Specialist anaesthetists are medical doctors with at least 11 years of medical training
- 4 to 6 years of basic medical school (varies with each university)
- 2 years (minimum) of working as a junior doctor gaining general experience in hospital (“Resident”)
- 5 years of specialised anaesthetic training (“Registrar”)
In practice, many anaesthetists will have completed several years of hospital residency prior to commencing anaesthetic training, and hence will often have experience in related areas such as intensive care, emergency medicine, and paediatrics.
The formal anaesthetic training curriculum also includes components of intensive care medicine and pain medicine, and qualification (“Fellowship”) is overseen by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists.