Anesthesiologists are not just the doctors who keep you asleep during surgery—they are the leaders in ensuring your overall safety and well-being throughout the surgical experience. Here's how they lead patient care:

• Preoperative Assessment: Anesthesiologists evaluate your medical history and current health to determine if you can safely undergo surgery. They identify potential risks and work to minimize them, ensuring you have the best chance of a successful operation without increased risk of death or injury. We make you safe before surgery.

• Efficiency of Surgeries: Anesthesiologists are the managers of the operating rooms. We make sure you get your surgery done.

• Optimizing Patient Care During Anesthesia: Anesthesiologists' role goes beyond just keeping you asleep. They are at your side as anesthesiologists or supervise CRNA care to ensure safe and effective anesthesia care. We make you safe during surgery.

• Crisis Management: In the operating room, anesthesiologists are the leaders when unexpected situations arise. They are trained to respond to emergencies and make critical decisions. We are the experts in keeping you alive.

• Leading Intensive Care Units (ICUs): Anesthesiologists often lead ICUs, where they care for critically ill patients. Their expertise in managing complex medical conditions is vital for patients who need intensive monitoring and treatment. We direct the care of the sickest patients.

• Airway Rescue Experts: In hospitals, anesthesiologists are the go-to experts for managing difficult airways. If a patient has trouble breathing, anesthesiologists are called to secure the airway and ensure they get oxygen. We are the experts who keep you breathing.

• Leaders in Pain Management: Anesthesiologists are also specialists in pain management. They develop and implement pain control plans for patients before, during, and after surgery, as well as for those suffering from chronic pain. We are the most skilled at taking care of your pain.

• Educational Pathway: CRNAs complete a college-level bachelor’s degree in nursing and a two—to three-year nurse anesthesia program, which may not include training with the sickest patients. At the same time, doctors attend four years of medical school plus several years of residency and more years of specialization.

• Training Hours: CRNAs gain about 2,500 hours of clinical training, compared to 12,000-16,000 hours for anesthesiologists during medical school and residency.

• Scope of Practice: CRNAs focus on anesthesia administration, while anesthesiologists can diagnose and treat various conditions, manage critical care, and lead medical teams in crisis.

Anesthesiologists, with their final responsibility for critical medical decisions and staff supervision, foster a sense of teamwork and mutual respect. While both play crucial roles, anesthesiologists have more extensive training and a broader scope of practice than CRNAs.

You can speak with your surgeon about who will be providing your anesthesia. You can also call the Department of Anesthesiology where you will undergo your surgery and request a specific anesthesiologist(s) if you have a request. It's important to know who your Anesthesia Care Team will be so that your questions will be answered prior to surgery.

No. Allowing nurses to administer anesthesia without physician supervision does not save patients or taxpayers money. Medicare, Medicaid and most third-party insurers pay the same fees for anesthesia whether it is administered by a nurse anesthetist or anesthesiologist. In fact, eliminating the anesthesiologist can actually cost more, as other physicians may be needed to consult or provide the services of a physician anesthesiologist, such as evaluating the patient for pre-existing conditions or handling emergencies and other medical issues.