Anaesthesia for medical students

Anaesthesia is an essential service in every hospital, with more anaesthetic consultants than any other single speciality. Although the main role of anaesthetists is to deliver safe anaesthesia to allow surgeons to perform operations, there are many other key areas where anaesthetic skills are in demand.

Anaesthetists have extensive practical and theoretical knowledge of pharmacology, which with their skills in regional anaesthesia makes them the logical choice to manage acute and chronic pain.

These same skills make them essential part of the obstetric team, providing analgesia and anaesthesia on the labour ward.

Anaesthetists are trained to deal with emergencies, and are good at dealing with acute medical problems, especially cardiovascular and respiratory problems, and so have a leading role in intensive care along side other acute physicians.

So what do anaesthetists have to offer to medical students ?

• airway skills
• resuscitation
• vascular access skills
• management of medical emergencies
• fluid management
• pain management
• pre-operative assessment skills
• and finally, a chance to see one of the most interesting and exciting hospital specialities

Contents

These pages are under development, but will have useful information and links to other sites of interest, so keep watching this space.

• Coma and Unconsciousness
• Anaesthesia and Critical Care Handbook 
• Anaesthesia and Critical Care Tutorials

To enter the Northern Schools of Anaesthesia website, to click here.Last update 27/12/08, Dr Gary Enever