Anesthesiology is a way to perform intensive treatment plans for patients with a physical or mental disability or anxiety. It is also fascinating to hold someone in a comatose state so that they can have a surgery that otherwise would be near impossible if not impossible altogether.
What are the challenges faced in anesthesiology?
This is a 3 year residency and you have to be able to give up dentistry. It’s possible to do both but very uncommon and considered unsafe if doing general anesthesia. Also, you work at early hours because surgeries are often scheduled for the morning as the patient has been instructed not to eat anything beforehand. Lastly, you must be able to deal with the emotional stress of potentially inadvertently killing someone.
What makes a competitive applicant?
You should aim to be the top 1/3 of class, go on externships, do research, shadow a dentist anesthesiologists (DA), and obtain a strong letter of recommendation from a current DA. Some extracurricular activity that previous applicants have done are starting a club, doing a PIP project related to anesthesiology, working with Dr. Wood on the anesthesiology portion of pediatric dentistry manual, and working in the IV sedation area of the oral surgery clinic.
Things we wish we knew before applying:
Do your homework: ask around and find out if this is what you want to do for sure. You can ask current DA's because a lot of what you find online is inaccurate. Be sure to get A’s in pharmacology and physiology because these are the classes that are most pertinent.
Thing we wish we knew before interviewing:
Before your interview you should look up each individual school's website and find out what kind of applicant they want. During the interview you should show that you are willing to give up dentistry and that you have a true interest in anesthesiology.