Is the AA profession gaining ground?

I hope you guys realize that if Medicare considers anesthesia a nursing profession they will slash reimbursements like crazy. You'll be lucky to make 100k after that. Don't say I didn't warn you.

jwk,

MDA's still must meet ABA requirments, reguardless of what state they practice in -

Why are you so down on CRNA's?

....... CRNAs therefore demand part of the meager income the physician makes...........

Many chronic pain patients require sedation for pain procedures. The reimbursement a physician receives in an ASC or hospital for these Medicare procedures is 1/3 the amount a physician would make in an office. The average pain physician makes $330,000 a year in income. A CRNA makes (with benefits) $170,000-220,000 per year So for a physician to employ a CRNA half time in the office to perform sedation would cost the physician approximately 1/3 of his yearly income. For Medicare patients, the physician is reimbursed ZERO to have a CRNA come in and provide sedation. If CRNAs are willing to work for a reasonable rate, I think more pain physicians would entertain using them in an office setting but until that time, we will use RNs, that are just as capable.

The requirements for recertification for MD anesthesiologists were not implemented due to "public safety concerns" as is being espoused here but was part of an effort by the ABMS long term effort to require recertification by all specialties. The ABA, being a part of the ABMS, had no choice but to comply. It was not due to some public outcry against anesthesiologists practicing unsafe medicine but was due to the ABMS paradigm that was established at least 10 years earlier. I was involved in these discussions with the ABMS at that time.
If AAs do indeed make the same amount of money as the astronomical nursing salaries of CRNAs, then it makes less sense to have AAs since this does not save the medical system money. My information derived from the AA website cross referenced with salary.com info about CRNAs was that AAs make significantly less income. If this is not the case, then I don't understand the point of having AA programs.
CRNAs do not make themselves available in all situations of anesthesia delivery. For instance, CRNAs will not come to a physicians office and administer anesthesia for chronic pain medicare cases since they will not be reimbursed by Medicare when billing for themselves. The CRNAs therefore demand part of the meager income the physician makes off these poorly reimbursed procedures to grace us with their presence. Most pain physicians practicing in an office setting are keenly aware of this fact and utilize the skills of trained RNs that are part of the office staff to deliver the anesthesia that the CRNAs, for financial reasons, refuse to do.

Well since CRNAs have 75-80 % of the education time as a pain doc...

Well since CRNAs have 75-80 % of the education time as a pain doc.