anesthesiologist question?

If it were done strictly by formulas, anyone could do what I do. There are dosage ranges based on weight for some drugs, lean body mass for other drugs, and some are not based on weight.

I know what and how much to give because I spent a lot of years training how to do it. Each patient responds differently, so much is done by titration - keep giving the drugs until you get them where you want them. To know where I want them, I look at things like heart rate and blood pressure.

Anesthesia is boring to watch, but when a person's life is literally in your hands, it's not boring. (Unless it's for ophthalmologic surgery - that IS boring)

We DO have to stay with the patient the whole time. When I'm not checking monitors, writing down vital signs, giving drugs, adjusting fluids, watching blood loss, checking positioning, emptying the urine bag or playing with the ventilator, I chat with the nurses and surgeons and tidy up my work area.

When you're an anesthesiologist there are often "standard doses" of certain medications that are always used. Otherwise, yes, it depends on the patient's body mass, and there are formulas to figure out the dosages.

It's part of what you learn in medical school and during your residency and fellowship.

It's a job with a tremendous amount of responsibility - you literally hold your patient's life in your hands. It can be extremely stressful at times. Yes, you are usually expected to stay with your patient the entire time for most procedures, but depending on specific hospital policies and depending on the procedure, a CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) may be able to supervise once the patient is stable.