Welcome to the first edition of a resident newsletter article aimed at helping you in your future career as a physician anesthesiologist. While it is of great importance that we learn how to safely deliver anesthetics, it is also of great importance that all of us understand the current political, legal and economic state of our specialty. Don’t worry, we intend to explain why!
The following is a true story. A few years back, there was an anesthesiologist elected as a state senator in Michigan, and he took his job very seriously. One day, a group of motorcyclists showed up at the state capital to lobby for a law to repeal the state’s mandatory motorcycle helmet law. He immediately knew this was an absolutely terrible public health decision that would lead to an increase in head injuries, deaths, health care costs, etc. As a physician, he was compelled to speak...
