20 years of practicing anesthesia in a small hospital.

Anesthesia has developed from being a procedure each doctor performed on his own patients when necessary, to a specialty, sometimes practiced part time by family physicians. Training varies considerably. There have been dramatic changes in the pharmacology. Since there will likely always be a need for part time anesthetists, family physicians who will fill this need must be well prepared for the task. The benefits are a greater understanding of applied pharmacology, and a heightened sense of selection for surgery.