making the most of your anesthesia rotation
Advances in anaesthesia and pain medicine in the last 150 years have facilitated many of the great advances in surgical care. Anaesthetists are passionate about teaching and in your medical school anaesthesia rotation you will have opportunities to learn skills that will last your career whether you choose anaesthesia as a specialty or not.
As an anaesthetist working in a busy university department I have seen many medical students rotate through our department over the years. Some students are able to maximize the learning opportunity and there are key pointers to help you do this.
The following three areas describe how to get most out of your rotation to anaesthesia:
1. Be prepared: take responsibility and look after your patient: Find out about your surgical list the day prior and review the patient's past medical history and surgical procedure. Think about any impact this might have on anaesthetic technique. On the day of surgery arrive early at least 30 minutes before the operating room starts and introduce yourself to the patient. This will give you time to review the history and examine the patient, review laboratory results and think about a plan before your anaesthetist arrives. Answer any questions for your patient and make sure they are warm and comfortable. Introduce yourself to the operating room staff. When the anaesthetist arrives introduce yourself and review the patient. Ask the anaesthetist how you can help with care of the patient and discuss some objectives for the day (see #2). Stay till the operating room finishes unless you have a prior engagement. If you are really keen, consider doing some call with one of the staff or residents. It is a great way of seeing what happens in a hospital after hours.
2. Learn some applications that will have impact on your future career: In anaesthesia you will have opportunities to learn many skills that are not available in your other rotations. These include ability to hone your intravenous access skills, ability to manage the airway of an unconscious patient (note-endotracheal intubation is only one small part of this), learn about pain management for patients after surgery and intravenous fluid resuscitation. There are many other things to learn including physiology and pharmacology of anaesthesia drugs and even some physics if you are really keen! Make a list (if one is not already provided) of key learning objectives for your rotation and ask your anaesthetist or undergraduate coordinator how they can help with achieving these objectives.
3. Have fun: Anaesthesia is somewhat different from other rotations in that you will be assigned with an anaesthetist each day of your rotation. It is a great opportunity to learn from an experienced physician. Enjoy the 1:1 supervision and read around the subject, take the opportunity to ask lots of questions, ask to assist with the case if possible and take responsibility for some part of the case (e.g. monitoring and charting fluid balance). Get to know the other members of the perioperative team including the critical relationship between anaesthetist, surgeon and members of the nursing staff. More than anything, don’t forget to look after your patient and have fun with a great learning opportunity!
As an anaesthetist working in a busy university department I have seen many medical students rotate through our department over the years. Some students are able to maximize the learning opportunity and there are key pointers to help you do this.
The following three areas describe how to get most out of your rotation to anaesthesia:
1. Be prepared: take responsibility and look after your patient: Find out about your surgical list the day prior and review the patient's past medical history and surgical procedure. Think about any impact this might have on anaesthetic technique. On the day of surgery arrive early at least 30 minutes before the operating room starts and introduce yourself to the patient. This will give you time to review the history and examine the patient, review laboratory results and think about a plan before your anaesthetist arrives. Answer any questions for your patient and make sure they are warm and comfortable. Introduce yourself to the operating room staff. When the anaesthetist arrives introduce yourself and review the patient. Ask the anaesthetist how you can help with care of the patient and discuss some objectives for the day (see #2). Stay till the operating room finishes unless you have a prior engagement. If you are really keen, consider doing some call with one of the staff or residents. It is a great way of seeing what happens in a hospital after hours.
2. Learn some applications that will have impact on your future career: In anaesthesia you will have opportunities to learn many skills that are not available in your other rotations. These include ability to hone your intravenous access skills, ability to manage the airway of an unconscious patient (note-endotracheal intubation is only one small part of this), learn about pain management for patients after surgery and intravenous fluid resuscitation. There are many other things to learn including physiology and pharmacology of anaesthesia drugs and even some physics if you are really keen! Make a list (if one is not already provided) of key learning objectives for your rotation and ask your anaesthetist or undergraduate coordinator how they can help with achieving these objectives.
3. Have fun: Anaesthesia is somewhat different from other rotations in that you will be assigned with an anaesthetist each day of your rotation. It is a great opportunity to learn from an experienced physician. Enjoy the 1:1 supervision and read around the subject, take the opportunity to ask lots of questions, ask to assist with the case if possible and take responsibility for some part of the case (e.g. monitoring and charting fluid balance). Get to know the other members of the perioperative team including the critical relationship between anaesthetist, surgeon and members of the nursing staff. More than anything, don’t forget to look after your patient and have fun with a great learning opportunity!