Anesthesiologist: Education

Requirements and Career

Information
A Career Outlook - Philippines

Anesthesiologist: Education
Requirements and Career
Information
Learn about the education and preparation needed to become an anesthesiologist. Get a quick
view of the requirements as well as details about training, job duties and licensure and
certification to find out if this is the career for you.

Essential Information
Anesthesiologists treat and prevent pain and monitor the vital functions of patients during
surgical procedures. They do not just work in operating rooms, however. They can also practice
in pain clinics, intensive care units or labor and delivery units. Becoming an anesthesiologist
requires completion of undergraduate prerequisite courses, medical school, and residency, and
then post-residency (fellowship) training if they want to further specialize (for example, in
pediatric anesthesiology, or other anesthesia subspecialties).
SERVICES
1. AMBULATORY ANESTHESIA for quick or same day procedure
2. Anesthesia for: CARDIOVASCULAR & THORACIC SURGERY, GENERAL SURGERY,
INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY, CANCER TREATMENT, NEUROSURGERY, ENDOSCOPY &
LAPAROSCOPY, OPHTHALMOLOGY, OTOLARYNGOLOGY, ORTHOPEDICS, PEDIATRIC
SURGERY, TRANSPLANT SURGERY, UROLOGY, INVASIVE & NON INVASIVE PROCEDURES,
OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY, PSYCHIATRY

Required Education

Prerequisite college courses (2-4 years)

Medical degree (4 years)
Anesthesiology residency (4 years)

Licensure & Certification

Board certification
State medical license

Other Requirements

Fellowship if subspecialty certification desired

Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit to maintain license
and board certification after residency

Projected Job Growth

(2012-2022)

18% (for all types of physicians and surgeons)*

Average Salary (2013)

PHP 168,000 Median Salary - the one that falls at the midpoint of the range**

Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, **payscale.com

Education Requirements for

Anesthesiologists
The road to becoming a board-certified anesthesiologist is long, requiring a minimum of 12
years of postsecondary education. Aspiring anesthesiologists must first become fully qualified
physicians and then complete rigorous residency requirements. Subspecialties of study, such as
pediatric anesthesia, may add even more years of supervised study before a graduate can
practice independently.

Bachelor of Science in Pre-Medical Study

While there is no official, pre-medical degree required for medical school, many baccalaureate
degree programs are geared toward preparing graduates for medical school. Whether it carries
the pre-medical label or not, a 4-year degree, preferably in natural sciences, is virtually required
to gain admission to an accredited medical school. Technically, only the prerequisite college
courses are required, but the vast majority of matriculating medical students has bachelor's
degrees. These undergraduate programs should be heavily weighted in physics, organic and
inorganic chemistry, anatomy and biology.

BS Biochemistry Pre-Medicine Course

(With Accelerated Medicine Program)

a) Introduction
Progress in science and technology continues to upgrade the lives of
people and consequently, the society we live in. These advancements are
catalyzed by numerous researches for the development of new technologies and
other breakthroughs in which can be used in various fields. Chemistry, the
central science, has a wide array of applications in different areas such as
agriculture, engineering, food science, forensics, pharmacy, medicine, and
others. One of the branches of chemistry that has been growing rapidly in
developing countries is biochemistry.
Biochemistry is the study of the molecules of life and the reactions that
these molecules undergo that affect the conditions of organisms. These chemical
reactions normally take place inside the cell, as well as in intercellular materials.
Biotechnology is the use of biological systems for the development of useful
products, which can be used in a variety of applications.
Currently, there is still a great need for chemists and biochemists in the
Philippines. Some of the latest technological advancements in a number of
fields, such as medicine, require a good background of biochemistry and its
techniques, such as gene therapy, stem cell, and other forms of treatments that
use biotechnology. The study and understanding of numerous diseases go to the
cellular and molecular level, which can be used for both diagnosis and

treatment. Therefore, a background in biochemistry makes a good preparation

for those who wish to pursue medical education and profession.

a) Career Opportunities
Medicine, Medical Research, Pharmaceutical Science, Forensics,
Agriculture, Food and Beverage, Cosmetics, Oil and Petroleum, Environmental
Assessment, Academe and Research

b) Curriculum Design
The BS Biochemistry program at DLSHSI is a highly unique program
designed to produce chemists that specialize in biochemistry. Graduates of this
program shall have a wide array of career opportunities, particularly in the allied
health-related industries and research. It also offers the first and only
Accelerated Medicine Program with a strong blend of chemistry and biology
preparations. It is a three-year trimestral program following the regular
academic track. However, students who will be invited to the Accelerated
Medicine Track (AMT) shall have a privilege of advancing to the Doctor of
Medicine program at DLSHSI after completing the first two years of the program.
A graduate with a professional license may work as an analytical or
laboratory chemist in industries with biochemical applications (i.e.
pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, environmental analysis, quality control,
agricultural products research, hospitals, etc.). In addition, registered chemists
can also work in crime laboratories as forensic chemists.
Graduates without professional license may also pursue careers in nonlaboratory jobs such as science communication, technical writing, marketing and
management, product sales, chemical information services, health and safety,
patents, project management, etc. (CMO No. 18, s2007).

Doctor of Medicine
Prior to specializing in anesthesiology, all students must graduate from a 4-year Doctor of
Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) program at an accredited medical school. These
extremely competitive programs are renowned for their academically demanding and timeconsuming nature.
The first two years of medical school build on students' undergraduate knowledge of the
natural sciences and add more specialized sciences to the mix. Med students take classes in
biochemistry, microbiology, neuroscience, pharmacology, pathology, immunology and

behavioral science. During these first two years, students also have their first patient contact as
they learn to conduct examinations and interviews.
The second half of medical school is primarily dedicated to clinical study. Students take part in
4- to 12-week clinical rotations that serve as their on-the-job introduction to various branches
of medicine, such as pediatrics, geriatrics, oncology and anesthesiology. Known as interns,
these students operate under the supervision of attending physicians or residents. They
interact with patients, performing preliminary diagnoses and then developing treatment plans
and presenting them to their supervisors.

La Sallian Doctor of Medicine

The entire four-year medical curriculum is presented to the students with the
highest degree of sequencing and integration possible. The topics covered in the
different courses are related and follow each other in a sequential manner. The
topics of the four-year medical course generally proceed from the normal to the
abnormal and from the simple to the complex levels of organization. Most of the
subjects are yearly courses taken up for two semesters of about 20 weeks each. Of
the 40 weeks, some 32-34 weeks are allocated to structured teaching-learning
activities while the rest are devoted to integration, review, and evaluations.
The first year covers normal Human Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology, and
Family and Community Medicine. Slide/film showing and laboratory work in small
groups complement the lectures.
The second year focuses on Pathology, Microbiology and Parasitology,
Pharmacology, Family and Community Medicine, and introductory courses in clinical
subjects. In smaller groups, students begin to encounter patients in actual hospital
situations. They are introduced to history taking and physical examination.
The third year deals with didactic lectures on common diseases encountered
in clinical practice as well as, to a limited extent, academically interesting, and
rare/exotic conditions. Pathophysiology is reviewed while clinical features, diagnostic
approaches and principles of management are highlighted. The third year
curriculum also includes practical case discussions under the supervision of a faculty
preceptor. Legal Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence are offered in this year level.
The training in the fourth year, also called Junior Internship, is mainly spent
in actual patient care, as part of the medical team. Hospital rounds and group
discussions give the students a good perspective on diagnosis, management and
bedside manners. For 52 weeks, the Junior Interns rotate in different clinical
departments and hospitals according to a prescribed period; evaluations are done
periodically. The students devote the entire fourth year of the medical course to
rendering primary, secondary, and tertiary medical care in various clinical disciplines
in the following venues:
o
o

De La Salle University Medical Center, Dasmarias, Cavite

Cavite Center for Mental Health, Trece Martires City, Cavite

General Emilio Aguinaldo Memorial Hospital, Trece Martires City, Cavite

As part of their rotation in Family and Community Medicine, the junior

interns live for a period of five weeks in selected barangays in Cavite. During this
period, they participate in community organizing, training, participatory action
research, and provision of health services. Their efforts are directed mainly towards
preventive medicine such as immunization, case finding and health education.
Under the supervision of a medical consultant, they also help provide curative
services.
Junior internship abroad may be allowed as an elective for fourth year
medical students. The clinical rotations taken abroad may only cover a maximum of
six months and the total clinical rotations must cover one school year. Obstetrics &
Gynecology and Community Medicine rotations may only be taken at DLSHSI

Far Eastern Doctor of Medicine with

Anesthesiologic Emphasis
The Training Program: A three-year training program providing Resident
Physicians with a general professional training in Anesthesiology. The training
program involves all aspects of Anesthesia and Intensive Care to enable the
Residents to learn how to deal with most types of anesthetics and resuscitation
problems. Importance is given to learning related basic sciences, medical
disciplines and development of knowledge and skill in Clinical Anesthesiology.
Training is conducted under the supervision of the Consultant Staff. Three years
is the optimum period required to learn the specialty. The three years of general
professional training in Anesthesiology will normally culminate in an acquisition
of a certificate of completion of Anesthesiology Residency.
Objectives: To provide an environment committed to excellence in all
aspects of training and patient care as an anesthesiologist. To provide residencytraining program that encourages a solid educational environment in which to
pursue academic, clinical, and research interests. To develop expertise in general
and regional anesthesia in all settings - pain management, critical care,
cardiopulmonary resuscitation and academic investigation. To provide the
highest quality patient centered care and create an atmosphere that promotes
the practice, learning, and teaching of clinical, intellectual, and ethical aspects of
the practice of Anesthesiology, peri-operative care and pain management for
students, trainees and faculty. To establish areas of excellence within
Anesthesiology and with other departments to support the development of new
knowledge utilizing both clinical and basic research programs
Academic Program: A one hour a week subject incorporated in Surgery 3A
covering the following topics in Perioperative Medicine. History of anesthesia,
Preoperative evaluation, Intraoperative Monitoring, Airway Management,
Regional Anesthesia, Redistribution and uptake of volatile anesthetics, Non

Volatile (Intravenous) Anesthetics and Local anesthetics, Volatile Anesthetics and

Neuromuscular Blocking agents.

Thomasian Doctor of Medicine with Anesthesiologic

Emphasis
Anesthesiology is taught to undergraduate medical students with the aim
of providing a formal integrated program of instruction in Anesthesia and pain
control, which they can apply later as doctors in regions where Anesthesiologists
are non-existent.
Year I medical students learn basic principles of Anatomy, Physiology,
Neuroanatomy and Biochemistry and integrate their knowledge with intubation,
ventilation, resuscitation, peripheral nerve blocks for pain control and other
forms of anesthetic management. Operational strategy is through integrated
classroom didactic lectures included in the block system slots of Anatomy,
Neuroanatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry departments.
Year II students learn the fundamental aspects of pain management,
both acute and chronic. These include preoperative preparation, intraoperative
and postoperative pain control, general and regional anesthesia techniques, and
pharmacology of intravenous, gaseous and volatile anesthetics, local anesthetics
narcotics and non-narcotics drugs and other drugs used in anesthesia and pain
control. Cancer and chronic non-cancer pain management, palliative care, life
support and life saving measures are likewise included. These are done through
interactive correlates, small group discussions and skills laboratory using
phantoms and models given in the block system slots of Anesthesiology, Surgery
and Pharmacology.
Year III and IV students gain knowledge and develop clinical
competencies in pre-operative and intraoperative anesthetic management of
patients. This is done through preceptorials, demonstration sessions and case
discussions during conferences, given within the time allotted to Anesthesiology.

Residency in Anesthesiology in Rizal Medical Center

The Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine of Rizal Medical Center offers a
three-year residency-training program and is fully accredited at present by the Philippine Board
of Anesthesiology. It has seven active consultant staffs with the following sub-specialties:
Pediatric, Obstetric, Transplant and Vascular, Thoracic, Perinatal Anesthesiology and Pain
Medicine. Residents go on a 24-hour tour of duty and do pre-anesthetic visits and evaluation of
all elective and emergency cases prior to surgery, administer anesthesia for all elective and
emergency cases including diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, render immediate postoperative care of all surgical patients and take care of the recovery room patients for
evaluation, assistance, management and proper disposition.

The department holds weekly conferences on Wednesdays and Fridays at 2:00 in the afternoon.
Topics include basic lectures, interesting cases, mortality and morbidity/audit, pre-operative
and post-operative conferences and censuses that are reported by a resident. Each consultant
according to year level conducts special lectures. M&M conferences are held every month with
RMC residents alternating with Cardinal Santos Medical Center residents. Specialty rotations to
affiliate institutions to provide adequate exposure include National Kidney and Transplant
Institute for Urology Anesthesia, Philippine Children's Medical Center for Pediatric Anesthesia
and St. Luke's Medical Center for Pain Medicine. Tools for evaluation and promotion of
residents include in-training examination, monthly quizzes, directly observed procedural skills
and reports.
At the completion of residency, the trainee must have the knowledge of basic and clinical
sciences as applied to anesthesiology dealing with but not limited to assessment of ,
consultation for, and preparation of patients for anesthesia, relief and prevention of pain
during and following surgical, obstetric, therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, monitoring and
maintenance of normal physiology during the perioperative period, management of critically ill
patients, clinical management and teaching of cardiac and pulmonary resuscitation, and
conduct clinical, translational and basic science research.
For more information about the Anesthesiology Departments Residency Training Program, please
call 865-8400 loc 141.

Fellowship in Anesthesiology
At this stage in their training, many anesthesiologists go on to complete an additional year of
study in a subspecialty. This training, called a fellowship, is within a subset of anesthesiology
that may be of particular interest, such as pediatric, obstetric, cardiac, neurologic or critical
care. A particularly ambitious anesthesiologist might undertake additional subsequent
fellowships to combine subspecialties.

Licensure and Certification for

Anesthesiologists

Professional Regulations Commision Physician Licensure Examinations

General practice of Medicine- No person shall engage in the practice of medicine
in the Philippines unless he is at least twenty-one years of age, has satisfactorily passed
the corresponding Board of Examination and is a holder of a valid Certificate of
Registration duly issued to him by the Board of Medical Examiners.

Philippine Society of Anesthesiologists Membership

The Philippine Society of Anesthesiologists is a Society that envisions the Filipino
anesthesiologists as world-class professionals pursuing the PSA Mission with a deep
sense of fulfillment and pride that pledges to promote and maintain a community of

responsible anesthesiologists who can practice safe and quality anesthesia care in the
pursuit of serving the interests of its members, their patients and the nation. For
Membership, sign-up at https://mdpie.com.
Subspecialty and Affiliate Societies
o Society for Obstetric Anesthesia of the Philippines
o Philippine Society of Pediatric Anesthesia
o Philppine Society of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologists
o Society for Neuroanesthesia of the Philippines
o Pain Society of the Philippines

The Secretariat: Room 102 PMA Building, North Avenue, Diliman, Quezon
City, Philippines 1100

Philippine Medical Association - Membership

Members shall be physicians duly licensed to practice medicine in the
Philippines and whose names have been entered into the roster of members of the
PMA. Membership shall be through a recognized Component Medical Society of the
PMA, and the rights, privileges and obligations shall be governed by its By-laws.
REQUIREMENTS: Claims should be filed within six (6) months from the start of
disability (effective January 01, 2015)
a. Letter of application.
b. Medical certificate of attending physician.
c. Copies of acceptable laboratory results collaborating the diagnosis.
d. Certificate of good standing from the component society.

The Secretariat: PMA Bldg., North Avenue, Quezon City 1105

Career Information for Anesthesiologists

As the baby boomer population ages, the health care industry was expected to continue
surging in growth, creating better-than-average job opportunities. According to the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics (BLS), job prospects for physicians and surgeons were expected to increase
18% between 2012 and 2022 (www.bls.gov). The outlook was even better for physicians who
treat traditionally underserved populations in low-income or rural areas. The mean annual
salary for anesthesiologists was $235,070 in May 2013, based on BLS figures.