An anesthesiologist (American English) or anaesthetist (British English) is a physician trained in anesthesia and perioperative medicine. Terminology varies between countries. In the United States, the term anesthesiologist refers to a physician who has completed an accredited residency program in anesthesiology after medical school training, while the term anesthetist is used for nurse anesthesia providers who have completed a four-year bachelor's degree in nursing and then have a minimum of one year in critical care before completing a Masters or Practice Doctorate Degree specializing in anesthesia. By contrast, in the UK, most former Commonwealth countries and in Europe, the word anaesthetist is used to refer only to physicians, while their assistants may be termed anaesthetic nurses, anaesthetic technicians, operating department practitioners or physician associates depending on local practice. Anaesthetists provide medical care to patients in a wide variety of (usually acute) situations, including preoperative evaluation, consultation with the surgical team, creation of a plan for the anesthesia tailored to each individual patient, airway management, intraoperative life support and provision of pain control, intraoperative diagnostic stabilisation, proper post-operative management of patients. Outside the operating room, an anaesthetist's spectrum of action includes with in-hospital and pre-hospital emergencies, intensive care units, acute pain units and chronic pain consultations. Because anaesthetists are physicians, in contrast to other anesthesia providers, they are able to utilize their extensive knowledge of physiology, pharmacology and diseases to guide their decision making. In the USA, there has been a shortage of anaesthetists historically. In order to better serve the population, residency positions in anaesthesia for physicians have been steadily increasing the past several years. In addition, US physicians supervise ACTs, or Anesthesia Care Teams, which are composed of a supervising physician with several certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) or Anesthesiologist Assistants (AAs). In other areas of the USA, anaesthetists work in what is deemed a "solo" or "MD/DO only" practice, during which they provide anesthesia in a "one on one" relationship with the patient. In many areas of the country, CRNAs work independent of an anaesthetist.

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