through the anxiety of surgery, anesthesia and sometimes the pain afterward.

If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be? I would like to change the unpredictability of the hours, but it is completely tied to the O. Of course, that schedule reflects both scheduled elective surgeries like gall bladder operations and tonsillectomies, as well as emergency surgeries, including childbirth, heart attacks and car accidents. Our work environment is always changing. Some days are routine. However, when you least expect it, things can quickly become very exciting.

The O. I personally work in a close-knit group where we are similar to a supportive family. What are some complications an anesthesiologist might face during surgery? As noted above, we often see side effects to all of the drugs that we use. These may be a lowering of blood pressure and a change in the pulse. Most anesthetic drugs depress the breathing stimulus, and the anesthesiologist must be prepared to support the patient's breathing.

Rarely, the patient may experience significant changes in temperature, allergic reactions to drugs, damage to teeth due to the breathing tubes being placed in the trachea, bleeding problems, bronchospasm in the lungs, aspiration of stomach contents, or injury to nerves when nerve blocks are used. While this list may seem long, these reactions are very uncommon, especially in the healthy patient, but the anesthesiologist must be prepared not only to recognize any problem, but also he or she must know how to manage the problem.

The risks of anesthesia are quite minimal. In some cases, the benefits or the surgery do not justify exposing the patient to the risks of anesthesia, such as when a patient with severe congestive heart failure may also have a painful knee.

Although an artificial knee could reduce the pain, the patient in consultation with his or her physicians including the anesthesiologist, needs to weigh the benefits of a new knee with no pain versus the potential of more damage to the heart from the effects of anesthesia.

Each case and each patient must be addressed as an individual, unique and different from any other patient. Would today's surgeries be possible without general anesthesia? The simple answer is "NO! Crawford W. Long in Jefferson, Georgia in , the surgical treatment of diseases and trauma was extremely rare. On those rare occasions, patients suffering from gangrene of a leg or a serious fracture would be drugged with alcohol or morphine, and then restrained while a fast surgeon would perform the procedure.

The accounts of these operations are horrifying. It is amazing how Dr. Long's discovery of ether as an anesthetic and the first public demonstration of an anesthetic by Dr.

William T. Morton at Harvard in revolutionized the treatment of life-threatening ailments. You are making a big commitment. You want to know who you are saying yes to! When my kids were choosing a college, we would spend a weekend walking the campus of the finalists. We would talk with students as they ate lunch, walked into the library and moved between classes.

We ate in the dorm cafeterias, were invited into dorm rooms and got a feel of what it was like on campus. When we left the campus, I would hear phrases like, "these kids are just like me", "I can see myself going here", "I hate the way those sorority girls looked me over" and "I don't think I would fit in here.

Don't be afraid to tap into it. Finding the right job is time consuming and requires extroverted behavior we are not always comfortable with.

Yet the time invested pays dividends in having the right atmosphere for large chunks of our professional lives. External Links. Knowing Yourself What are you looking for? This Is A Buyer's Market Our nation's population is growing much faster than the supply of doctors, specifically anesthesiologists.

How open are the books for anesthesiologists to see? How is money distributed? How is income calculated? How are expenses apportioned? Is income paid as W2, or K1? Practice History When did the last doctor leave the practice? Why did they leave? Who was the most recent hire? Are they still here? Are they a Partner yet? Can you talk to them? Is the practice growing? How many hospitals? How many surgery centers?