Anaesthetist
What the work is
Provides direct medical care to patients requiring general, regional or local anaesthesia for surgical, diagnostic and other procedures, such as prevention of pain and maintenance of body function.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Performs pre-operative examinations of patients to determine appropriate anaesthetic and sedation in concurrence with Physicians and Surgeons
- Discusses the anaesthetic process and risks with patients, and obtains their informed consent prior to surgery
- Administers local, regional and general anaesthetics using a variety of methods such as inhalational and intravenous administration, and utilises diverse airway management techniques
- Monitors patients throughout surgical procedures and in immediate post-operative procedures
- Records details of anaesthetic and sedation administered, and the condition of patients before, during and after anaesthesia
- Assists in acute pain management of patients
- Liaises with other Health Professionals to provide diagnosis and treatment for patients with chronic pain
- Examines and treats patients requiring intensive care or resuscitation
- Consults with other Health Professionals to optimise patient care and safety
- May instruct medical, nursing, student and multidisciplinary staff on the signs, symptoms and diagnosis of allergic and anaphylactic reactions to anaesthetic agents, and supervision and treatment of life threatening emergencies
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in the operating theatres of a fictional regional hospital, on a morning surgical list. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A nervous patient squeezes your hand, then wakes up calm and comfortable
- A tricky case goes smoothly because the whole team spoke up at the right time
- A child wakes up smiling and asks if they can have an ice block
Hard days
- A surgeon who is running late and pushing you to hurry
- Seeing a patient frightened in the minutes before they go to sleep
- Long days of intense concentration with very little room for a mistake
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 264131, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.