Anaesthesiology: Residents' Perspectives.

Sir,

Anaesthesiology has always been reduced to being a supportive branch that does not primarily treat patients in the same fashion as the traditional branches of surgery, medicine, paediatrics and the like. However, this branch has now become quite a household name during the coronavirus pandemic.

To be honest, most of us do not concentrate on reading this subject during our undergraduate days. We happen to chance upon this branch for our specialisation, with our prior knowledge regarding it being limited to a 15-day posting during internship. Many of us take up the branch with our mindsets in turmoil and based on information provided by friends and relatives that the branch is far from satisfying and does not gain the starry-eyed adoration of patients and their relatives. We take up the branch because we feel that it is an amalgamation of all sciences – physics, mathematics, chemistry, medicine, pathology and surgery. Nevertheless, our post-graduate training has been a roller-coaster ride and as the days have progressed, we have started to fall in love with this branch of medicine. We now believe that anaesthesiology is a branch for those who can patiently sit through the mundane, face a rush of adrenaline for a few minutes, and progress to zero panic in times of crisis. We have come to admire the sheer weight of the responsibilities that an anaesthesiologist shoulders not only in operation theatres but also in the critical care setting and in the pain clinic.

There are numerous subspeciality courses available such as onco-anaesthesia, obstetric anaesthesia, paediatric, neuro, and cardiac anaesthesia. There also is a role for emphasis of the scope of this branch beyond the operating room such as trauma, critical care, and pain management.[1] Each one of us may be personally drawn towards any of these super-specialities. For example, cancer is one disease that does not spare any age group or organ and has a wide patient spectrum. We learn to manage critically ill patients while still practising oncoanaesthesia along with pain management and palliative medicine, unlike in critical care medicine. There are fewer emergency calls; hence, we feel that it might be that taking up oncoanaesthesia branch will make it easier for girls to juggle family and work with more comfort. All this can lure them to take up oncoanaesthesia.

However, we have realised that this job does come with its own unique set of frustrations and misgivings. As residents, we struggle to accept the thanklessness and non-recognition by patients that come with our field. This definitely would be a difficult branch for someone who craves to be in the limelight. We are left to try to stay strong and not buckle under the irrefutable stress that comes with being accountable for another human being's safety, which can take a heavy toll on our mental and physical health.

Although anaesthesiology is a fast-growing branch worldwide, one particular concern that remains is the dearth of super-specialisation seats in our country, leading us to consider educational prospects abroad. This would mean leaving our country, homes, and loved ones, not to mention the tremendous expenses. The lower pay we invariably get when compared to our surgical colleagues in private practice is thoroughly disheartening. Lastly, there is a possibility that the advent of artificial intelligence, while assuring safety in treatment, can potentially limit us to more task-oriented management and undermine our clinical judgement.

We conclude that despite everything, we love our jobs, continue to have faith in the seemingly endless possibilities of our speciality, and would want to embrace every opportunity to grow, learn and stay abreast of the latest advances.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.