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Anesthesiology

I'm a freshman and im looking to make a career in the medical field and anesthesiology sounds interesting and i want to be better educated on the topic.

- What is the requirement of time spent in college and med school?
- What is your anual income like?
- What hours do you spend at work? (ie 8:00-5:00)
- What is the job like (repetitive, interesting, etc.)
- Anything you wish you knew before becoming an anesthesiologist?
- What university did you attend? Would you rather have chosen differently?
#anesthesiology

Thank you comment icon Hi Joshua, please post these as separate questions so that professionals can go into details on all of them Gurpreet Lally, Admin

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Paula’s Answer

If you have an interest in becoming an MD with a specialty in Anesthesia be prepared for a lot of hard work. You will do 8 years of school after HS . Then Internship, Residency and Fellowship. You have to have a high GPA in HS plus standout among your peers. Things that make you stand out are volunteerism. Clubs or extracurricular activities that focus on leadership ,community service etc . Think Boy Scouts and get your Eagle Scout rank or Girl Scouts Gold Award. If the schooling seems daunting then I suggest thinking about a career as a CRNA ( Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist). This requires 4 years of college with a BS in Nursing . Then working as an RN for two years with 1 year being in the ICU( Intensive Care Unit). After you have this experience you then apply to several CRNA programs . You go wherever you get in . This career path is highly competitive, challenging and satisfying. You work under the supervision of an Anesthesiologist in day surgical facilities, private clinics etc. Salary is excellent and job opportunity is in high demand. Also as a guy there is potential for scholarships when you apply for RN programs in your undergraduate. A lot of guys do not consider nursing as a career but if you did you'd have an edge over a very competitive major being a male. My own son who is a senior in high school was interested in Anesthesiology . I asked him to look at CRNA as a career choice . When he did the research and thought about it he realized that he wanted a career that was challenging and interesting. Where he could work independently helping people etc. He also realized that 14 more years of schooling was going to be hard financially, academically and super competitive. However if he went the path of Nursing to a CRNA program his schooling was cut in half and he would be able to have a family and personal life too. Also as a CRNA your work hours are more predictable. Most places do not require you to take call. Your salary is excellent and there is opportunities to do Locum Tenum or travel positions. I am in no way trying to sway you from being an MD merely giving you some food for thought .

Paula recommends the following next steps:

Check with any hospitals in your area that may have a shadow program
Reach out to people who are in either career my own son spoke to some of the people I work with
Research scholarships and RN programs in other states where you would get top experience during your clinicals . We live in MA excellent colleges with clin8cals in some of the best hospitals
Start your search for CRNA programs now too
The other great career ideas are Physician Assistant and Nurse Practioner
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Nicole’s Answer

As mentioned above, one option for anesthesia is to go the nurse anesthetist or CRNA route.

It requires a 4 year bachelors degree in nursing or a 2 year accelerated nursing program (if you already have a bachelors degree in another specialty). Then to apply to nurse anesthesia school, you need at least a year of experience as an ICU nurse. Anesthesia school it’s self is around 3 years. It’s a very rigorous and tough course of study but is very rewarding. The salaries are typically >$150,000/year

What I have found beneficial about this route is even if you decide you don’t like anesthesia or don’t want to work in a hospital, you can still find a job in an area of medicine that you do like (there are even nurse administrators that don’t see patients).
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