Role in Healthcare Delivery
Anesthesiologists (anaesthetists in the UK) are physicians who provide medical care to patients in a wide variety of (usually acute) situations. These can include delivering anesthesia during surgical procedures, caring for critically ill patients in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), managing medical emergencies such as cardiac arrests and traumas either in-hospital or in the public domain (termed 'pre-hospital medicine'), the inter-hospital transfer of unwell patients, and the management of acute and chronic pain conditions. Anesthesiologists are responsible for ensuring the delivery of anesthesia safely to patients in virtually all health care settings, including all major medical and tertiary care facilities. This includes a preoperative evaluation, consultation with the surgical team, creating a plan for the anesthesia tailored to each individual patient, airway management, intraoperative life support and provision of pain control, intraoperative diagnostic stabilization, and proper post-operative management of patients. Preparation of patients for emergency surgery are mandatory, essential, and critical skills that anesthesiologists have been trained to employ. Because anesthesiologists are physicians, in contrast to other anesthesia providers, they are able to utilize their extensive knowledge of human physiology and diseases to guide their decision making.
Historically there has been a shortage of anesthesiologists. In order to better serve the population, residency positions in anesthesiology for physicians have been steadily increasing the past several years. In addition, physicians supervise ACTs, or Anesthesia Care Teams, which are composed of a supervising physician with several certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) or anesthesiologist assistants (AAs), working together to provide healthcare to the population. In other areas of the country, anesthesiologists work in what is deemed a "solo" or "MD/DO only" practice, during which they provide anesthesia in a "one on one" relationship with the patient.
A consultant anesthetist in the UK is a fully qualified doctor, who has spent at least 9 years (7 of which should be in anesthesia) after graduation as a trainee, and is appointed as a consultant. A trainee anesthetist in the UK is a fully qualified doctor on their way to become a consultant; they could be 2 years post graduation or may be even 10 years post graduation.
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