| |
November 2000
Volume 64 |
Number 11
|
| |
RESIDENTS' REVIEW
|
| Anesthesia
24/7 |
John A. "Jack" Cooley, M.D.
Interim Editor, "Residents' Review"
As I watched the recent television series
"Hopkins 24/7" over the past few weeks, I have had the
opportunity to think about a number of things regarding residency
training and our specialty. I watched the series to see how accurate
was their portrayal of Hopkins in a powerful, six-part
documentary series that takes viewers deep into the most private
corners of the medical world.1 To
my disappointment, the network chose to concentrate on the surgical
and emergency room aspects of the medicine world; other specialties,
including anesthesiology, were neglected.
The parade of featured surgeons made me remember the brief time
I spent in the department of surgery at Johns Hopkins as a medical
student. I distinctly recall our first lecturer stating that according
to a survey, surgeons are the most respected professionals, followed
by physicians in the number-two spot. He made it clear that there
was a difference perceived in the public's eye, but he was unable
to elucidate that distinction. Regrettably, the show fed the public's
perception of this difference by highlighting individual surgeons
at Hopkins and not the team approach to surgery and other specialties
that are ubiquitous throughout medicine. In the six episodes,
the operating room personnel were shown but not mentioned on the
show. The anesthesia involved in these cases was not discussed,
even though the anesthetic management for some of the cases shown
(e.g., hemispherectomy, double-lung transplantation and orthotopic
liver transplantation) was not trivial.
Trivial or not, our specialty bears some of the responsibility
for the lack of recognition for what we do every day. Additionally,
the general public does not have as much insight into what is
involved in "putting one to sleep" as the actual surgery
itself. "Hopkins 24/7" did not help us in that respect.
We face an uphill battle to educate the public, both on the community
and individual levels, as to what our specialty does. Unlike other
specialists who can introduce themselves without the title of
"Doctor" we need to include "Doctor" in our
introduction. A surgeon's patients know he or she is a doctor,
but that is not necessarily true for our patients. It is an extremely
important distinction in our profession, one we must make to every
patient with every encounter and at every opportunity. We need
to expose the public to the world of anesthesiology one patient
at a time.
One last thought that came to mind along the same lines as "Hopkins
24/7": U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals rankings.
Whether or not one agrees with the results of the survey, the
applicability of the survey or the whole idea itself, one fact
disturbs me: Anesthesiology is not included in their list of specialties
that are considered important in ranking hospitals. The survey
covers a broad range of surgical and other specialties but leaves
out our specialty – the specialty that probably contributes
highly to the success of the other specialties at all of the hospitals
in the survey.
Again, this is an area for improvement in educating the public.
Starting with the editors and continuing right down through the
readership, this omission is an opportunity for anesthesiologists
and ASA to start a campaign of public awareness and education
as to what we do and why every patient deserves a "doctor
of anesthesiology" for their care.
Reference:
1. ABCNEWS.com. ABCNEWS and Johns Hopkins – Hopkins 24/7.
Life happens here. Available at abcnews.go.com/onair/hopkins/.
Accessed October 25, 2000.
| |
|
John
A. Jack Cooley, M.D., is an anesthesiology resident at Johns
Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. |
|
return to top |