I heard many people say anesthesiology is “95% calm and 5% panic” during my first year of medical school. This general statement tracked relatively well with my shadowing experiences—mostly without incident, but a few were particularly chaotic and memorable. In one of the most extreme cases, a vascular surgeon’s thumb was all that was preventing a vein from bleeding out. The patient survived, but the surgeon and anesthesiologist told me they had not been sure he would.

This memory made me think about the anesthesia experience from the patient perspective. The patient had expected a low-risk procedure, but his life had almost ended in the operating room—and he would never have known. Perhaps that partially explains why I heard many patients talk about presurgery and preanesthesia anxiety. It is difficult for some patients to truly internalize how rare some complications and dangers are, even when the chances of catastrophe may be slight. While there may be truth in the “95% calm, 5% panic” for anesthesiologists, it is essential to remember that some patients may perceive their upcoming surgeries and anesthesia experience as 0% calm, 100% panic. I have watched anesthesiologists be a crucial source of calm and reassurance for those patients.

This experience inspired me to create several pieces of digital artwork exploring the connection between anesthesiology and the symbolism of a lighthouse, which is the logo of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). In the original ASA seal, a lighthouse represents the beacon of hope that is “the physician’s dependable knowledge about the science of anesthesiology.”1 In the ASA logo, it represents a commitment to guide patients in their most vulnerable moments.1 Based on my shadowing observations, this is a beautiful and fitting metaphor. Whether the operating room is fair-weathered or stormy, anesthesiologists have been the lighthouses, shepherding patients through the sea toward safety.

I made 3 pieces by drafting in Affinity Designer,2 iterating through the artificial intelligence art program Midjourney,3 and further postprocessing in Affinity Designer. The first piece, “Lighthouse,” depicts a lighthouse shaped like a gas cylinder to introduce the anesthesia lighthouse metaphor (Figure 1). The second piece, “95% calm,” shows a pair of cliffside lighthouses during fair weather (Figure 2). The third piece, “5% panic,” shows a lighthouse with a lit beacon during a storm (Figure 3). Together, these pieces aim to celebrate the contributions of anesthesiologists in both the “calm” and “panic moments”—as sources of reassurance to the patients for whom any anesthesia or operation is supremely frightening.

Figure 1.:

“Lighthouse.” Digital art of a lighthouse shaped like a gas cylinder.

Figure 2.:

“95% Calm.” Digital art of 2 cliffside lighthouses during fair weather.

Figure 3.:

“5% Panic.” Digital art of a lighthouse during a storm.

1. American Society of Anesthesiologists. About ASA. 2022. Accessed October 13, 2022. https://www.asahq.org/about-asa. 2. Affinity – Professional Creative Software. Affinity. 2022. Accessed September 3, 2022. https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/. 3. Midjourney. Midjourney. 2022. Accessed September 3, 2022. https://www.midjourney.com/home/.