What exactly is the difference between an anesthetist and an anesthesiologist? Also should you consider selecting one, if you have the option, before you have surgery or should you leave that up to the hospital?

Here is an article that discusses it, but simply put, an anesthesiologist is a physician and anesthetist is a trained nurse. Often there are teams that use both of these highly trained types of caregivers in conjunction for patient care.

Wow Sherasi, thanks for your quick anwser! Since you are in the medical field, would one anesthesiolgist come to mind if you had to have surgery or would you just "go with" the one that was scheduled?

I would talk with the anesthesiologist, find out his training, how long he has practiced. I might even ask, informally, around town, find out from other people if they've had surgery, how they did with this doctor or that doctor.

Also, that anesthesiologist had BETTER ask YOU for an interview to find out specifics about YOU... allergies, weight, medication lists, diagnoses (resp illnesses, heart trouble, etc).

If this is voluntary surgery, you have more time to prepare. If it was more immediate, you'd not have much of a choice. Your family doctor often has no "relationship" with specific hospitals or doctors, he/she might be able to help you make a better choice. Nurses are also a great resource.. my mom is an RN.. she could tell me down to the ER docs, who she wouldn't let touch her and which surgeons and anesthesiologists she respected.

Also, often hospitals have contracts with specific anesthesiologists. Ask questions, information is the best tool you have.

Once again, thank you, Sherasi!
I appreciate your sincerity. Lots of us really don't think to ask re many medical situations.

rather than grilling the anesthesiologist at the time of the meeting, I'd suggest expressing your concerns to your surgeon; ask him/her if it's possible to make a specific request, and if so, whom would he/she recommend. Allaying your fears ahead of time makes more sense to me than a confrontation two minutes before the surgery. What will the answers mean to you when you hear them? No one in the US in any major hospital will be giving anesthesia without full training and certification; so the answers to such questions as were suggested will all be within a certain range. If he/she says he/she has been in practice a short time, is that good or bad? How much time is ideal? Do you want someone just trained in the latest stuff, or someone who trained many years ago? If you are going to ask the questions, decide in advance what the answers will mean to you. In some circumstances it's possible to arrange to meet the anesthetist/ologist ahead of time -- ask your surgeon. But the bottom line is to some degree you are going to have to transfer some of the trust you have in your surgeon to the anesthetist: assume your surgeon isn't going to work with someone in whom he/she doesn't have confidence. I work with MDs and nurse anesthetists: I have no problem with the latter. And the monitoring devices in the OR nowadays are such that the sorts of bad things you heard about in the past are nearly impossible now. I'm in no way downplaying your concerns; however, I think if you have reason to trust and be confident in your surgeon, you should be able safely to assume you will be in good hands with the rest of the team.

Thanks for the info, Sid--sounds like really good advise.

I ran into this yesterday and just had to add it here--forgive me---

An anesthesiologist is a doctor who works in the operating room to delay your pain until such time as you get his bill.

Or this: when a patient asks the anesthesiologist how much he charges, and then says "you charge that much just for putting me to sleep?" the anesthesiologists like to say, no going to sleep is free. We charge for waking you back up again.

Chuckle...I've been under 4 times and it's nice to wake up even if in pain. Good one, sid1114.