What is a pediatric anesthesiologist?
An anesthesiologist is a trained physician who has completed an MD, undergone
a one-year internship and then a three-year residency program in the practice of
anesthesiology. Anesthesiologists are trained in all aspects of perioperative
care. This includes the preoperative assessment of a patient, the optimization
of fitness for surgery, the intra-operative management of anesthesia and the
post-operative care of surgical patients.
Anesthesiologists also train in the management of intensive care patients and
the treatment of post-operative and chronic pain. Although all anesthesia
training programs include some training in pediatric anesthesia, this brief
exposure to the care of children does not certify that a physician with this
training is truly qualified as a pediatric anesthesiologist. In addition to
finishing general training in anesthesia, a pediatric anesthesiologist
successfully completes an additional specialized year of fellowship training in
pediatric anesthesia at an accredited institution.
The fellowship is an intensive experience in the administration of anesthesia
to newborns, premature infants, toddlers and older children. Upon completion of
the fellowship, the anesthesiologist typically enters a pediatric-based
anesthesia practice, to maintain and further refine their skills. Children,
especially young children, are not just miniature adults. They have different
body proportions, different physiology (how the body works) and different
cardiac and respiratory systems. They are growing and changing in ways that
adults do not. Their social and psychological needs are also different from
those of adults. Children are a lot smaller and come in a large range of sizes.
Children's Memorial offers one of the largest training programs
for pediatric anesthesiologists in the country.
This changes certain technical aspects of anesthesia and necessitates the
ready availability of different sizes and types of equipment. To safely care for
children, especially babies and toddlers, pediatric anesthesiologist are best
equipped to understand how their bodies work, how they react to medications and
anesthesia and how the illnesses they suffer from differ from those in older
patients.
At Children's Memorial Hospital, the anesthesiologists are all fully
trained in pediatric anesthesia and are in full-time pediatric anesthesia
practice. Between them, they have more than 200 years of experience in
administering anesthesia to all ages of children with all types of conditions.
Furthermore, Children's Memorial offers one of the largest training programs for
pediatric anesthesiologists in the country.