01The structure
Communication is a core anesthesia skill, and it starts with how you present. Open with a summary sentence, then use one of two formats.
Summary sentence: > "This is a ___-year-old [man/woman] with [no / a significant] past medical history of ___, here for ___ surgery."
SOAP: - Subjective — the history. - Objective — the exam; start with the airway exam, then the rest. - Assessment — pull the H&P into a picture of the patient. - Plan — your anesthetic plan.
Or by system: summary sentence, then airway → cardiac → pulmonary → GI → endocrine → neuro → other, then the plan.
- Lead the objective with the airway — it's the first thing your attending wants to hear.
02The plan (it's OK to be junior)
End with your anesthetic plan. When you're new, you may not have a detailed one yet — that's fine. State the big choice ("I plan on a general," or "a regional") and ask your attending to guide the specifics. As you gain experience, the plan gets sharper and the presentation gets faster. A confident, organized hand-off is what earns you more procedures and patient care.