To become an anaesthesiologist in Venezuela it is necesasary
to take a
three years post graduate course in an accredited hospital. There
are not
enough anaesthesiologists; the relation is 6 anaesthesiologists
per
100,000 inhabitants. A great number of anesthesiologists are
working in the principal cities of the country because the
hospitals
that employ them are in those cities. An important area of
Venezuela does not
have hospitals. In this area people get only primary medical
attention
without surgery. In case a patient requires a surgery he has to
be transported
to a hospital which may be hundreds miles from the place where
the patient
is. The economic state of our hospitals is not the best; the
anaesthesic equipment
like machines and monitors cannot be changed as the advance of
the technology requires.
Regional anesthesia is highly practiced in our hospitals.
An anaesthesiologist who works 40 hours weekly in a hospital
earns, at the
most, $ 1,000 per month. The access to medical information is
limited; new
medical journals are very expensive for us. The internet is a
valuable
helpful tool to find new medical information.
Alejandro Salazar