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Anesthesiologists
Administer anesthetics and analgesics for pain management prior to, during, or after surgery.
Also Known As:
Medical Doctor (MD)
Obstetrical Anesthesiologist
Staff Anesthesiologist
Staff Anesthetist
Wages
Annual wages for Anesthesiologists in United States
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
46,700
3% Change From 2024
Explore Anesthesiologists video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Provide medical care and consultation in many settings, prescribing medication and treatment and referring patients for surgery.
- Provide medical care and consultation in many settings, prescribing medication and treatment and referring patients for surgery.
- Provide medical care and consultation in many settings, prescribing medication and treatment and referring patients for surgery.
- Position patient on operating table to maximize patient comfort and surgical accessibility.
- Inform students and staff of types and methods of anesthesia administration, signs of complications, and emergency methods to counteract reactions.
- Coordinate and direct work of nurses, medical technicians, and other health care providers.
- Provide and maintain life support and airway management and help prepare patients for emergency surgery.
- Provide and maintain life support and airway management and help prepare patients for emergency surgery.
- Administer anesthetic or sedation during medical procedures, using local, intravenous, spinal, or caudal methods.
- Examine patient, obtain medical history, and use diagnostic tests to determine risk during surgical, obstetrical, and other medical procedures.
- Coordinate administration of anesthetics with surgeons during operation.
- Monitor patient before, during, and after anesthesia and counteract adverse reactions or complications.
- Record type and amount of anesthesia and patient condition throughout procedure.
- Decide when patients have recovered or stabilized enough to be sent to another room or ward or to be sent home following outpatient surgery.
- Confer with other medical professionals to determine type and method of anesthetic or sedation to render patient insensible to pain.
- Order laboratory tests, x-rays, and other diagnostic procedures.
- Diagnose illnesses, using examinations, tests, and reports.
- Instruct individuals and groups on ways to preserve health and prevent disease.
- Manage anesthesiological services, coordinating them with other medical activities and formulating plans and procedures.
- Conduct medical research to aid in controlling and curing disease, to investigate new medications, and to develop and test new medical techniques.
- Manage anesthesiological services, coordinating them with other medical activities and formulating plans and procedures.
- Schedule and maintain use of surgical suite, including operating, wash-up, waiting rooms, or anesthetic and sterilizing equipment.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")