Activities	According to the American Medical Association, Health Care Careers Directory (2009-2010), Anesthesiologist Assistants are highly skilled allied health professionals who work under the direction of licensed anesthesiologists to develop and implement anesthesia care plans Anesthesiologist Assistants gather patient data, to assist in the evaluation of patients’ physical and mental status, to record the surgical procedures planned, and to help the directing anesthesiologist administer the therapeutic plan that has been formulated for the anesthetic care of the patient. Assist anesthesiologists in the administration of anesthesia for surgical and non-surgical procedures. Monitor patient status and provide patient care during surgical treatment.
Outlook	Faster-than-average-job growth
Median Income	$81,200 per year in 2008
Work Context & Conditions	Although Anesthesiologist Assistants usually work in a comfortable, well-lighted environment, those in surgery often stand for long periods. At times, the job requires a considerable amount of walking. Their work schedules may vary according to the practice setting and often depend on the hours of the supervising physician. The workweek of hospital-based AAs may include weekends, nights, or early morning hospital rounds to visit patients. These workers also may be on call.
Minimum Education Requirements	Master's Degree
Skills	Social Perceptiveness, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Writing, Time Management, Active Learning, Judgment and Decision Making, Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Science
Abilities	Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Inductive Reasoning, Oral Comprehension

Job Category
Job Description		According to the American Medical Associations, Health Care Careers Directory, (2009-10) "Anesthesiologist Assistants (AA) assists the anesthesiologist in developing and implementing the anesthesia care plan. This may include collecting pre-operative data, such as taking an appropriate health history; performing various pre-operative tasks, such as the insertion of intravenous and arterial catheters and special catheters for central venous pressure monitoring, if necessary; performing airway management and drug administration for induction and maintenance of anesthesia; assisting in the administering and monitoring of regional and peripheral nerve blockade; administering supportive therapy, for example, with intravenous fluids and cardiovascular drugs; adjusting anesthetic levels on a minute-to-minute basis; performing intra-operative monitoring; providing recovery room care; and functioning in the intensive care unit. The AA may also be used in pain clinics or may participate in administrative and educational activities. In addition, Anesthesiologist Assistants provide other support according to established protocols. Such activities may include pretesting anesthesia delivery systems and patient monitors and operating special monitors and support devices for critical cardiac, pulmonary, and neurological systems. AAs may be involved in the operation of bedside electronic computer- based monitors and have supervisory responsibilities for laboratory functions associated with anesthesia and operating room care. They provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation in association with other anesthesia care team members and in accordance with approved emergency protocols."
Working Conditions		According to the American Medical Associations, Health Care Careers Directory (2009-10), Anesthesiologist assistants most often work within organizations that also employ nurse anesthetists, and their responsibilities are identical. Experience to date has been that AAs are most commonly employed in larger facilities that perform procedures such as cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, transplant surgery, and trauma care, given the training in extensive patient monitoring devices and complex patients and procedures emphasized in AA educational programs.
Salary Range		According to the American Medical Associations,Health Professions Career and Education Directory, (2009-2010); the salary range for anesthesiologist assistants falls between $95,000 up to $160,000.

Education Required		According to the American Medical Association's Health Care Careers Directory (2009-10), Anesthesiologist Assistant's post-baccalaureate programs are essentially 24 to 28 months. Most anesthesiologist assistants educational programs accept students who have prior education in the sciences that would qualify the student to pursue careers in medicine, dentistry, or one of the basic medical sciences. Students are taught course work that enhances their basic science knowledge in physiology, pharmacology, anatomy, and biochemistry with special emphasis on the cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, nervous, and neuromuscular systems. Clinical instruction educates students extensively in patient monitoring, anesthesia delivery systems, life support systems, and patient assessment as well and in the skills need to provide compassionate, quality care.
Recommended High School Courses		Biology, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics
Postsecondary Instructional Programs		Psychology, Therapy and Counseling, Biology, Customer and Personal Service, Medicine and Dentistry
Certification and Licensing		According to The National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants (NCCAA), which was founded in 1989, provides the certification process for AAs in the United States. The Commission includes anesthesiologists and anesthesiologist assistants. NCCAA contracts with the National Board of Medical Examiners to assist with the certification process, including task analyses, development of content grids, item writing and editing, and administration of examinations. The certification process incorporates a 6-year cycle of certifying examination, examination for continued demonstration of qualifications, and registration of continuing medical education."

Interest Area		Investigative Involves working with ideas and requires an extensive amount of thinking.
Work Values		Achievement Get a feeling of accomplishment. Social Service Do things for other people. Security Have steady employment. Ability Utilization Make use of individual abilities. Co-workers Have co-workers who are easy to get along with. Activity Busy all the time.
Skills		Social Perceptiveness Be aware of others' reactions and understand why they react the way they do. Critical Thinking Use logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Active Listening Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate. Writing Communicate effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience. Time Management Manage one's own time and the time of others. Active Learning Work with new material or information to grasp its implications. Judgment and Decision Making Be able to weigh the relative costs and benefits of a potential action. Coordination Adjust actions in relation to others' actions. Reading Comprehension Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Speaking Talk to others to effectively convey information. Science Use scientific methods to solve problems.
Abilities		Oral Expression Able to convey information and ideas through speech in ways that others will understand. Problem Sensitivity Able to tell when something is wrong or likely to go wrong. This doesn't involve solving the problem, just recognizing that there is a problem. Inductive Reasoning Able to combine separate pieces of information, or specific answers to problems, to form general rules or conclusions. This includes coming up with a logical explanation for why seemingly unrelated events occur together. Oral Comprehension Able to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Related Jobs		Nurse, Registered, Physician Assistant
Job Outlook		Detailed information not available.
More Information		American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Medical Association - Health Care Careers, American Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants
References		American Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants PO Box 13978, Tallahassee, FL 32317, on the Internet at http://www.anesthetist.org/content/view/25/40/ American Society of Anesthesiologists, 520 N. Northwest Highway Park Ridge, IL 60068-2573 on the internet at http://www.asahq.org/career/aa.htm American Medical Association's Health Professions Career and Education Directory, 2005-2006 on the Internet at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/14598.html Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Physician Assistants, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos081.htm O*NET OnLine, on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/29-1071.01