Swetha Prakash is a medical student at the University of Alberta. In this  three part series, Swetha will discuss the essential components of general anesthesia and discuss the key medications associated with each one. The goal is to enhance your understanding of the basic drugs administered to surgical patients within the framework of a general anesthetic.  After listening to this episode, listeners will be able to: 1. Describe the 4 components of a general anesthetic 2. List the 3 phases of anesthesia 3. List four medications commonly used as amnestic/hypnotic agents in induction 4. Describe how each induction plan is tailored to the specific patient