Abstract
Objective: Awareness about the anesthesiologist and anesthesia applications is increasing daily. In this survey study, our aim is to determine the knowledge of the patients in our city who will undergo surgery, to reveal their perspectives about the duties of the anesthesiologist and to investigate the anxiety and fears of these patients.
Material and Methods: Two-hundred patients, aged between 18-75, who would receive anesthesia in our hospital, were included in the study. A questionnaire consisting of 20 questions about the patients’ knowledge about the anesthesiologist, anesthesia practices and previous anesthesia experiences, along with demographic data such as age, gender, educational status, occupation, was filled by the patients.
Results: 47.5% of the patients were male and 52.5% were female. The mean age of the patients was 40.57 and 29.0% were primary school graduates. While 77% of the patients knew that the anesthetist was a doctor, 90% knew that the anesthesia was performed by the anesthesiologist. When the patients' fears about anesthesia were questioned, 53% of them were found to be afraid of not being able to wake up from anesthesia.
Conclusion: Despite the education levels of the patients, the number of patients who had knowledge about anesthesia was found to be high. However, it can be concluded that they do not have sufficient information about different anesthesia methods and consent forms are not read properly.