Last Updated: December 16th, 2021 by
An anesthesiologist is a qualified and licensed physician just like any other. What sets them apart from other doctors is that they have specialized training in the safe administration of anesthesia to patients. Because of that, anesthesiologists play a critical role in surgeries, childbirth, and pain management.
Your pursuit of this role begins by graduating from medical school as a Doctor of Medicine. Then, you’ll complete a residency in anesthesiology. With licensure, you can then work with patients as an anesthesiologist.
In the following sections, you’ll discover everything you need to know about how to become an anesthesiologist!
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Job Description
Before we discover how to become an anesthesiologist, let’s dive into what an anesthesiologist actually is and what their responsibilities consist of.
The primary responsibility of a physician anesthesiologist is to safely administer anesthesia to patients that require it. That means you’ll work closely with patients who need it to undergo medical treatments like surgery, pregnant mothers about to give birth, dental procedures, and more.
That said, your responsibility doesn’t start or end with the administration of anesthesia. Firstly, you’ll evaluate the patient before their procedure to ensure that it’s safe for them to receive anesthesia.
Next, you’ll monitor their condition during the procedure, as well as provide monitoring and care when they’re in recovery.
An anesthesiologist is also a leader. In this role, you’ll be leading an anesthesia care team that helps you monitor your patients before, during, and after their procedure.
Pain management and treatment are also part of an anesthesiologist’s specialization. For example, patients suffering from migraines and other forms of chronic pain will also seek help from you in this role.
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What Does an Average Day for an Anesthesiologist Look Like?
Throughout your days as an anesthesiologist, you might work alone or lead an anesthesia care team.
In either case, here’s what an average day will look like for you in this role:
Reviewing Patient Information
An average day for you in this role will begin with a review of patient information. During this time, you’ll read patient records and files to better understand their condition and the procedures they’ll undergo.
This process also involves speaking to the physicians and nurses who have provided care for the patient overnight. That way, you’ll have a more detailed understanding of the patient and provide better care for them later on.
Performing Pre-Surgery Evaluations
Anesthesia comes with its fair share of risks. That’s why you’ll have to evaluate your patients before they undergo any surgery or significant procedures to ensure that they’re healthy enough to receive the anesthetics you’ll administer.
Your job here is to understand the risks that your patients will face. For example, you’ll need to identify high-risk patients like those with heart disease or asthma.
You’ll also need to understand what medications or supplements the patient has been taking to ensure that none of them will react negatively to the anesthetics you’ll use later on.
Work With Patients During Surgery
While the patient is in surgery or undergoing their medical procedure, you’ll be on-hand to administer anesthetics and monitor their condition.
Depending on the exact medical procedure that’s going on, you’ll administer different types of anesthetics like:
- General Anesthesia: This type is generally used for major surgeries and causes the patient to lose consciousness.
- Regional Anesthesia: This type focuses on numbing a region of the body, e.g. the lower half from the waist down for childbirth and other surgeries on the lower part of the body. The patient will still be conscious but won’t feel anything in the affected part of the body.
- Local Anesthesia: This type is more targeted, focusing on numbing a minor part like the patient’s finger during more targeted procedures, like stitching a deep cut.
- Monitored Anesthesia: Used in conjunction with local or regional anesthesia, this type allows the anesthesiologist to get the patient to different levels of overall consciousness (from just being drowsy to being completely unconscious).
During this time, you’ll monitor vital signs like blood pressure and heart rate to ensure that everything goes smoothly, at least regarding anesthetics.
In this situation, you might work alone or with a team, depending on what’s required for the procedure.
Evaluate Patients in Recovery
Once the surgery or procedure is complete, the patient will spend some time recovering from the effects of the anesthetics. Here, you and your team will monitor their condition every step of the way.
Based on your expertise, you’ll decide whether or not the patient has recovered enough to be discharged to go home or at least to move to another part of the hospital.
At this stage, you’ll also address any concerns that the patient or their family might have about the anesthetics that you’ve given to them.
Providing Pain Management Consultations
As an anesthesiologist, you’ll also spend some time working in your office. There, you’ll meet with patients and provide pain management consultations.
Some of those patients will be those you worked with before, during, and after their surgeries. In this case, you’ll provide those patients with pain management advice once they’re discharged and have gone home.
Besides that, you’ll also work with outpatients (i.e. those visiting you and aren’t undergoing any significant procedures). These are the patients typically experiencing chronic pain who require your advice and medication to feel better.
How to Become an Anesthesiologist: Process
Now that you know what the job entails, let’s take a look at how to become an anesthesiologist!
The standard process that you’ll go through to become an anesthesiologist is pretty straightforward. With few or no variations along the way, your experience will generally be the same as any other anesthesiologist you meet.
Here’s what the process will look like for you:
1. Pursue a Bachelor’s Degree (Pre-Med)
The first step towards becoming an anesthesiologist is to pursue an undergraduate education. During this time, often referred to as your pre-med years, your goal is to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree.
There’s no specific 4-year Bachelor’s Degree that you must aim for at this stage. However, pre-med students typically take on subjects that will benefit their medical school application later.
Such as:
- Biology
- Physical Science
- Human Anatomy
- Public Health
- Ethics
While you’re pursuing this degree, you’ll be evaluating medical schools to decide which one you’ll apply for later.
2. Get a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) Degree
Once you’ve gotten your Bachelor’s Degree, your next target is the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) qualification. This stage begins by passing the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). Then, you’ll apply for the medical school of your choice and undergo an additional 4 years of learning.
The first half of your time at medical school is focused on classroom learning. The second half focuses on supervised, hands-on experience at hospitals or clinics.
That means you’ll be working directly with actual patients under the instruction and guidance of a qualified physician.
3. Complete an Anesthesiology Residency
Once you’ve graduated from medical school, you can pursue additional training known as a ‘residency’ that lasts for a few years, depending on the specialization.
In your case, you’ll spend 4 years pursuing a residency in anesthesiology. This step in your journey will occur at a hospital or clinic that offers this type of residency.
4. Obtain a State License
In the United States, all states require you to have a license before working with patients as a physician. To get that license, you must first pass a national exam like the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) while satisfying the state’s education and training requirements.
Those requirements will differ from state to state, so you’ll want to find out what requirements apply to you and your state.
Many websites list the requirements for your state, with the Federation of State Medical Boards being an excellent example of this.
5. Become Board Certified
Becoming board certified isn’t compulsory to work as an anesthesiologist. However, it’s an excellent credential to have as it’ll help you get jobs, increase your earning potential, and establish yourself as an expert in the field.
In this case, the certification you’ll want to pursue comes from the American Board of Anesthesiology.
You’ll sit for their examinations, which happens in 3 stages:
- Basic Exam
- Advanced Exam
- Applied Exam
Once you’ve passed all 3 exams, you’ll be a board-certified anesthesiologist.
6. Pursue a Subspecialty
Once you’ve become a board-certified anesthesiologist, you can also pursue another 1-2 years of training and take exams to develop a subspecialty.
For an anesthesiologist, you can pursue subspecialties like:
- Critical Care Medicine
- Pediatric Anesthesiology
- Pain Medicine
Are You Suited for an Anesthesiologist Career?
Now that you have what you need to learn how to become an anesthesiologist, is this career path right for you?
Being an anesthesiologist requires a specific set of skills, credentials, and proficiencies.
Here are a few that will take you a long way in this line of work:
Personality and Skills
As an anesthesiologist, you’ll be working directly with patients who are in pain or about to undergo a significant medical procedure. That’s why having excellent communication skills is crucial to help the patient understand what’s happening.
Besides that, being a detail-oriented person is crucial as you won’t have room for any mistakes in your line of work.
Most importantly, you must be able to stay calm under pressure. While most of your work is routine, you’ll face complications from time to time. Staying calm will help you get through the most challenging situations.
Credentials and Proficiencies
Anesthesiology is your specialization, but you’re still a physician first and foremost. So, having well-developed general medical knowledge is crucial for this line of work.
At the same time, being a specialist means that you must be proficient at multitasking. More specifically, you must balance between providing general medical care while also delivering on your specialization.
To do that effectively, you must also have a thorough understanding of the different types of anesthetics and which ones are suited for any given situation.
This knowledge sets you apart from other doctors, and it’s what makes you a specialist to begin with.
How to Become an Anesthesiologist and Find Work
Now that you know how to become an anesthesiologist, how will you find work?
The best way to find work as an anesthesiologist is to focus on places where there’s a high demand for this specialization.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the 3 largest employers of anesthesiologists are:
- Physician’s Offices
- Hospitals
- Outpatient Care Facilities
These would be the best places to send job applications to when searching for work.
On top of that, your chances would be higher when applying to hospitals where you did your residency, as they would already be familiar with who you are and how you work.
The Average Salary Of An Anesthesiologist
If you’re wondering how to become an anesthesiologist, it’s likely that you’ve considered their salary once or twice.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), an anesthesiologist earns an average of $271,440 per year. The top 90th percentile earns more than $208,000 a year, while the bottom 10th percentile earns $136,000 a year.
The BLS goes on to say that the top 5 best paying states for this line of work, where the average salary exceeds $208,000 a year, are:
- California
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Maine
Anesthesiologist Job Growth
If you’re searching for how to become an anesthesiologist, you’ll be encouraged to know that the outlook for this career is quite promising – but not without its challenges.
The BLS projects that this line of work will grow by 0.5% between 2019 and 2029. This part of the industry is quite competitive, which is why you’ll want to focus on developing a sub-specialization to set yourself apart from the rest.
Top 3 Sub-Specializations
3 of the top sub-specializations for physician anesthesiologists are:
Obstetric Anesthesia
This subspecialization focuses on administering anesthesia for patients who are giving birth.
Adult Cardiac Anesthesiology
In this subspecialty, you’ll be working with adults experiencing advanced cardiac problems. These patients are at higher risk when administering anesthetics, so they require physicians with a high degree of knowledge to work with them.
Pediatric Anesthesiology
Young children and babies also require anaesthetics, but they don’t react the same way as adults. That’s why there’s a strong need for physician anesthesiologists who focus on this subspecialty, as well.
Professional Associations
American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)
The American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA)
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA)
State-level associations like:
Washington State Society of Anesthesiology
California Society of Anesthesiologists
Top Colleges and Universities
Wondering how to become an anesthesiologist? Here’s some of the top colleges and universities to consider:
University of California – Los Angeles
Conclusion
By the end of this guide, you should know everything you need to know about how to become an anesthesiologist.
Learning how to become an anesthesiologist is only part of the battle, but if you’re looking to get into the medical field, it can be a challenging and rewarding career!