Had a minor op before Christmas (for a deviated septum - I'm no longer deviant, ha ha!) and one of the multitude of people who arrived with a clipboard to ask me all the same questions others of the multitude had asked before her, was someone who said she would be assisting the "anaesthesiologist." I asked her what the difference was between an anaesthesiologist and an anaesthetist, and she said in Canada, they're the same thing; in the States, the former is the main person administering the anaesthetic and the latter is a kind of assistant (at least, to the best of my recollection, that was her answer. I'm a bit muzzy about the conversation, post-op).

Well, I looked up both in the Cdn Oxford and only found anaesthetist and anaesthesiology - no "anaesthesiologist," which shored up my opinion that this latter is just a syllable-expensive way of saying anaesthetist - kinda like asking for an "expiration" date instead of an "expiry" date.

Anyone else come across this dichotomy/have an explanation for it? What do y'all use in the States, in Britland, in Eire, in the Antipodes, and elsewhere?