The second most important member of the operating room team is the anesthesiologist, because he is the other doctor in the room and has the responsibility of keeping you alive during the procedure. There are some places where Registered Nurses have been trained in this role and these highly skilled RN’s are called CRNA’s (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist). These RN’s must work directly under the supervision of an anesthesiologist. They will keep track of how you are doing during the operation and give medications or other treatments to deal with any problems that occur. Most importantly, they keep you quietly resting during your operation.
The Anesthesiologist will review your file before the operation to determine what health issues you may have or medications you normally take in order to administer medications that will not react to the ones you already are taking. He will ask many questions that will help him/her to know how best to care for you. Questions such as, “ How often and how much alcohol do you drink.” This, or other questions may make you feel uncomfortable, but it is very important that you answer them honestly so that the anesthesiologist can give you the best care.
The anesthesiologist and the surgeon work very closely together in order to make sure that your treatment is a success. For instance, if a problem occurs during the operation, the surgeon and the anesthesiologist will communicate the problem quickly and determine a solution that will keep you safe.
An anesthesiologist has a variety of procedures that he/she can perform even outside the operating room. For instance, they may perform nerve blocks with the aid of x-ray for those who have back pain or other issues. They are the ones that will give an epidural anesthetic for a woman having a baby. Their goal is to help you have as little pain as possible if you have an operation and then also to help you in dealing with any pain that occurs following the operation in some cases. In the end, the anesthesiologist or CRNA that helps you has the goal of keeping you asleep and as free from pain as possible for a given procedure.
