For those people who are considering entering the medical profession, anesthesiology careers offer an avenue to an interesting, highly skilled and richly rewarding area of medicine. Anesthesiology is a vital component, and sometimes often the most important part of a procedure, in the treatment of the sick and injured. There are some operations, like those of the skull, abdominal cavity and heart, which simply cannot be performed without anesthetic. Those would-be medical professionals who are seeking anesthesiology careers can be almost guaranteed a well-paid, long-term and highly specialized career. Although the training cycle is long, and the hours can be strenuous for those anesthesiologists who work "on call," the rewards for this career far outweigh the difficulties that can arise.
Advantages of Anesthesiology Careers
There are many advantages to choosing a career in anesthesiology. Anesthesiology means that the person in question is highly skilled and in demand. Although the training is long and involved, and requires a lot of specialized knowledge and skill, anesthesiology is a profession appealing to those who like to be involved in something a little bit different. Nonetheless, it is a very important aspect of the medical profession. Some advantages associated with anesthesiology careers include:
- Anesthesiology concerns itself with acute care. This means that an anesthesiologist can diagnose something as simple as high blood pressure and treat it almost instantly. The conditions during an operation may change in the blink of an eye, requiring the anesthesiologist to work fast, turning a nervous, hurt patient into a calm and co-operative one in the matter of a few minutes or less.
- Anesthesiology careers are very transportable. There is always a need for good anesthesiologists throughout the western world and beyond. This means that an anesthesiologist has the luxury of being able to travel abroad and find work almost readily.
- Anesthesiologists do not usually work continuously with their patients. This means that at the end of the day, unless they are on call, an anesthesiologist can simply go home and return to work at their next surgical rotation.
- Anesthesiologists can work on a relatively part-time basis. This means that they have no real ties to patients beyond the anesthetic procedure, and therefore they have the advantage of being able to take longer vacations, work less hours, etc.
Disadvantages of Anesthesiology
There are a few disadvantages to looking into anesthesiology careers as a professional option. In terms of education, the training can be long. There are four years of specialist training in the United States to become an anesthesiologist. In the UK, those who seek to engage in anesthesiology careers must train for longer. There are other disadvantages, too:
- It is not a glamorous profession - often the surgeon or doctor will be thanked and recognized before the anesthesiologist.
- It is a repetitive job; there is very little variation in the procedures performed for an anesthetic.
- It requires skilled hands.
- There is not much long-term patient contact.
Anesthesiology careers require a lot of dedication, but the rewards for this dedication are very much worthwhile - good pay, good prospects and good benefits.
Anesthesiology Career Prospects for the Future
Considering the importance of the job, and the necessity of having an anesthesiologist at most operation procedures, the outlook for a steady career in anesthesiology is quite positive. Anesthesiology careers look set to grow 10 percent until the year 2016, according to government reports. This is possibly in light of the growing population, especially given that there are ever higher birth rates as well as ever-longer life expectancies. Earnings-wise, those engaged in anesthesiology careers, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, earned a median of $321,686 in 2005. Evidently, the amount of work required to become an anesthesiologist is worth the effort - it seems to be a richly rewarding, mobile and secure profession to work in. For those who seek financial and employment security in a highly specialized area of the medical profession, anesthesiology seems to be one of the best options to explore.
