
The Undifferentiated Medical Student Ep 034 - Anesthesiology with Dr. Daniel Lee
Apr 14, 2017
Dr. Daniel Lee, UC San Diego anesthesiology program director and pediatric anesthesiologist with a PhD, discusses the art of continuous decision-making in anesthesia. He contrasts routine OR work with high-stakes resuscitation. He describes varied daily roles, practice settings beyond the OR, global health teaching, training paths, and approaches to burnout and resilience.
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Anesthesia Training Enables Many Subspecialty Paths
- Anesthesiology offers wide subspecialty flexibility so generalists often practice across domains.
- Dr. Lee notes cardiothoracic, pediatric, obstetric, regional, pain and global health fellowships exist, yet many attendings practice cardiac or regional anesthesia without formal fellowship training.
Get A Solid Medicine Foundation First
- Build a strong medicine foundation if you want to be an anesthesiologist.
- Dr. Lee recommends an internal medicine or pediatrics internship (or combined programs) so you know the 'first page' of common diseases before managing anesthetics.
Resolve Specialty Doubt By Shadowing Both Options Early
- If undecided, get boots-on-the-ground experiences early in both top specialties.
- Dr. Lee suggests arranging shadowing, in-person interviews with both senior and recent physicians, and short selectives to compare emergency medicine versus anesthesia firsthand.








