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Student
Newton, Massachusetts
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How much school do you have to do to become an anesthesiologist?
I am a sophomore in high school and I want to know what I need to accomplish before I finish my last 2 years in school. I also wondered if there are any particular schools I should aply to go to to achieve this goal.
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2 answers
Thomas Fuhrman
Chief of Anesthesia at Bay Pines VAHS
4
Answers
Updated
Thomas’s Answer
Anesthesiology is a wonderful career. It has freedoms many other specialities in medicine do not enjoy. I did anesthesia some weeks and then did critical care medicine in the ICUs other weeks for a nice variety. (Anesthesia is one "gateway" to Critical Care Medicine). In almost all cases Anesthesia, is not a primary care area, so we rarely have our "own" patients. Except as a pain specialist, we almost always work with another physician who could be a surgeon, radiologist, pulmonologist, gastroenterologist (stomach doctor), or even dentists. Those physicians schedule those patients for their procedures and we provide anesthesia to these patients. While we almost all take some "call" (being at home ready to come into the hospital or often staying in the hospital on a type of shift basis). But when that shift is over WE GO HOME! And don't return until our next scheduled day of work.
To answer your question. Prerequisites for Medical School includes a College Degree. (Must mention there a few combined BS/Med School programs that are closer to 6 years). So 4 years college, then four years of Medical School. Then there is the clinical training of the speciality of Anesthesia, that is currently 4 years also. Many people want to be an anesthesia specialist in areas such as ICU, transplant, Heart/thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, pediatrics, pain medicine or obstetrics - one of those Fellowships will be an additional 1-2 years.
Biggest hurdle is getting into medical school; besides great grades, medical schools look for the intangibles - did you do any volunteer/paid work in any medical field? Were you in a field of medicine before/during college? EMT, nurses aid, doctor's assistant. Have you been able to do any work in a research field? If you re near a medical school or a large hospital, there may be opportunities for even a student to help in a research project. Any things like that can help operate you from the rest of the applicants to medical school. And they can also help when applying for a residency after medical school, where again, all the applicants are qualified so you need to stand out. As an example, I remember sitting in an office waiting for a residency interview. I asked the other applicant where he went to medical school. He told me then added, he had just finished a Masters Degree from Oxford University, as he was a Rhodes Scholar. HE REALLY STOOD OUT!
Do you know any anesthesiologists? Can you ask if you can "Shadow" one for a few days, to get an idea of how their life is like.
To answer your question. Prerequisites for Medical School includes a College Degree. (Must mention there a few combined BS/Med School programs that are closer to 6 years). So 4 years college, then four years of Medical School. Then there is the clinical training of the speciality of Anesthesia, that is currently 4 years also. Many people want to be an anesthesia specialist in areas such as ICU, transplant, Heart/thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, pediatrics, pain medicine or obstetrics - one of those Fellowships will be an additional 1-2 years.
Biggest hurdle is getting into medical school; besides great grades, medical schools look for the intangibles - did you do any volunteer/paid work in any medical field? Were you in a field of medicine before/during college? EMT, nurses aid, doctor's assistant. Have you been able to do any work in a research field? If you re near a medical school or a large hospital, there may be opportunities for even a student to help in a research project. Any things like that can help operate you from the rest of the applicants to medical school. And they can also help when applying for a residency after medical school, where again, all the applicants are qualified so you need to stand out. As an example, I remember sitting in an office waiting for a residency interview. I asked the other applicant where he went to medical school. He told me then added, he had just finished a Masters Degree from Oxford University, as he was a Rhodes Scholar. HE REALLY STOOD OUT!
Thomas recommends the following next steps:
Ryan Champeau, PhD
School Leadership
19
Answers
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Updated
Ryan’s Answer
As you think about becoming an anesthesiologist, consider the environment that you desire to work in, as well as the preparation itself. Because you live in Newton Massachusetts, you have and abundance of schools you could choose from if you want to stay local. But your preparation in high school is extremely important as you consider which school you want to go to. The obvious consideration is take as many life science and chemistry classes, as you possibly can combined with higher math level math classes also. As you consider the school you might be applying to, also think about the majors it offers to undergraduates; you don’t need to take a premed undergrad, although that is beneficial, but you could major in one of the sciences, such as chemistry and biology. I only offer this because as you consider your high school career, it needs to lay a good foundation for your options later on. Your last two years of high school need to be steeped in your science preparation, good math foundation, and also taking time to enjoy high school life.