how many drugs does an everyday anethesiologist need to know?

[prominence]

when i studied pharmacology, i remember the numerous amount of drugs that had to be studied. there were so many details to be learned: mechanisms of action, route of administraion, indications of uses, adverse effects, etc. i learned alot in that class, and i enjoyed it, but i didnt retain much of the material once the exams were over.

im wondering, what portion of the drugs studied in pharmacology is actually needed as an everyday anesthesiologist? i mean, obviously u need to know the anesthethics. but what other classes/categories of drugs do u need to know? do u also need to know ANS drugs, cardiovascular drugs, antineoplastic drugs, autoacoids, etc? is there a large number of drugs that u need to know to become an anesthesiologist (i.e. over 200)? could someone comment on this? thanks.

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[Tenesma]

an everyday anesthesiologist has to have a running knowledge of two sets of drugs

1) all drugs related to anesthesia, analgesia, areflexia and amnesia, vasopressors/downers, ACLS-drugs, ICU drugs- these drugs need to be known down to the nitty gritty

2) all other drugs that patients may be on... you don't want to be taking care of somebody if you don't know what drugs are floating in their system, how they work and how they may interfere/interact with your anesthesia...

will you need to know everything about antineoplastic drugs? no, but there will still be some that are relevant: adriamycin, bleomycin, etc....

 

[prominence]

Originally posted by Tenesma
1) all drugs related to anesthesia, analgesia, areflexia and amnesia, vasopressors/downers, ACLS-drugs, ICU drugs- these drugs need to be known down to the nitty gritty

how many drugs would u estimate fit this category, if u had to throw out a number?

 

[Gator05]

I'm sorry, but I have to satiate the curiosity...why is a hard number so important? Are you merely asking for the number of different drug names you must know about?

Otherwise, you might as well ask how many organ systems you should be knowledgeable about before graduating from med school...

Perhaps an explanation of your rationale would be helpful.

 

[prominence]

i have a poor long term memory. if u need to know like 1000 drugs to be an anesthesiologist, then i am not suited for this field. im a 3rd year med student, and i getting ready for electives next year. im considering anesthesiology as one of my career options, but i havent yet rotated in it, and i have questions. an exact number of drugs to be known by an anesthesiologist is impossible to get, but i was just looking for a ball park figure.

 

[Lonestar]

All you need to know is this phrase "nurse, will you go check on the meds while i call my wife"

 

[Tenesma]

lonestar,

i am trying to figure out your posting... it doesn't make much sense... 1) as an anesthesiologist you don't have nurses around most of the time 2) you especially don't want anybody else but yourself checking meds..

can you explain what you meant?

 

[Lonestar]

Sorry, if i caused any confusion. What i meant was, some of the anesthesiologists are so damn lazy, that at our hospital they pretty much see 2% of the patients on their own. The med students in their 4th year follow the nurse gas passers b/c the anesthesiologists are nowhere to be found. There are some of these guys who actually put an effort b/c they work cardiac cases. Otherwise, in the bread and butter cases the anesthesiologist is the there for the induction and then splits. I just get ticked off b/c i think this is the only way that the nurses can threaten our profession (lazy anesthesiologists).

 

[Tenesma]

lonestar,

I feel bad that your exposure to anesthesia has been so weak..., and am surprised that despite your poor exposure you are still interested in this wonderful field... good luck with everything

 

[beezar]

You'll be fine! Memorizing drugs in pharm class is so different then remembering them when you use them in real life everyday.

I have a poor memory as well and thought that I was screwed when it comes to memorizing drugs. But after seeing a lot of them for the umpteenth time, there's no way I could forget. and I'm actually even remembering drug dosages... now that's scaring me!

You'll be fine... if you made it through basic sciences, then you're obviously smart enough to pick this stuff up.

Besides, get a palm, use epocrates whenever you need to and you are golden.

 

[prominence]

beezar,

thanks for the kind words of encouragement