Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 1996
ReviewCurrent understanding of patients' attitudes toward and preparation for anesthesia: a review.
A number of issues relating to patient education in anesthesia have been addressed in this review and, based upon the available data, some questions can be answered clearly. It is apparent both that a large minority of the American, British, and Australian public is under the misconception that anesthesiologists are not physicians and that the role of the anesthesiologist, both in and out of the operating room, is not fully understood. Many surgical patients, particularly younger ones, have fears about the anesthetic that are distinct from their fears about the surgery, the most common of them relating to waking up prematurely or not at all. ⋯ Advances in surgical diagnosis and treatment and critical care have depended upon the development of anesthesia as a specialty. Our ability to continue to develop may depend upon our success in educating the public, politicians, and other health care professionals about what we do. The evaluation of educational methods for disseminating information about anesthesia thus may be important in determining the very future of our specialty and the quality of surgical and pain therapy that patients will receive.