Anesthesia, in general, is the delivery of sedating/ sleepy medications to a patient. That way, you won’t remember the operation, and you won’t “feel anything” during your procedure. The depth of how sleepy you become is controlled by what medications you take. You may be sleepy but breathing on your own, or you may be so sleepy that you can’t breathe on your own, and you will need to have a “breathing tube” and get oxygen delivered to your body through the “breathing tube”.
In the US, typically you get anesthesia from a nurse or a doctor. Wait, you didn’t know what? Let me explain.
A nurse that delivers anesthesia is called a CRNA/ Certified Registered Nurse Anesthestist. They have additional training beyond just a RN degree. They have alot of leeway and independence, but typically in hospital settings, they are under the supervision of a Doctor that delivers anesthesia. In an out-patient setting, technically the surgeon is often the supervising doctor.
A doctor that delivers anesthesia is called an anesthesiologist. Sometimes the abbreviation is MDA, for MD- anesthesiologist. They have additional training in anesthesia, and tend to do the more complex and medically sicker patients in a hospital setting.
In most cases, a CRNA will be cheaper than a MDA for anesthesia delivery during a surgical case. Also, you should know who delivers the anesthesia during your surgical case. Your community may not even have enough MD anesthesiologists to cover the hospital, let alone an out-patient surgery center, so you may not have much of a choice. I am fortunate to work in a surgery center with MDA’s, and another one with CRNA’s and MDA’s. Just be aware about who is helping you go to sleep and waking you up.
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