Becoming an anesthetist requires many years of specialized training beyond medical school, including a four-year degree, medical school, and anesthesiology training programs. After passing exams, anesthesiologists may need state licensure to practice medicine. They must also have a calm demeanor and good bedside manner.
A person who wants to become an anesthetist will spend many years training for this field. Anesthesiologists are physicians who have completed several years of specialized training beyond medical school. The field is one where there is a high demand for accuracy and competence and offers physicians the opportunity to work with many different types of patients.
Anyone who wants to become an anesthetist starts by graduating from high school and enrolls in their final year at college. Grades should be good, there should be more opportunities to attend college, and people should be especially focused on studying math and science. These are of particular importance in preparation for training in medicine.
In some countries, such as the UK, students complete medical school in college. In the US, a student who wants to become an anesthesiologist will need to obtain a four-year degree before entering medical school. Typical specialties that are appropriate include premedical or science. Some people also train as nurses and receive a Bachelor of Nursing. In the first year, students will need to take the MCAT or Medical School entrance test and must score well on this test. College grades must be excellent to increase opportunities for medical school acceptance.
Students will spend three to four years in medical school before becoming licensed physicians, and in the final year of training, they make the decision as to whether they want to specialize. If a student has decided to become an anesthetist, he or she will need to enroll in anesthesiology training programs. Again, this additional training takes a minimum of four years in most cases, and many anesthesiologists complete their fifth year of study in a subspecialty such as pediatric anesthesiology, pain management, critical care anesthesiology, cardiac anesthesiology, or several other fields. Students may also choose to focus primarily on anesthesiology research.
Upon completion of training, students in the US will need to take oral and written exams with the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). When passed, these exams allow physicians to say they are board certified. Some subspecialties may also have additional exams offered by the ABA.
At that point, the anesthesiologist is board certified, but if he or she intends to practice elsewhere, he or she may need to obtain state licensure. Anesthesiologists are in high demand at locum placement agencies. If a physician chooses an on-site job, he may require a license to practice medicine in several states.
From the start of college, most students can expect to spend at least twelve years studying to become an anesthetist. It is a time consuming specialty to follow. Anesthesiologists are often noted particularly by patients, not only because “they provide the drugs”, but also because of their calm demeanor. Having patience and a calm, assured demeanor can be very helpful for patients concerned about surgery or anesthesiology in general, and anesthesiologists may also want to work towards achieving a comfortable and useful bedside manner.
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