Modern anesthesiology encompasses both surgical and procedural anesthetitic delivery as well as intensive and critical care. As a result, there are a variety of work environments, responsibilities, required levels of education and anesthesiology salary levels.

A physician anesthesiologist oversees surgical anesthesia and often serves as an

intensivist in the ICU. Because of their expertise with anesthetized and ventilated patients, they are in high demand in the surgery suite, in the emergency department and in the intensive care unit.

While a physician anesthesiologist is ultimately responsible for surgical anesthesia, a nurse anesthetist is often the person actually administering drugs and monitoring patients.

Anesthesiology salaries therefore depend heavily on the education and responsibilities attached to the position - physician anesthesiologists are paid substantially higher than nurse anesthetists, but nurses anesthetists still make well above the national average income.

Anesthesiologist Salary Depends on Job Type and Location

The first factor that will affect the salary for anesthesiology will be job type. A physician anesthesiologist can expect to be paid within a range of $250,000 to over $300,000 a year. A nurse anesthetist can expect a yearly salary ranging from $100,000 to $150,000.

Another factor which can drastically affect the amount a physician will be paid is location, geographically speaking. Certain states or cities have medical facilities that pay significantly higher salaries. The biggest three markets, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, have the highest costs of living (along with San Francisco) and therefore have the highest pay scales.

Other Factors

Several other factors affect anesthesiology salaries, including the size of the employing medical facility, the surgical and ICU case load, emergency department visits and accreditation.

Resources

Anesthesiologist jobs - online search and discussion of options in the United States

Anesthesiologist and nurse anesthetist job information

More salary information from Payscale