Author: Dr Rabiat Umar, Specialty Registrar (ST4) Anaesthetics, Wexham Park Hospital
Until recently, most patients encountered anaesthesia as a brief clinical conversation shortly before surgery. Expectations were shaped by consent discussions, reassurance from clinicians, and perhaps a story from a friend or loved one. Today, those expectations are increasingly formed elsewhere – that is, on social media.
Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok are now powerful shapers in the patient perception of anaesthesia. Alongside recovery diaries and ‘day of surgery’ vlogs sit videos promising a ‘wake-up glow’, with influencers recounting surgery as a mere inconvenience. Comment sections are filled with personal anecdotes, blurring the line between experience and expertise. Within this curated landscape, there has emerged a striking trend of patients recording themselves ‘giving their own anaesthetic’. This could be pressing ‘Go’ on pumps, or pushing syringes, often accompanied by humour, filters and upbeat music.
Social media thrives on simplicity and relatability. Anaesthesia is often portrayed as a momentary inconvenience – a deep breath, a blackout, and then waking up refreshed and smiling. Recovery is condensed into seconds, and the anaesthetist’s role is frequently absent or peripheral. While intended as entertainment, these videos subtly but significantly reshape perceptions of risk, control, and complexity. For anaesthetists, this represents a new and evolving frontier – one where patient expectations are being shaped not only by clinical facts, but by curated narratives.
Real-life impact
This portrayal has consequences. Patients may arrive expecting immediate wakefulness, minimal side effects, and a sense of engagement that doesn’t reflect clinical reality. When postoperative nausea, confusion, pain, or delayed recovery occur, these experiences can feel unexpected or even alarming. The issue isn’t that patients are misinformed deliberately, but that they’re absorbing partial truths presented without context.
Risk perception is also shaped by these narratives. Serious complications of anaesthesia are rare, and rightly so, but social media rarely distinguishes rarity from impossibility. When risks are mentioned, they tend to appear either sensationalised or trivialised. Videos of patients apparently ‘doing it themselves’ can unintentionally reinforce the belief that anaesthesia is benign, mechanistic, and largely independent of professional expertise. This undermines appreciation of the vigilance, training, and decision-making that underpin safe anaesthetic practice.
For anaesthetists, this evolving landscape alters the preoperative encounter. Conversations increasingly involve recalibrating expectations shaped long before the patient enters theatre. Patients may express surprise when told they will feel groggy, nauseated, or sore, or when reminded that anaesthesia isn’t something they actively control. Others may question the necessity of monitoring, consent discussions, or postoperative precautions, having seen vastly simplified versions online.
Getting on top of the narrative
These moments can challenge the anaesthetist-to-patient relationship, but they also offer opportunity. Rather than dismissing social media outright, acknowledging what patients have seen can open a meaningful dialogue. ‘That video doesn’t show what’s happening behind the scenes’ can become a gateway to explaining physiology, risk mitigation, and individual variability. Done well, this builds trust rather than defensiveness.
Importantly, social media isn’t inherently detrimental. Patients who seek out information are often motivated, engaged, and keen to understand their care. The problem lies not in curiosity, but in the absence of balance. Some anaesthetists have begun to address this by creating their own content, explaining induction, recovery, and side effects in realistic terms. While such posts may lack the glamour of viral trends, they offer credibility and nuance in a space that often lacks both.
The challenge for the specialty is adapting to this new reality without oversimplifying or compromising professional standards. Anaesthesia doesn’t lend itself neatly to 30-second clips, yet patients are increasingly arriving with 30-second expectations. Bridging that gap requires time, clarity, and a willingness to engage with the digital narratives shaping patient beliefs.
Social media has redefined how patients perceive anaesthesia, from perceptions of risk to ideas of control and recovery. As clinicians, we can’t control what patients watch, but we can recognise its influence. By addressing these perceptions openly and thoughtfully, anaesthetists can transform a potential obstacle into an opportunity for better communication, deeper trust, and more realistic expectations in our increasingly digital world.