'PA anesthetist'?

My patient's daughter the other day said "my daughter's an anesthetist." So I say, "oh, a nurse anesthetist?" and she replies, "no, a PA anesthetist." I'm pretty sure there's no such thing and this woman just had the title a little confused, but she insisted her daughter was a "PAA". She said her daughter went to Emory so I'm assuming she's an AA, and maybe was a PA-C before going to AA school? I just thought the whole thing was curious, as this woman seemed insistent that PA anesthetist was her daughter's title. She then said "the CRNAs hated the AAs in her practice", not knowing of course that I am about to start NA school. I just replied that I think a lot of the disagreements among the different types of anesthesia providers are probably blown out of proportion. I am not trying to start any fights here; I was just curious if anyone else had heard this term.

My patient's daughter the other day said "my daughter's an anesthetist." So I say, "oh, a nurse anesthetist?" and she replies, "no, a PA anesthetist." I'm pretty sure there's no such thing and this woman just had the title a little confused, but she insisted her daughter was a "PAA". She said her daughter went to Emory so I'm assuming she's an AA, and maybe was a PA-C before going to AA school? I just thought the whole thing was curious, as this woman seemed insistent that PA anesthetist was her daughter's title. She then said "the CRNAs hated the AAs in her practice", not knowing of course that I am about to start NA school. I just replied that I think a lot of the disagreements among the different types of anesthesia providers are probably blown out of proportion. I am not trying to start any fights here; I was just curious if anyone else had heard this term.

Emory indeed has an AA program. Due to the way the PA laws are written in Georgia, AA's there hold a PA license, but one that is restricted to the practice of anesthesiology only. The original concept of a PA about 40 years ago actually had a delineation between general practice (type A) and specialty practice (type B) PA's. Georgia was one of the first states to have PA laws, and went forward with this concept in mind.

Although there are a tiny number of PA's administering anesthesia, they cannot bill or be reimbursed for their services. The only recognized anesthesia providers are anesthesiologists, CRNA's, and AA's. The article that David linked to above talks about PA's giving sedation for endoscopy. I'm guessing that is perfectly legal, but it can't be billed as an anesthesia charge - it would have to be billed similarly to nurse-provided sedation as is often done in GI clinics, etc.

As far as CRNA's hating the the AA's in her practice - That's rarely the case except when AA's first start in a practice. And for all the threats that CRNA's make that they'll quit if a practice hires AA's, they rarely if ever actually leave.

....... for all the threats that CRNA's make that they'll quit if a practice hires AA's, they rarely if ever actually leave.

Q -- how many CRNAs still work at the UNM Hospital in ABQ after faculty hard-core A$A types brought in AAs?
A -- They left.

Q -- how many CRNAs still work at the UNM Hospital in ABQ after faculty hard-core A$A types brought in AAs?
A -- They left.

And who got hurt with that?.......

Of course, the answer is: quality of patient care was hurt.

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Of course, the answer is: quality of patient care was hurt.

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