Joel Baker broke his finger playing baseball as a kid. It took some intricate surgery to get his finger functioning normally again, but it turned out to be a quick and non-traumatic fix thanks to the anesthesia.
“They had to put me out because they put a pin in my finger,” says Baker.
“I just thought it was the coolest thing to be unaware of what was going on while they were repairing part of my body.” - Joel Baker
That experience helped set Baker on the career path toward becoming an anesthesiologist assistant (AA).
“You get to help people on a daily basis and have an impact on people’s lives,” says Baker who now works at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital.
Anesthesiologist assistants are just one of the dozen categories of allied health professionals licensed by the State Medical Board of Ohio. AAs have multiple duties, including diagnostic studies such as blood draws; advanced life-support practices such as airway intubation and ventilatory support; and also local and regional anesthesia techniques.
Advances in drugs and procedures make it so almost no patient has to experience pain during an operation, which is why anesthetics, and specifically the position of anesthesiologist assistant, are becoming more prevalent.
One of the first interactions a patient may have with an AA is during the development and implementation of an anesthesia care plan.
“I do a preoperative interview of the patient including anything from allergies to medical history,” says Baker. “Inside the operating room, I can assist the anesthesiologist with a number of procedures. That includes inserting breathing tubes, inserting spinal anesthesia [and] inserting epidural anesthesia.”
In the early 1960s, the medical community realized a serious shortage of trained professionals within the field of anesthesiology. In response to this shortage, as well as to the growing complexity of anesthesia in surgeries, three anesthesiologists (Drs. Joachim S. Gravenstein, John E. Steinhaus and Perry P. Volpitto) reevaluated the educational requirements for both nurse anesthetists and physician anesthesiologists. Their study led to the concept of an anesthesia technologist, the precursor to the anesthesiologist assistant. The three doctors designed a new educational program with two goals in mind: first, to provide individuals the training to be a non-physician anesthesia provider with a premedical background; second, for all anesthesiologist assistants to be under the direct supervision of an anesthesiologist.
Even today, these two goals are sustained. 10% of anesthesiologist assistants ultimately choose to attend medical school, and all anesthesiologist assistants still are under the direct supervision of an anesthesiologist.
In 1969, Emory University, located in Atlanta became the first institution to offer an accredited plan for an Anesthesiologist Assistant master’s degree. Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland followed suit a year later in 1970. There are currently 12 programs offered throughout the United States with Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis being the most recent to offer the program in 2017.
“I was a pre-med major at John Carrol University and then I went straight from John Carrol University to Case Western Reserve University up in Cleveland,” Baker says. “Case Western is a 24-month program. We start off the first three months with anesthesia ‘boot camp’ -- a crash course into the very basics of anesthesia.”
Anesthesiologist assistants are currently able to work in 16 states (Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin) as well as the District of Columbia through either license and certification or through physician delegation. Anesthesiologist assistants are recognized by the federal government, allowing the ability to also work at all Veterans Health Administration Facilities.
There is a 30 percent growth expected in the field over the next decade as more states establish licensure for anesthesiologist assistants. With a median salary of $98,000, the field holds promise for many of those interested in pursuing a career in medicine.
“Few people understand, and I didn’t understand when I was going through pre-med, that this was a viable option instead of going to nursing school. It’s not really well known,” Baker says. “I think it needs to be known. It’s a cool field.”
Evan Wehmeyer is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
About the Expert
Joel Mikus Baker is an Anesthesiology Assistant Specialist in Mansfield. He graduated with honors from Case Western Reserve University School Of Medicine in 201. Having more than two years of diverse experiences, especially as an anesthesiologist assistant, Joel Mikus Baker affiliates with OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, and cooperates with other doctors and specialists without joining any medical groups.
