APA Annotated Bibliographies (2)

Researchers Explore Anesthesia-Related Maternal Mortality; University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine Professor Leads Study.. (2008, October 20). Ascribe Newswire: Health, Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Health Source - Consumer Edition database.

Anesthetics are drugs that are given to a patient pending a medical operation that cause the patient to be unable to see, hear, or feel anything during surgery. They basically put the patient to sleep. Anesthetics are a blessing to some and a bane to others. They can do anything between stopping a patient’s pain completely and killing him or her. Researchers have conducted a study that will allow them to see how many anesthetic deaths occur in comparison to the amount of live births. They also find out which type of anesthesia is more risky to the expectant women. The researchers found that “about 1.1 deaths occur per million live births.” It had been previously proven to be more dangerous for women during childbirth to use general anesthetics than regional anesthetics. The recent study has proven that the fatality rates for general anesthetics dropped, but the fatality rate for regional anesthetics has risen over the last eighteen years. The author of this article uses rhetorical elements to present his argument. The most frequently used rhetorical element is ethos. The author constantly attempts to gain credibility by including the ideas of individuals who are well trained in the medical field. Using these particular people’s ideas conveys the sense that the author had reliable sources. Another attempt at credibility took place within the text when the author used a statistic to help get his point across. Statistics are numbers and they show that the author spent some time researching his topic and didn’t just start writing based on what he thought he knew. The audience would see the statistic and come to the conclusion that the author is a credible source, because numbers don’t lie. A flaw that is present in this article is the fact that the author did not write about the follow-up of the medical study, so the reader does not really know what this study helped. The argument of the article would be stronger and more convincing if the author discussed how the study helped future patients. This article helps me determine whether or not I really want to pursue this career. The few amount of maternal deaths due to anesthesia is quite reassuring.

Secondhand Exposure to Drugs May Be an Occupational Hazardfor Anesthesiologists.. (2004, October 25). Ascribe Newswire: Health, Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Health Source - Consumer Edition database.

Anesthesiologists have the job of administering medicines to patients so that they are unconscious and feel nothing during surgery. The drugs that they administer to the patients, however, may be exhaled from the patient, and then inhaled by the anesthesiologist. The drugs that the anesthesiologists inhale could be detrimental to the heath of the anesthesiologist. These drugs can cause dependency and other ill effects. Dr. Mark Gold, a distinguished professor with UF’s McKnight Brain Institute, theorized that reasons other than access to drugs caused anesthesiologists to be overrepresented among addicted physicians, and that the presence of anesthetic agents in the air might be one of them. “This factor may lead some anesthesiologists to abuse drugs”, a theory that University of Florida presents Saturday at the 34th annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego, California. The author of this article uses different rhetorical tropes to argue his point. The author often uses ethos as a rhetorical device. He lets the audience know that he uses ideas from “a distinguished professor” to gain credibility with his audience. Another way that the author uses ethos is by using statistics. The use of statistics lets the audience know that the author researched his topic and has a good understanding of it. The second rhetorical device that is used in this article by the author is that of a simile. He uses the word “as” to compare the way that exhaled drugs have an affect on an anesthesiologist to the way that cigarette smoke affects second- hand smokers. A flaw that is present in this article is that the definition and job description was not fully explained. A person who is reading the article and does not know what an anesthesiologist was would have a difficult time figuring it out because little information is present in the text. A good way to make the presented argument stronger would be to add in more information about anesthesia and the job description of an anesthesiologist. This article made me rethink becoming an anesthesiologist, because I do not want to unknowingly become exposed and/ or addicted to drugs while doing my work.

Anesthesiologists' Substance Abuse Constant Despite Efforts.. (2002, September 26). Ascribe Newswire: Health, Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Health Source - Consumer Edition database.

During operations, anesthesiologists are exposed to many forms of sedative drugs. Exposure to these drugs, in many cases, causes addiction by the anesthesiologist to the drug. Although there has been increased education and improved control of operating room medications, the rate of substance abuse among anesthesiologists remains unchanged. Substance abuse often times proves deadly for abusers. Surveys have shown that eighteen percent of substances abusers were identified solely by an overdose causing death. “It is clear that new and more effective means of prevention are required if substance abuse among anesthesiologists is to be reduced.” The author of this article incorporates many rhetorical elements into his article. An example of a rhetorical element that he uses is ethos. The author uses quite a large number of statistics. The use of statistics in an article shows that the author did research on his topic and should know what he is talking about. Ethos should make the author seem like a credible source because he is not simply writing based on what he thinks he knows, but what he has seen proven to be true. A positive aspect of the article is that the author included many statistics, but the negative part behind that is that he did not thoroughly explain the statistics. He, in a sense, states the statistic and leaves it as it is. In order to make the argument of the article presented more strongly, the author of the text should have made it a point to go into detail about the outside information he provided. Instaead of simply stating facts, he should have also added in his feelings on the information that he provided to the audience. This article helped me determine whether or not I really want to pursue the career of an anesthesiologist. Initially, the article surprised me, because it did not occur to me that anesthesiologists were at risks to “second- hand drug intake” on account of patients exhaling the anesthetic drugs into the air. It does frighten me because my health is my main concern, and if I will possibly be harmed at my own job, I do not know if this is the right job for me. I definitely do not want to become addicted to a drug, so I will have to rethink this occupation.

Mishra, R. (n.d.). HMOs, Specialty's Image Cited in Lack of Anesthesiologists in Massachusetts. Boston Globe (1997 to 2005), Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Newspaper Source database.

The profession of anesthesiology is one that has had declining interests in the state of Massachusetts over the past few years. This shortage forces many operating rooms to shut down, delaying surgeries, and ending several pain treatment programs. The root of this shortage is the lack of interest among medical students. It is obvious that many medical professionals are moving out of Massachusetts after they get a raise in their jobs. This is most likely because the doctors in Massachusetts do not get paid enough. They are either able to do the same job for more pay, or they are able to do less and get paid the same amount that they were previously receiving. The author of this article uses rhetorical elements to get his point across to his audience. An example of a rhetorical trope that is used is that of ethos. The author uses statistics to prove his point. The use of statistics convinces the audience that the author is a credible source because it shows that he took time out to research his topic. The audience now knows that the author is not simply writing based on what he thinks he knows, but what he has done research on. At one point in the article the author states that “no reliable statistics” were available for a specific subject that he wanted to include in his article. This gives great credibility because it shows the reader that the author would not simply take the easy way out and try to make his argument sound better. If the information was not accurate, he was not going to present it to his audience. An example of a flaw that was present in the article was the lack of explanation of the acronym “HMO”. A reader who is not skilled with medical jargon would have no clue as to what this phrase means. The argument could be presented more strongly by some of the technical language present being better explained. This article has helped me to determine whether or not I really want to pursue this profession. It lets me know that I know for a fact that I want to pursue it, because it has a good salary. It also lets me know never to look for an anesthesiology career in Massachusetts.