Who should "Pass Gas"?

I will NEVER allow an AA around my family members; having been around CRNAS and MDs oh say, 18 years in the nursing field and a future CRNA.

NO WAY. There are SO MANY INTRICACIES that an AA with NO PREVIOUS MEDICAL BACKGROUND can EVER see......I see PAs now running around who have NO CLUE....

Again, NO WAY....

Nice emotional response - and of course totally biased towards nursing - that's fine, considering you're a nurse. But all of us see clueless folks out there, and I see plenty of clueless nurses and NP's, as well as all other types of medical or nursing providers you'd like to list.

Did you know many thousands of practicing CRNA's have NO degree whatsoever?

The recent AA battle in Maryland was a perfect example. The ASA tried to start an AA program in Maryland under the premise that their was/would be overall shortage of anesthesia providers in Maryland. When it was pointed out it would be faster and cheaper to just expand Univ. of Maryland's nurse anesthesia program then the story changed to oh we want to diversify the anesthesia providers!

Can you elaborate a little more on this? I live in MD and am an aspiring CRNA. Any more information would be greatly appreciated.

New Anesthesia Provider May Threaten Operating Room Safety
Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:47pm EST

Legislation would Lower the Standard of Care by Allowing Inexperienced and
Less Educated Anesthesiologist Assistants to Deliver Anesthesia to Maryland
Patients

ANNAPOLIS, Md., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Maryland Association of
Nurse Anesthetists (MANA), whose members are Certified Registered Nurse
Anesthetists (CRNAs), today announced their opposition to Senate Bill 798 and
House Bill 1161. These troubling bills would license anesthesiologist
assistants (AAs) to practice in Maryland and would drastically alter the
anesthesia delivery model currently utilized in the state. AAs, who are less
qualified than anesthesiologists and CRNAs, currently are licensed or
certified to practice in only 10 states and cannot practice in the U.S.
Military. The bills are being supported by Johns Hopkins Hospital.

"The passage of this legislation would radically ...

I would suggest if you want a non biased response to stop hanging out on nursing websites.


Now for the part about non degree CRNAs.....The AANA has required a Master's degree to become a CRNA since 1990, almost twenty years! I don't anyone is going to have any qualms about a CRNA that has been practicing over 20yrs having a certificate vs a MSN.

According to the AMA anesthesiologist assistants have only had their national certification set up since 1989! The idea of AAs only goes back to sometime in the 1970's and there is still only a couple of thousand AA's!

Also, I highly doubt there are still thousands of practicing CRNAs w/o degrees. There are only around 30,000 CRNAs to begin with and then by the time you figure that the youngest CRNA would have to been practicing for over 20yrs.....I think someone is skewing facts for their own AA campaign now.

Now as far as people/nurses being uniformed about AAs. I think most of us are perfectly informed what AAs have become. The AA is nothing more than degree program for intelligent people designed to give the AMA/ASA a political tool to fight CRNA independence to ensure that MDAs maintain their supervising capabilities and high pay. The stuff about shortage of anesthesia providers is all bull! ASA doesn't care that there are potential shortages. ASA only cares about supervision and control of AAs/CRNAs. The recent AA battle in Maryland was a perfect example. The ASA tried to start an AA program in Maryland under the premise that their was/would be overall shortage of anesthesia providers in Maryland. When it was pointed out it would be faster and cheaper to just expand Univ. of Maryland's nurse anesthesia program then the story changed to oh we want to diversify the anesthesia providers!

Excellent response; whether or not my response was emotional, the facts are still there...if you've never been exposed to the medical environment EXCEPT while in school, there are many, many nuances one would miss.

Sorry, CRNA or anesthesiologist ONLY--I wouldn't trust an AA and I think many of my colleagues would agree--oh and dare to ask a layperson who they would prefer someone with experience or none--who do you think they will pick?

quote=wtbcrna;3630343
Here is an excerpt from an article/response to AA's in Maryland:

New Anesthesia Provider May Threaten Operating Room Safety
Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:47pm EST

Legislation would Lower the Standard of Care by Allowing Inexperienced and
Less Educated Anesthesiologist Assistants to Deliver Anesthesia to Maryland
Patients

ANNAPOLIS, Md., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Maryland Association of
Nurse Anesthetists (MANA), whose members are Certified Registered Nurse
Anesthetists (CRNAs), today announced their opposition to Senate Bill 798 and
House Bill 1161. These troubling bills would license anesthesiologist
assistants (AAs) to practice in Maryland and would drastically alter the
anesthesia delivery model currently utilized in the state. AAs, who are less
qualified than anesthesiologists and CRNAs, currently are licensed or
certified to practice in only 10 states and cannot practice in the U.S.
Military. The bills are being supported by Johns Hopkins Hospital.

"The passage of this legislation would radically ...

>
How can this piece of trash propaganda piece be viewed as anything other than defamation?.............Perjury, slander, I'd be concerned about legal action if I was a MANA member.