Anaesthetist

Anaesthetists are specialist doctors who prevent patients from feeling pain while undergoing surgery and other medical procedures. Their major role is in providing anaesthesia during surgery, but they are increasingly involved in other aspects of pain management. Examples include working with people who are recovering from surgery, giving birth or suffering from conditions that cause long-term pain, such as cancer. They may:

• Prepare patients for surgery. They talk to patients and assess them to decide on the most appropriate form of anaesthesia.
• Administer general anaesthesia, which makes patients become unconscious. They observe patients during operations, monitor their progress and respond to any changes. They then bring patients to full consciousness after the procedure, and make sure that they have appropriate pain-relief medication and fluid replacement as they recover.
• Monitor patients in intensive care and help to revive patients.
• Administer local anaesthesia, which makes specific parts of the body feel numb. An example is when relieving pain in childbirth.
• Prescribe sedation for patients who are about to undergo certain procedures, such as radiology.
• Train other healthcare professionals, including medical students, junior doctors and nurses.

Anaesthetists may work shifts to provide 24-hour care, seven days a week. They work in hospitals - in operating theatres, intensive care units, recovery units, wards and accident and emergency units.

Anaesthetists in specialty training earn between £29,411 and £46,246 a year. This may be increased by "banding supplements". Salaries for consultant anaesthetists start at £74,504, while the most senior consultants can earn over £176,000 a year.

An anaesthetist should:

• be accurate, observant and pay attention to detail
• be decisive and work well under pressure
• work well as part of a team.

Anaesthetists are the single largest group of hospital doctors. There are just under 5,000 consultant anaesthetists in England. Most work in the NHS, but there are also opportunities in private medicine and the armed forces. Competition for positions is intense.

To become an anaesthetist, it is first necessary to study for a degree in medicine. Medical degrees normally take five years, although there are some four-year and six-year courses. For more general information about becoming a doctor, see Doctor.

When doctors have completed their medical degree they undertake a two-year foundation programme of general training. Towards the end of the programme they decide whether they wish to train in anaesthetics or in another specialty.

Specialty training for anaesthetists takes seven years. On successful completion of this training they are awarded a Certificate of Completion of Training and gain entry to the General Medical Council specialist register. They are then able to apply for a senior post as a consultant.

Anaesthetists usually have to move between hospitals to progress.

Further information

The Royal College of Anaesthetists, Churchill House, 35 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4SG. 020 7092 1500. Website: www.rcoa.ac.uk

January 2010