Survey of Anesthesiology Residents' Perceptions of Critical Care Medicine as a Career at One Academic Center

Anesthesia-based critical care medicine (CCM) is at a crossroads at the turn of the millennium. Although anesthesiologists were pioneers in the field of critical care, their surgical and pulmonary medicine counterparts have now eclipsed them in terms of both numbers and influence. In the United States, anesthesia-based CCM is a niche specialization of anesthesiology, while in Europe, anesthesiologists play a central role in critical care. Anesthesia-based critical care physician production has remained low on an annual basis. Some medical students join anesthesiology residencies with an interest in critical care training, but this enthusiasm appears to diminish as the number of years of residency grows. In the United States, anesthesiology residents have been unable to fill many critical care fellowship spots consistently. This survey aims to investigate the factors that influence residents' decision to pursue a career as a critical care physician, as it is essential to comprehend the underlying reasons for such a decline.