What is the difference between the anaesthetist and an intensivist?

An anaesthetist is a type of physician who specializes in administering anaesthesia and peri-operative care. The practice of an anaesthetist focuses on the pre-operative evaluation, intra-operative monitoring, and post-operative management of patients undergoing surgery or procedures requiring general or regional anesthesia. They are also responsible for providing pain control before, during, and after surgery.

An intensivist is a subspecialty of critical care medicine focusing on patients with life threatening illnesses that require close monitoring and aggressive interventions to save their lives. Intensivists manage critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs). They specialize in helping people survive through advanced techniques such as mechanical ventilation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Intensivists have advanced knowledge in pharmacology, organ support, shock resuscitation and cardiopulmonary physiology which they use to treat critically ill or injured patients with complex medical conditions.