Patient perception of the role of anesthesiologists: a perspective from the Caribbean

Abstract Study Objective To assess patients' perception of the role of an anesthesiologist in a Caribbean country. Design Self-administered structured questionnaire evaluation. Setting Preoperative waiting rooms of three tertiary–care teaching hospitals: Port of Spain General Hospital, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, and San Fernando General Hospital, Trinidad. Patients 424 adult surgical patients awaiting elective surgery. Interventions None. Measurements A questionnaire was devised to test the knowledge of the respondents regarding the job description, attitudes, and various roles of anesthesiologists in the hospital. Main Results 371 completed responses were obtained for analysis. One tenth of the respondents did not know who an anesthesiologist was and 59% of them knew that an anesthesiologist was a doctor; there was a statistically significant association of the educational level of the respondent and this response. Of the respondents, 70% felt that the anesthesiologists were easy to talk to and pleasant by the bedside; 46% responded that the anesthesiologists did not discuss the complications and side effects of drugs before the procedure; 5% considered the anesthesiologists as more important than the surgeon, and 59% considered both equally important. Only 19% responded that they knew that the anesthesiologists had a role in the intensive care unit. Conclusions Patients still have inadequate knowledge regarding anesthesiologists and their different roles in hospitals.