Which Is Correct, An Anaesthetist Or An Anaesthesiologist?

Anaesthetist and Anaesthesiologist are two different jobs in the medical field, each having its own roles and responsibilities to play at best. These two people work side by side so that patients can have the best and utmost care from the faculty. These two vital positions help the patients manage their pain levels.

Even though they sound the same and their work may be similar in some ways, what creates the major difference between these two professions can be seen in their skill set and educational credentials. Here in this article, we will discuss both anaesthetists and anaesthesiologists so that you can better understand their roles and responsibilities.

Role Of An Anaesthetist

An anaesthetist is a medical professional who helps/assists the physician in administering anaesthesia to the patients as they are experienced anaesthetists. Anaesthesia is a medicine that is used for blocking pain, time of pain getting blocked depends upon the type and amount of anaesthesia given. They are also responsible for giving pre and post anaesthetic to the patients. Some works of anaesthetists are given below:

• General anaesthesia is administered intravenously (IV) or by the respiratory system to prevent the patient from feeling intense pain during or after surgery.
• Local anaesthesia is given through lotion or cream that is applied to the part of the body on which the surgery is to be done.
• They also help to sedate the patient to relieve the patient of anxiety or stress of putting the patient in a relaxed state before or after the surgery. A relaxed patient can help a surgeon a lot during surgery.

Role Of Anesthesiologist

The person who administers anaesthesia to patients and communicates to them about the medicine they are about to receive as well as about the side effects of it, is a professional physician. A few responsibilities as an Anaesthesiologist are as follows.

• It is a key factor for an Anaesthesiologist to assist gynaecologists during birth or labour.
• Anaesthesiologists are also trained in neuro anaesthesia which deals with the spinal cord, nervous system and brain.
• These people also help surgeons during cardiac surgery or cardiac-related issues.
• They also have a good command of the paediatric department, which deals with treating pain in children’s surgery.

Which Is Correct, An Anaesthetist Or An Anaesthesiologist?

So far, looking at the roles and duties of an anaesthetist and anaesthesiologist, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that they do the same job. However, there are some slight differences. In some countries, both these terms are used interchangeably. Thus, it’s not really a question about which one is correct. Both the terms are correct, with minor differences. In some places, experienced anaesthetists are allowed to set up their teams; in others, anaesthesiologists are also DJs in the OR room.  

Conclusion

Although the work of both Anaesthetist and Anaesthesiologist may sound overlapping, by digging further, you can find the core difference in their work, plus they both have different medical courses taught to them. They both work towards the same goal, which is to block the pain of the patients by giving them anaesthesia.

In a nutshell, both the terms anaesthetist and anaesthesiologist are correct. However, they have slight differences that are already mentioned above.