Critical Shortages Create Opportunities for Critical Care Anesthesiologists

Critical care medicine remains an integral part of inpatient care in every hospital and, with the aging population and advances in clinical care, the need for critical care physicians will continue to expand. As a result, the opportunities for anesthesiologists with subspecialty training in critical care medicine will continue to grow. There are predictions that the demand for highly trained critical care physicians will continue to increase and is expected to result in a shortage of well-trained critical care physicians worldwide. At the same time, the need for the expertise of the critical care physician extends beyond the walls of the intensive care units. For example, patients requiring stabilization and resuscitation on the emergency department clearly benefit from having critical care-trained physicians participating in their care. This escalating need for critical care providers is being partially met by critical care anesthesiologists. SOCCA members in particular recognize that importance of the background of anesthesiology to the care of critically ill patients, but also value the training and experience provided by critical care fellowships – particularly those that are interdisciplinary in nature, reflecting the full gamut of the critically ill patient population. At the same time, critical care anesthesiologists alone will never fill all of the needed positions in intensive care units in the United States, so