The workplace - Anaesthetics Specialty Training Program

Anaesthetists provide anaesthesia for patients undergoing operations and those having medical procedures requiring sedation such as endoscopy or interventional radiology. Anaesthesia is provided for patients undergoing the full range of operative procedures ranging from relatively simple hernia repairs to more complicated procedures such as a craniotomy or cardiac surgery. The former poses little challenge in a healthy patient while the latter two require an anaesthetist to be constantly on their toes monitoring the progress of the operation and how it impacts on the their physiology. This is far from the medical school stereotype of the doctor who spends most of his or her day in theatre checking the sharemarket on their laptop once the patient is intubated. After all, if the patient crashes in theatre, the resuscitation will be spearheaded by the anaesthetic team. For those who like working with their hands, this is a highly procedural specialty. Intubating, inserting central lines and placing epidurals are performed on a regular basis.

The anaesthetist’s work setting extends beyond the operating theatre. Pre-operative assessments are a source of patient contact and are performed on an outpatient basis. These occur in outpatient type clinics where anaesthetists assess those who are on the waiting list for an operation. These clinics are an opportunity for anaesthetists to identify patients who may have difficulties undergoing anaesthetia and optimize them medically prior to the operation. This is a referral specialty with patients referred to the anaesthetists by the doctor performing the procedure. Anaesthetists are specialists in pain management and may often be found in the hospital ward performing a post operative pain round in which may involve the management post operative PCA (patient controlled analgesia) and epidurals. This role may be extended to an outpatient setting for those who sub specialize in pain medicine.

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