Home

Anaesthetist

Do you want to become a Anaesthetist? Here is some information to help point you in the right direction:

Job Description - Print Page

Anaesthetists are doctors who specialise in anaesthesia, allowing operations to take place without pain. They also specialise in pain management, both in the short term (as needed after operations and in giving birth) and in the long term (for conditions that cause chronic pain). Anaesthetists are closely involved in the care of acutely sick patients (eg those who need intensive care treatment).

• Before operations - anaesthetists talk to the patient and may examine them. They assess what care a patient will need during operations and answer any questions.
• During operations - anaesthetists perform either general anaesthesia (where the patient goes to sleep and remains unconscious during the operation) or local anaesthesia (where the area to be operated on is made numb by nerve blocks). They monitor the patient's heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, temperature and fluid state.
• After operations - after general anaesthesia, anaesthetists wake the patient to full consciousness. After all operations they make sure that the patient has effective pain relief and proper fluid replacement.
• Pain management - anaesthetists use a variety of drugs and other methods to relieve pain. Examples are epidurals in childbirth and nerve blocks in cancer pain.
• Intensive care - anaesthetists monitor the bodily functions of patients in intensive care and play a part in resuscitating (reviving) patients.

Increasingly, anaesthetists specialise in one type of theatre work, in pain management or in intensive care medicine.

Anaesthetists work long, irregular hours, including nights, weekends and on-call duty. They work in operating theatres and hospital wards.

Salaries range from between £20,000 and £35,000 a year for a house officer to more than £160,000 a year for some consultants.

An anaesthetist should:

• be committed to working with patients during surgical operations
• be able to work under pressure and make quick, clear decisions
• be able to work well as part of a team.

There are around 8,000 qualified anaesthetists in the UK and a further 4,000 in training. Most work in the National Health Service, but opportunities also exist in private hospitals. There is a shortage of anaesthetists.

It is necessary to study for a degree in medicine to become an anaesthetist. Medical degree courses last five or six years. For more general information about becoming a doctor, see Doctor.

After successfully completing the degree, the training for anaesthetists is as follows:

• Pre-registration as a house officer (one year).
• Senior house officer (two years).
• Specialist registrar (five years). This leads to taking specialist exams.

On completing training, anaesthetists receive the Certificate of Completion of Specialist training. They can then enter the General Medical Council's Specialist Register and apply for posts as a consultant. There is strong competition to become a consultant. Anaesthetists usually have to move between hospitals to progress.

Further information

Royal College of Anaesthetists, 48-49 Russell Square, London WC1B 4JY. 020 7813 1900. Website: www.rcoa.ac.uk (opens in a new window)