Apprenticeship as an anaesthetic technician

»Between people and medicine«, Klara, trainee anaesthetic technician at Jena University Hospital

Klara, 21 years old, is completing her second year of training as an anaesthetic technician at Jena University Hospital (UKJ). In this interview, she talks about her apprenticeship and explains what makes the job so special for her.

What do you particularly like about the apprenticeship as an anaesthetic technician?

I think that ATA training is a mixture of nursing training and OTA training (“surgical assistant”). You have that surgical feeling, because as an ATA you are in the operating room. At the same time, as in nursing training, you also have patient contact, where you can try to build up closeness and provide reassurance. That convinced me. On a day-to-day basis, I take care of the preparation and follow-up of anaesthesia and support our doctors in anaesthesia. This also includes monitoring patients during anaesthesia.

What were your expectations of the apprenticeship and what is the reality now?

That’s a difficult question. I think I actually expected less patient contact. I thought, for example, that you would fetch the patients and five minutes later they would already be asleep. The main task would then be to make sure that nothing happens, i.e. to monitor circulation and ventilation. But there’s actually a lot more to it, even before that, which you don’t really realise. The patients who come to us often have fears, which is of course completely normal. This human aspect is much greater than I originally thought. In the beginning, I was even a bit afraid of the patient contact, even though I wanted it. But now I really enjoy this part.

Do you also learn about psychological elements in your apprenticeship that show you how best to take away people’s fear?

Yes, we have a learning area in which we deal with communication, and we have discussed this. It starts with general patient communication, but then goes deeper. We learn how to deal with different groups of people, such as children, very old people and people of different religions or cultures.

How long does the apprenticeship take and how is it organised?

The training programme is divided into three years. As a rule, we have two weeks of practical training and then two weeks of school. We also have practical courses during the practical part. That’s what I have today, for example. We are shown and explained things that we need in our day-to-day work in order to consolidate this.

Which tasks do you enjoy the most?

I generally enjoy what I’ve just learnt the most, because that’s always more exciting.

I particularly enjoy working with our anaesthetists. Teamwork with our nursing staff is also part of it. I also like the process of inducing anaesthesia: giving the medication, intubating, tying up and driving into the operating room. I also like the patient contact, especially before the operation, when you realise that you can make the patient feel at ease and allay their fears. I find that particularly nice with children. I’ve just had my paediatric operation, so children are very much on my mind at the moment.

Were there any challenges during your training and if so, how did you deal with them?

The biggest challenge at first was finding my way around the operating theatre wing. At the beginning, I was constantly getting lost. I still get lost all over the building from time to time.

And apart from that, I was actually afraid of communicating with patients at the beginning. I didn’t know what to say. I was afraid that I would say something wrong and then they would get even more scared. But that simply went away through all the practising.

If you talk to the patients the way you would want to talk to yourself, everything is actually fine. You also get feedback from their answers and the way they talk to you. So you know whether you’ve done well or not. And apart from that, it’s the daily challenges that come with the job. Things can sometimes not go according to plan. You have to keep a cool head and act accordingly. And I’m lucky that we’re never alone in our training. We always have someone we can fall back on, who looks out for us and helps us when we need help. As a result, we learn to deal with the challenges of the job by not just watching, but being directly involved.

What do you think people should bring with them if they are interested in this profession?

Above all, empathy for patients. Interest is essential. Without curiosity about the profession, it won’t work. You should be enthusiastic about the human body, operations and medication. A willingness to learn is important, because anatomy requires memorisation. Knowledge of medication is also crucial. A little maths doesn’t hurt, especially for drug dosages. Most of the time, this involves simple three-sentence problems. The ability to work in a team is essential, because nobody can do it alone. The surgeon, the surgical nurse and we work together. We all pull together, that’s crucial.

What do you like about Jena?

Jena is bigger than my home town, which I like. There are lots of places to eat out and go shopping. I like the city centre, especially in spring, especially when there are markets. It’s very idyllic.

Jena has the feel of a small town, but still has the advantages of a big city. I like that. I like my friends in Jena, who I got to know through my apprenticeship.

What three things do you love about your apprenticeship?

I love the interpersonal teamwork. I also enjoy working independently. And the constant development fascinates me – you’re never at the end, you can always think ahead and develop.

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Apprenticeship as an anaesthetic technician (ATA) combines specialist medical knowledge with empathetic patient care. Anyone who is enthusiastic about technology, teamwork and the human aspect of medicine will find a versatile and meaningful career perspective here.