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David Rivera
Lawrence
AP literature
Per 1
11/12/15

Anesthesiology

Ever since I went in for my first surgery, I loved the medical field. I wanted to help others just as
they helped me. The anesthesiology job appealed to me because they not only participate in the
surgery, but they also talk with their patients before and after the surgery. I also love that the
effects of anesthesiology can be seen almost instantly, and the work atmosphere that an
anesthesiologist faces every day is very pleasing . During my internship for my senior project I
was able to follow an anesthesiologist, and I loved the job and all the interactions that an
anesthesiologist has with people. Although anesthesiology is a large field, it is fairly recent in
medical history. The field has been growing quickly and it has become more popular. The field
has seen many recent breakthroughs in its development, most of which make the surgical
experience more pleasant to patients.
Anesthesiology has recently become a large field in the history of surgery. According to
Robert B. Hoffman and Donald E. Martins article, The History of Modern Anesthesia the first
case in which anesthesia was used was in 1846. In the case William T.G. Morton used an
anesthetic when administering a dental procedure. John T. Sullivan's article Surgery Before
Anesthesia states that before this case some doctors tried to use substances such as alcohol and
opium in order to lessen the pain that patients would feel. Although the substitutes worked to an

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extent, the alcohol would have many side effects. The amount of alcohol needed to subdue a
person so that they did not feel pain was very high, and most people would begin to vomit or
even die due to the amount of alcohol in their blood. Opium on the other hand had its own side
effects, and sometimes its effects were not powerful enough to block out the pain felt during a
surgery.
At first anesthesiology wasnt a greatly recognized area of surgery, and nurses were tasked with
administering anesthesia to patients (Hoffman). It wasn't until the late 1800s when nurses first
began specializing in anesthesia. A large growth in anesthesia was also due to the new programs
and ideas within nurse training . Although nurses were administering the anesthetics, they were
always regulated by surgeons at hand and overall surgeries were very organized and carefully
overseen to avoid the least amount of mistakes. Once nurses began to start specializing in
anesthesia, more and more attention was brought to the growing field and eventually it became a
field for specialized doctors and not nurses.
As anesthesia grew larger new and better anesthetics were discovered. Gas anesthetics
were introduced in order to better control the anesthesia. Gas based anesthesia was administered
through large breathing masks. Ether was also used at this time in order to reverse the effects of
anesthesia. Using ether patients would recover from the effects of anesthetics faster. Although the
field had many positive effects on the surgery patients, the field was still very young and
experimental, the first death recorded was of a young girl who was put to sleep using chloroform.
Many procedures that followed ended in similar ways the chloroform caused cardiac arrest in the
patients and they would die from the heart attack, but because of these deaths more was
discovered about anesthetics and the risks that came along with its benefits (Hoffman). Today
anesthetics range from gases to liquids that are injected into the body either via machine or the

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anesthesiologists injects the patient directly. From my experience working at the hospital, a
patient is usually given a mixture between the two types of anesthetics. Gas anesthetic is used to
quickly put the patient entirely to sleep. Although the liquid anesthetic can put a patient fully to
sleep, it takes more time to do so. Liquid anesthetics help with more localized pain.
Longer and more intense procedures that forced doctors to administer anesthesia both
before and during the surgery also pushed the specialty into its own professional field (Hoffman).
As anesthesia has advanced more is known about the effects and how it affects the body, and that
the patient must be carefully monitored in order to maintain the patient alive (Hoffman).
According to my mentor Doctor Stephen Skahen more is known now about the effects of
anesthesia, when a person is under anesthetics they can't control the amount of air that remains in
their lungs after each breath which can cause all the air from their lungs to be exhaled which in
turn crushes the lung upon itself. Anesthesia has come a long way since it began in the 1800s but
there is much more that is still being discovered in the field. Although the first procedure in
anesthesiology performed on a human 1846, anesthesia had been used in animals before that first
human case.
The road to becoming an anesthesiologist is very tough and demanding but the reward
after all the work is very pleasing. According to the article, Anesthesiology: Education
Requirements and Career Information the first step to becoming an anesthesiologist is to take
the prerequisite classes in college which are courses such as biology, chemistry, biochemistry,
and microbiology to name a few. Once these courses have been completed a medical school test
is taken in order to be able to apply to med school. Medical school is a four year educational
process. During the four years in medical school a specialty in anesthesiology is also done after
the general information. Sophie Cresswells article, Anesthesiology Career Guide:

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Qualifications, Job Outlook & Salaries says that, Before you can practice as a certified
anesthesiologist, you will have to pass the certification exam set by the American Board of
Anesthesiology or the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Once all the educational
requirements have been completed a fellowship can be done for a sub specialty in
anesthesiology. To finish becoming an anesthesiologist a state license is needed in order to
practice anesthesiology. To get the license a test is taken in order to check if the person is eligible
the test can be online or written. If a passing score is received the license is given to the medical
practitioner, but the license only lasts ten years from the date that the exam was taken. Also the
test has a non-refundable application fee of four hundred and ninety three dollars and the license
costs eight hundred and five dollars. The requirements differ by state in some states the license
does not have to be renewed. Also some states have a set number of tries that a person can try to
get the license per year, but in others people have an unlimited number of tries to pass the test.
Anesthesiology is a growing field and it presents many opportunities to those who are willing to
go through the rigorous path in becoming an anesthesiology. Anesthesia is expected to grow
around eighteen percent (Study). Jobs in anesthesiology are competitive in anesthesiology, but
not many people go into anesthesiology. Also many people are discouraged by the long and
difficult process in becoming an anesthesiology. Anesthesiology is a growing field and they will
be needed as long as there are people who are sick (Cresswell). According to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics article, Occupational Employment and Wages the mean annual salary for an
anesthesiologist is 246,320 dollars, and it is expected to rise about one point four percent. The
Bureau of Labor also says that offices of physicians hire the most anesthesiologists and that
specialty hospitals don't hire many anesthesiologists compared to other industries. It also states
that California is the third state with the highest employment rate for anesthesiology, only topped

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by Texas and New York, but New York's employment per thousands is more than double of that
of California.
Anesthesiology deals with the process in which people are put to sleep so that they don't
feel all the pain from a surgery before, during ,and after a surgery. According to the Hospital for
Special Surgerys article What is Anesthesiology? Anesthesia can range from local anesthetics
to a full anesthetic. Before a surgery all the anesthetics are prepared and the patient is prepared
before hand. Patient must sign an anesthetic release form stating that they consent to the
anesthesia. From my experience during my internship some people don't want to consent to the
anesthesia because they hear about cases in which anesthesia has led to death, but most of the
time there is no need to be afraid of the anesthesia. Anesthesiologists can also work throughout
the hospital's various branches. An anesthesiologist can do a job in a regular operating room and
then move on to the labor branch and help deliver babies. Anesthesiologists should have more
knowledge about the various procedures across branches in order to perform wherever they go.
Anesthesiologists are faced with various situations throughout their careers and because of that
they usually gain more knowledge than regular surgeons.According the the American Society of
Anesthesiologists article About the Profession, The role of an anesthesiologists extends
beyond the operating room.
Physicians are not the only people that can deliver the anesthetics to a patient. Anesthesiology
assistant can deliver the anesthesia under the supervision of a physician. Anesthesiology
assistants are not certified physicians. There are also Nurse anesthetists who are qualified and
trained in order to be able to administer anesthetics to patients (American Society of
Anesthesiologists). Finally there are Anesthesia care teams which are teams of both physician
anesthesiologists and nonphysician anesthesia providers and they take care off all the patients

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needs and they make a plan for what must be done for the patient. The group is led by a
physician anesthesiologist and they direct the group (American Society of Anesthesiologists).
Anesthesia helps patients before the surgery during the surgery and after the surgery. Before the
surgery the patient is given a sedative so that sedative can begin its activation. the
anesthesiologists also goes in before taking in the patient. The anesthesiology goes in around the
time that the operating room is being set up in order to prepare the anesthetics. The
anesthesiologist must check the patient's file and see the type of procedure being performed in
order to choose the anesthetics that will be administered. The anesthesiologist then has to check
out all the medications that he might need during the surgery from the medicine room. They also
have to mix the anesthetics that they remove because most anesthetics are split into a powder and
liquid. The liquid is mixed with the powder and once mixed the anesthetics will begin to react so
that it can be activated once the surgery begins. That way once the patient begins the surgery
they have already been affected by the anesthesia. If a patient needs to be put under quickly a gas
anesthetic is usually used. During long procedures anesthesia is administered throughout the
process so that the patient stays asleep during the entire procedure. The patient is set up with a
machine that can deliver anesthetics throughout the procedure, but if a different anesthetic is
needed the anesthesiologists must injects the patient in order to get the anesthetic in. The
patient's IV is used in order to inject them with anesthetic. After a surgery the patient is put into a
special post op bay where they are monitored so that they don't feel too much pain after their
surgery. The bays are set up with the same type of machine as they are in the operating room.
The machine can deliver a certain dose of anesthetic every set period of time. Although the
machine gives the dose every period of time, the patient must still be monitored in order to make
sure that no problems arise. The anesthetic given after surgery is not too strong so that the patient

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can stay somewhat conscious, that way the patient can tell the doctor what they are feeling so
that they can be best helped. There are special physicians that take care of the patients after the
surgery in the bay, but they are sometimes told what to give patients by the anesthesiologists that
operated on the patient. The anesthesiologist goes by the bay to check up on the patients and to
see if new medications or dosage of medicine are needed. Anesthesiologists usually have more
knowledge than other classifications of doctors because they spend more time in the surgical
room, and anesthesiologists usually go to school longer than regular surgeons.
Anesthesiologists jobs can be hectic at times when there are many procedures that must be done.
The hospitals usually do a great job organizing all the surgeries in order to maintain everything
calm, but when there are emergency procedures that arise during busy parts of a schedule it hard
to decide what to do. Emergency patients must be taken in quickly if they have a serious issue in
order to have the best chances in helping the patient. After emergency patients are taken care of
all of the surgeries are pushed forward in their time frame but must be completed quickly in
order to maintain schedule. Even though emergency procedures can happen at anytime there is
still a period of time in which the procedure must be announced before the surgery is actually
done unless it is a matter of life or death. Hospitals are really organized with these procedures
and usually leave time in order to fit in emergency procedures in and still have time to do other
procedures on time, but it all depends on how quickly the regular procedures go. As long as there
are no problems in the regular procedures the operations will be on time, but anesthesiologists
must be able to work well in both situations and be prepared for whatever can arise
Becoming an anesthesiologist is a long very strenuous path but in the end it is very
rewarding. Anesthesiology entails many procedures, and anesthesiologists are usually in surgery
more than surgeons. Anesthesiologists are essential in a surgical room and in postoperative

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rooms, and they do whatever they can so that patients have a procedure with minimal pain. It is a
really interesting field and it has a lot of potential. As anesthesiology grows more and more is
found about how to most effectively treat a patient. Although anesthesiology sometimes gets a
bad reputation in the news and many people don't want to take anesthetics, anesthesiologists do a
great job explaining all the possibilities to their patient to give them the confidence they need in
order to undergo the procedure. I have yet to see many parts of the job including being on call
which I is one of the toughest parts of being a doctor, but based on my experience during my
internship I loved the part of the job I got to see.