From Anesthesiologist to Palliative Care Doctor

Abstract

Anesthesiology is a branch of medicine that focuses on pain relief during and after surgery, and is aimed at the patient’s safety and comfort. On the other hand, palliative medicine is an academic discipline about approaches that improve the quality of life of patients and their families facing problems associated with life-threatening illnesses. Anesthesia and palliative care have shared objectives such as analgesia, sedation and reduction of stress. Cancer patients have a significant symptom burden, most often involving pain, dyspnea, anxiety and depression. Although pain control is the major concern of cancer patients and their families, they are often dissatisfied with the quality of pain control. Anesthesiologists have detailed knowledge of drugs and methods for pain relief, and have specific skills in symptom management that may benefit the patient. For these reasons, anesthesiologists can play a key role in palliative care. To manage many palliative care problems and improve the quality of health care, it is necessary to cultivate not only palliative care specialists but also physicians with primary palliative care skills.