Different Anesthetics

Another responsibility of the ASC scheduler is to give breaks for solo attendings. We relieve them for breakfast and lunch breaks. In doing this, I noticed a lot of unusual, even eccentric anesthetics. They were fine; they got the job done, but it was interesting to see the variation in practice. Every anesthetic decision has advantages and disadvantages and I found it enlightening to see what priorities solo attendings had. Anesthetics can focus on cost, efficiency, quick turnovers, convenience, nausea prophylaxis, post operative pain management, a guarantee that the patient has absolutely no recall, or a dozen other factors, and many of these are exclusive goals. Some anesthesiologists practice how they were trained decades ago. Some are trying newer techniques. But after being in medicine for several years, I know that such variation is common practice.