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<!-- EDIT BELOW THIS LINE Anesthesiology

Anesthesiologists are the doctors responsible for keeping patients pain-free, sedated or unconscious during surgical procedures. The important job comes with a high earning potential – $358,000 annually, according to Medscape. That salary lands anesthesiology the fourth-place spot on Medscape’s list of the best paying medical specialties, CBS News reported – though salaries for specialists like urologists and dermatologists overshadow that of anesthesiologists in other publications. Though not surgeons themselves, anesthesiologists work primarily with patients undergoing surgery. They prepare the patient for diagnostic procedures and operations that would be painful or uncomfortable by administering anesthetics, pain relief medications. During surgery, anesthesiologists observe the patient’s pulse, blood pressure, breathing, body temperature and other vital signs for any signs of pain or stress and adjust pain medications accordingly. They monitor patients after surgery and contribute to postoperative care. Anesthesiologists also use their expertise in pain medications to help patients with chronic pain, those in the intensive care unit (ICU) and mothers going through childbirth find effective and safe pain relief. What They Do: Pain relief during surgery Annual Earnings: $358,000 Training: 4 years

Anesthesiology is the practice of medicine dedicated to the relief of pain and total care of the surgical patient before, during and after surgery. The education of today's anesthesiologists has kept pace with their expanding role in offering the highest quality health care available anywhere in the world. After completing a four-year college program and four years of medical school, they enter a four-year anesthesiology residency training program. Fellowships in an anesthesia subspecialty and in education or research may also be taken for an additional year. In the operating room: An estimated 40 million anesthetics are administered each year in this country. Anesthesiologists provide or participate in more than 90 percent of these anesthetics. In the operating room, they are responsible for the medical management and anesthetic care of the patient throughout the duration of the surgery. The anesthesiologist must carefully match the anesthetic needs of each patient to that patient's medical condition, responses to anesthesia and the requirements of the surgery. In the postanesthesia care unit (recovery room): This is where patients are transferred after surgery, allowing them to emerge fully from the effects of the anesthesia under the watchful eyes of skilled nursing personnel with anesthesiologist consultation immediately available. While safety is of course the foremost priority during surgery, it is also of utmost concern that the patient be monitored and continually assessed while fully regaining consciousness. In most cases, the anesthesiologist decides when the patient has recovered enough to be sent home following outpatient surgery or has been stabilized sufficiently to be moved to a regular room or ward in the medical facility. For pain management: In addition to the patient's pain being relieved or blocked entirely during a surgical procedure, it is equally important to provide adequate pain relief post-operatively for the patient's comfort and well-being. After surgery, the anesthesiologist is involved in prescribing pain-relieving medication and techniques that are best for each individual patient to maintain a level of comfort and to follow proper rest. Because of their specialty training, anesthesiologists are uniquely qualified to prescribe and administer drug therapies for acute, chronic, cancer and childbirth pain. In childbirth, the anesthesiologist manages the care of two people, providing pain relief with epidural or spinal blocks for the mother while managing the life functions of both the mother and the baby. In critical care and trauma medicine: As an outgrowth of the post-anesthesia care unit, critical care units are now found in all major medical facilities throughout the country. The role of the anesthesiologist in this setting is to provide medical assessment and diagnosis, respiratory and cardiovascular support, and infection control. Anesthesiologists also have the medical background to deal with many emergency situations. They provide airway management, cardiac and pulmonary resuscitation, advanced life support and pain control. As consultants, they play an active role in stabilizing and preparing the patient for emergency surgery. Historically anesthesia providers were almost solely utilized during surgery to administer general anesthesia in which a person is placed in a pharmacologic coma. This is performed to permit surgery without the individual responding to pain (analgesia) during surgery or remembering (amnesia) the surgery. The role of the physician anesthesiologist extends beyond the operating room. He or she is responsible for the preoperative assessment of the patient, an evaluation process that carefully considers both the patient’s current state of health and the planned surgical procedure that allows physician anesthesiologists to make judgments about the safest anesthesia plan for each individual patient. The physician anesthesiologist is also responsible for the well being of the patient post-operatively while the patient emerges from the effects of anesthesia. They are often involved in the management of acute postoperative pain, as well as chronic and cancer pain; in cardiac and respiratory resuscitation; in blood transfusion therapies; and in respiratory therapy.