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Anaesthesiologist

Healthcare

Administer anesthetics and analgesics for pain management prior to, during, or after surgery.

ScienceAllied Health

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Monitor patient before, during, and after anesthesia and counteract adverse reactions or complications.
  2. 2Provide and maintain life support and airway management and help prepare patients for emergency surgery.
  3. 3Record type and amount of anesthesia and patient condition throughout procedure.
  4. 4Administer anesthetic or sedation during medical procedures, using local, intravenous, spinal, or caudal methods.
  5. 5Examine patient, obtain medical history, and use diagnostic tests to determine risk during surgical, obstetrical, and other medical procedures.
  6. 6Position patient on operating table to maximize patient comfort and surgical accessibility.
  7. 7Coordinate administration of anesthetics with surgeons during operation.
  8. 8Decide when patients have recovered or stabilized enough to be sent to another room or ward or to be sent home following outpatient surgery.
  9. 9Confer with other medical professionals to determine type and method of anesthetic or sedation to render patient insensible to pain.
  10. 10Order laboratory tests, x-rays, and other diagnostic procedures.
  11. 11Inform students and staff of types and methods of anesthesia administration, signs of complications, and emergency methods to counteract reactions.
  12. 12Provide medical care and consultation in many settings, prescribing medication and treatment and referring patients for surgery.
  13. 13Manage anesthesiological services, coordinating them with other medical activities and formulating plans and procedures.
  14. 14Diagnose illnesses, using examinations, tests, and reports.
  15. 15Coordinate and direct work of nurses, medical technicians, and other health care providers.
  16. 16Schedule and maintain use of surgical suite, including operating, wash-up, waiting rooms, or anesthetic and sterilizing equipment.
  17. 17Instruct individuals and groups on ways to preserve health and prevent disease.
  18. 18Conduct medical research to aid in controlling and curing disease, to investigate new medications, and to develop and test new medical techniques.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • MD
  • Anesthetist
  • DO Physician
  • Anesthesiologist
  • Anaesthesiologist
  • Anesthesiologists
  • Staff Anesthetist
  • Medical Doctor (MD)
  • Staff Anesthesiologist
  • Anesthesiology Physician

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. Typical entry

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationPost-doctoral training

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

BiologyDraws directly on Medicine and Dentistry — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
ChemistryDraws directly on Medicine and Dentistry — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional ScienceDraws directly on Biology — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
PhysicsDraws directly on Physics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Medicine and Dentistry98%

    BiologyChemistry

  • Biology85%

    BiologyAdditional Science

  • English Language74%

    English

  • Chemistry72%

    Chemistry

  • Customer and Personal Service71%
  • Psychology69%

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Handling conflict situationsRarely
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentEvery day

Where this job is heading

Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.

  • Place invasive intravascular monitors into patients.
  • Teach anesthesiology principles to residents.

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

6%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Matriculation

One or two years, heavily subsidised with allowance. Competitive, quota-based entry.

12–24 months

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Anesthesiologists

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org