Ane*%#<..ologist

 

Whenever I am talking to a patient of mine, to explain who I am and what I am going to do, I try to make it as simple as possible, starting from what kind of doctor I am.

I am an Anesthesiologist. That word (anesthesiologist) is a mouthful for many people, medical people included. It is confusing to many. In Uganda, it is a term used to describe a doctor who specialised in anaesthesia.

When I am talking to my patients before their operations, many times it starts like this;

Me: Hello, my name is Dr Arthur, I am the doctor who makes people sleep when they are going for an operation and wakes them up after.

This is usually followed by a smile or laughter at the sleep description. Some patients have referred to me as "the sleep doctor" after that.

True story; someone once called me for advice on how to sleep well when they were failing to get sleep simply because they remembered me as the sleep doctor. I did give them advice that enabled them to sleep well though after first laughing about how the sleep I give is not the one you get at night.

In Luganda (one of the languages in Uganda), an anaesthesia provider is called "musilisa"; meaning the one who makes you quiet or calm. This is almost similar to sleep doctor.

Apart from anaesthesiologists, there are other types of medical professionals who provide anaesthesia. In Uganda we have Anaesthetic officers who are sometimes called anaesthetists; these are ususally nurses and clinical officers who do a 2 year diploma in anaeasthesia. In some other countries these are called nurse anaesthetists. In the UK though, the term anaesthetist is used the same way we use anaesthesiologist in Uganda; to refer to a Medical Doctor who specialised anaesthesia.

Feel free to refer to your anesthesiologist as the sleep doctor if the word "anesthesiologist" is giving you trouble.