After Match Day in March of this year, I surveyed my fellow medical school classmates to ask them why they did NOT choose anesthesiology as their future specialty. The results were a combination of the expected and the unexpected with several common themes running through the responses. The following reflect some of the themes noted:
Since conducting the survey, I have reflected heavily on medical student perceptions of anesthesiology and the frequent disconnect between those perceptions and the reality that I have come to know. Indeed, the results of my small survey reflect commonly held perceptions regarding anesthesiology; namely that anesthesiology is boring, that it lacks sufficient patient interaction, that there is a lack of continuity, and that there are increasing scope-of-practice concerns. Perhaps due to late exposure to anesthesiology that is a reality for most medical students, there is a disconnect between medical student perceptions of anesthesiology and the...
