Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologists manage the anesthesia aspects of patients undergoing surgery in chest including heart, lungs, mediastinum and related invasive procedures ranging from minimally invasive surgery, robotic surgery, and complex multi-stage aortic surgery.
Their key responsibility is to anesthetize patients for painless surgical procedure and perform a preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative care of patients. Their other duties include analyzing patient’s medical history, evaluating vital signs of patients such as blood pressure, breathing, heart function, pulse rate, body temperature etc. to provide anesthesia accurately and managing postoperative pain.
In addition, Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologists supervise the bypass heart-lung machine. These professionals also work with non-cardiac procedures like esophageal resection and all types of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.
Cardiac Anesthesiologists work at a variety of health care settings such as government and private hospitals, clinics, trauma centers etc. These professionals have to work even in evening, night and weekend shifts. They also have to perform emergency visits on call.
Educational Requirements
To qualify for the position of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologist, the aspiring candidates must earn a medical degree from an accredited medical school. In addition, they need to complete a four-year residency program in anesthesiology, and a one-year cardiothoracic anesthesiology fellowship, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
Prospective of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologists cover the course work of human anatomy, biology, physics, organic chemistry, etc. with emphasizing on anesthesia, pain relief techniques and information on heart care.
Licensure and Certification
Since all the states of USA require a Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologist to be licensed, the aspiring candidates must have to pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination after completing the medical degree program. These professionals can receive exam-based certification from the American Society of Anesthesiologists or the American Board of Anesthesiology.
Skill Set
Apart from the clinical knowledge, Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologists possess variety of skills such as attention to detail, empathy towards patients, protecting patients’ confidentiality, tolerance for long and irregular working hours, maintaining calm during stressful situations, maintaining high medical ethics, understanding the spirit of team work, showing ability to perform duties with accuracy, possessing physical stamina for lifting and positioning the patients and equipments, displaying pleasant communications and interpersonal skills, having basic computer knowledge etc.
Salary & Job Outlook
Job outlook for the Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologists remains excellent across the USA. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the growth rate for job opportunities in this profession may rise 24% from 2012 to 2022, higher than the average for all occupations. The average annual salary of a Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologists was $235,070 in May 2013.