Alumni Specialties: Anesthesia
Robert Lyday, DO
- Baylor Scott and White, Temple TX, Matched my #1 Anesthesiology. Categorical.
- Reach me at robert.lyday@gmail.com
- If interested in anesthesia, try to do it as an elective as soon as possible, during slow surgery rotations before the cast starts, show up early, and as the anesthesiologist or CRNA if you can watch them induce or do the intubation.
Score your best; it’s very competitive; 230s Step 1 should be the bare minimum goal. Take Step 1 and 2 along with COMLEX.
Apply big, at least 50 programs initially for the match.
Do 1-3 Sub-Is.
Research-do at least 1 thing, but it’s not as heavily important as in some other specialties.
Anesthesia is unique in that if you want, you can have short easy notes, no clinic, and have shift work. These factors are what attracted me as I didn’t want to type notes all day, or do clinic all day, or have my work follow me home. It’s a great, attractive, well-respected, great-paying specialty.
Cory Albrechtsen, DO
- University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, TX
- coryalbrechtsen@gmail.com
- READ “THE SUCCESSFUL MATCH.”Away rotations: submit applications for sub-I’s the day they open. Do 2. Do 3 if you really want to but they’re actually exhausting and expensive. Look on rotating room and air BNB or ask the program coordinator if they know of any accommodations. I do NOT recommend leaving a sub-I to go on an interview. They’ll tell you it’s ok but it seems like you’re disinterested. When you’re on the rotation do as much as you can. Read about the patients for the next day, show interest in pre-oping with the resident, try to come up with your own anesthetic plan, be proactive about IVs/intubations. Tell the doc you’re rotating with for the day: if would love any and all experiences doing procedures with you today. If not it’s okay but I’d like to. Prepare for procedures. Develop proper mindset: embrace the chance and prepare for them. Become familiar with procedures likely to be encountered. Indications, contraind, tools, risks, complications. YouTube. Visualize the steps involved in the procedure. Break the complex task into manageable steps. The anesthesiologists manual of surgical procedures is great for that. If you perform intubations/procedures incorrectly ask them to explain what you did wrong, try again if they let you and don’t just hand over the laryngoscope when you don’t get a view 10 seconds in. When something doesn’t make sense to you ask why/seem interested. Don’t expect to just intubate and then go home. BUT when they DO tell you to go home, GO HOME. They are having sympathy for you and want you to have time to read and do other things and honestly just want you out of their space and hair. They’ve got a lot going on. Show up early to help the resident set up the room. See: Setting up OR anesthesiology Montgomery medical school ut Houston YouTube video. Be proactive but don’t be in the way. Get LOR from academic anesthesiologist at away rotation. Try to be with them for multiple days (oftentimes difficult but always possible). Listen to ACCRAC podcast.One of my sub-I’s was super structured with med student didactics and formal evaluations. The other I was assigned to a faculty who put me in their residents rooms for the day. Both had their pros and cons but really just get to know the program and their culture. Both ended up at 1 & 2 on my rank list and I matched my number 1.Research: I published a few case reports my 3rd and 4th year. I worked on a literature review with an academic anesthesiologist that wasn’t published till after I started residency in Anesthesia & Analgesia. I don’t think any of that helped in the grand scheme of things but it also doesn’t hurt.In hindsight: I would have been happy at any of the top 5 programs I ranked and you’re likely to get one of your top 3. Going to over 15 anesthesia interviews is a waste of money and takes away someone else’s chance for an interview at a program you’re not really interested in. If you apply to advanced (3 year) programs, apply to 15+ preliminary/transitional year spots. Enjoy the interview process. I got to see a lot of the country I’d never seen from Florida to Maine and all over. Take the time to drive around and see the area. The best way to curb your anxiety in this whole process is to be prepared. Good luck!
