The Training Pathway for Anesthesiologists

Who is the anesthesiologist that takes care of you during your anesthetic?  Anesthesiologists are physicians who graduate from college with a strong background in physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics.  Then during four years of medical school, they study in the classroom and the hospital to obtain a medical doctorate degree. After medical school, anesthesiologists learn the medical specialty of anesthesiology during an additional four years of post-graduate training. The first year is an internship which provides training in diagnosis and treatment in other areas of medicine - such as internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics, pediatrics or surgery. Some choose a rotating internship where they spend an equal amount of time training in each of the other areas of medicine. Following internship, the remaining three intensive years of residency training in anesthesiology are spent building knowledge and proficiency in the medical and technical aspects of the specialty.  Some anesthesiologists choose fellowship training in a subspecialty, such as neurosurgical anesthesiology, by completing one to two additional years. But, even when residency training is finished, anesthesiologists must spend a great deal of time throughout their careers in continuing education courses and seminars studying new medical advances and anesthetic techniques. The remaining credential obtained by most anesthesiologists is Board Certification. The certification process is designed as a year long undertaking beginning with a comprehensive written exam. Upon passage of the exam, candidates are then eligible to take an oral examination. This oral examination tests the candidate's ability to manage questions and clinical problems presented to them "on the spot." The dynamic requirements of daily anesthesia practice have proven the value of this system. More than 90 percent of the active membership of the American Society of Anesthesiologists have been certified as diplomates of the American Board of Anesthesiology.