Anesthesiology Technician Bachelor's Degree

If you plan to pursue a career in anesthesiology technology you will spend much of your work day assisting the anesthesiologist during surgical procedures. You will be responsible for setting up any necessary equipment, preparing the medications that have been ordered by the doctor, and ordering supplies that are needed. You will also need to be on hand during a patient's surgical procedure to monitor the equipment and may be required to sterilize reusable parts once the procedure is complete.

While not all employers insist on hiring individuals who have their bachelor's degree in anesthesiology technology, by securing your degree you are definitely setting yourself up for professional success. Of course, you must have completed your high school course work and successfully obtained your diploma prior to seeking admittance into a bachelor's degree program. Your degree and the formal training you will have received will allow you to transition easily into the work place and to quickly advance into higher level positions with more responsibility. As you pursue your bachelor's degree in anesthesiology technology you will be required to complete course work in: anesthesia technology, pharmacology for anesthesia, medical law and ethics, microbiology, anatomy and physiology, infection control, and anesthesia systems.

Depending upon the four year college or university you decide to attend you will likely be required to complete hands on laboratory work, classroom instruction, and clinical experience. Ideally, this will allow you the opportunity to learn the necessary information in a classroom format, apply what you have learned under supervision in a laboratory setting, and to practice your skills on a more independent level in your clinical experience. During your clinical experiences you can expect to focus on how to deliver medicine orally and intravenously, how to address medical emergencies that pain medication have caused, how to accurately understand a patient's pain level, and how to recognize the side effects that can be caused by anesthesia.

The required course work should teach you all that you need to know about airway management, clinical asepsis, sterilization of equipment, local and regional anesthesia methods, high level disinfecting, gas delivery, and anesthesia machines. Although the bachelor's program for this field of study is not identical for all colleges and universities, you can expect to become well versed in the areas of risk management, pharmacology, methods of EKG interpretation for anesthesia patients, and ancillary anesthesia administration equipment. It is important to note that all of the aspects of your training will be applicable for all types of patients; this will include pediatric patients, geriatric patients, and obstetric patients.

After obtaining your degree you may want to consider becoming certified. The most common route of certification is to earn a passing score on the examination provided by the American Society of Anesthesia Technologists and Technicians. Your knowledge and training will make it feasible for you to seek employment at senior care facilities, all types of medical offices and clinics, and at medical and surgical hospitals.

Responsibilities as an Anesthesiology Technician

As reported by Salary.com the average technician makes between $30,000 - $33,800. You’ll have a big role in an operating room assisting the main technician and even doctors. Choose a campus location that is close to you or an online option. Some of the top responsibilities include those pre-surgery as well as post-surgery including.

- Monitor the patients that are under anesthesia and administer local anesthesia.
- Work with patient before surgery and conduct interviews and routine physical exams.
- Work in an operating room and monitor systems including life support.
- Assist in giving epidurals.
- Restock supplies and maintain anesthesia related equipment including sterilization, cleaning and calibration.

ASATT Certification

It is recommend that once you graduate with your bachelor’s degree in anesthesiology technician that you sit for your ASATT examination at https://www.asatt.org/. The certification is a great way to show potential employers your knowledge and is extremely coming these days.

Anesthesiology Certification: If you would like to take the Pediatric Anesthesiology PA exam you’ll need to be first certified by ABA, hold your medical license and complete your one-year fellowship. http://www.theaba.org/

Anesthesiology Degree Courses

If you look into most Bachelor Degree programs in Anesthesiology you’ll see that most have similar core courses that you’ll need to take. These courses represent 50% of your degree which will take 4 years to complete. It is important to find out from the school you want to attend what their default or drop rate is on the program.

Some of the more common courses include.

- Principles of Anesthesia Technology
- Pharmacology
- Terminology
- Clinical and Assistant Laboratory Techniques
- Patient Care and Bedside Manner
- Anatomy and Psychology