‘Hello. I Am Steve Shafer, Your Anesthesiologist’

Dr Shafer very elegantly and respectfully has written in very plain and simple English. I have worked in Canada all my life and also spent two years working with CRNA,s.
Some are very competent and play as an effective member of care team.
Most unfortunately many of them
Truest believe they are as good or more competent then their MD colleagues.
There is a definite element of militancy. I have also worked with anesthesia assistants in Michigan with extremely positive experience.
We have been pushing AA coming from respiratory therapy back ground.
In summary to introduce one self to patients as a nurse
anesthesiologist and Dr is purest form of deception.

As above. Dr. Bourne has said it perfectly.

I agree with most of this, and I must point out that you have the liberty of introducing yourself by your first and last name because you are a man ("Steve Jones, your anesthesiologist"), and patients will assume that you are a doctor regardless of what you say. As a woman, I feel I must be very clear with patients from the outset that I am a doctor, otherwise it is assumed that I am a nurse. Many times I introduce myself very clearly, get through the entire interview, and at the end the patient will ask me incredulously, "So you are a doctor?" As you say, it is important for patients to be clear on this fact so that they can feel clear and confident on who I am and what I can do for them. I do not think that all patients are clear on the fact that an anesthesiologist is a physician, so the word doctor really does have to be in there in my opinion. I suppose this is even more reason to protect the term in the medical setting.