CRNA Debate from www.studentdoctor.net

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hey guys,

it's me again! this is a debate that is going on in the resident forum of http://www.studentdoctor.net .

brett

the poster is listed above his\her comment

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debakey

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anesthetists are seeing their salaries soar according to usa today, any comment

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trg2002

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here's the article...

http://careers.usatoday.com/service/sct/local/content/news/switching/2002-05-14-nurse-anesthetists

it's a shame that it has gotten this far.

interesting quote by the crna in maine.

-trg

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debakey

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thanks for posting that article, does anybody else feel that anesthesiologists are going to see their salary fall even lower?

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moz

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in the recent us news and world report issue for best graduate schools, they state that anesthesiology is one of the three hottest specialties to go into. the reason being that people made lots of money in the stock market during the 90s and are electing to have more cosmetic procedures done thus increasing the need for anesthesiologists. i think as the number of surgeries increase in the us the demand for anesthesiologists will increase and so too their salaries. crna's provide a valuable service but i don't think they can make anesthesiologists obsolete. as a physician you always will have more training than a nurse and a better understanding of the inner workings of body which will help in providing better care for your patients.

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analu

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wow, sure hate to have emergency surgery in some rural area in iowa, nebraska, idaho, or minnesota!

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bigfrank

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i have a close friend who just graduated from crna school. he is, literally, competing with mdas for jobs and - surprise! he just landed a job in kansas city making $140k/year with $25k/year being put away in retirement for him.

i'm not saying that mdas are going to be losing jobs in the near future, but finding good jobs in urban areas is going to get tougher and tougher. period.

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the pill counter

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i guess i'm just an idiot for spending nine years of my life and a small fortune on my education.

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halothane

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its simply ridiculous, crnas in a little town where my uncle is an internist make over 200k....more than the fps, peds, psychs and internists. and all they have is a couple of years of graduate education. and go look around on the websites of crna schools, they spend most of the time in theory.....learn pharm physio etc. during the crna courses!!! compare that to a mdas 4 years of clinical work and his sound background in the basic scienses and intermal medicine. crnas donno anything and they are avoided when it involves complicated procedure. u penn has established that mortality is higher if crnas work unsupervise...not suprised, nurses doono enough pham, micro and internal med.

besides crnas were supposed to drive down the cost of healthcare...not become competition to physician salaries. these guys are so rotten they do not want the training of anesthesia assistants so that they can keep making their money......and have no concern for quality of patient care. most are in it for money and now becoming a crna is nice shortcut to make a physicians salary without medical school.

funny...even canada does not have crna....god save america from the attack of the para medicals. soon we will have people taking 2 years masters to become primary care physicians( like the greedy nps want to ).

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esu_md

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i would put myself up against any anesthesiologist in the country," says nurse anesthetist roman dashawetz

comments like this are exactly the type that cause alot of dissent among physicians. crna certainly has a big role, but there are simply not as trained as a physician.

i am personally offended to hear a nurse talking like that and am sure that a ca-2 can better manage any anesthesia problem better than any type of nurse "practicioner"

sounds like this guy has med school envy

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johnm

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quote:

i would put myself up against any anesthesiologist in the country," says nurse anesthetist roman dashawetz"

end quote

i think that this guy is probably an exception, and there is no need to have a fit over it. mda's still make a lot of money, and always will. there will always be enough jobs - too many in fact, which is why small towns need crna's to fill the gap.

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drfeelgood

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i've run into a fair share of cocky crnas. yeah some of them are good, b/c they've done a procedure 300 times. it's situations that are 1 in 5,000 that i'm worried about. situations where unexpected things happen....

i've even had one tell me that i was wasting my time going to med school.

a lot of anesthesiologists are sell-outs too. i had one tell me that he never plans on doing a case all by himself b/c he'll just have his crna (man-*****) do it for him. what's up with that??

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trg2002

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quote:

originally posted by drfeelgood:

"i had one tell me that he never plans on doing a case all by himself b/c he'll just have his crna (man-*****) do it for him. what's up with that?? "

end quote.

it is exactly that same attitude that got us where we currently are.

just wondering, but how much do aa's make? (anesthessia assistants)....they serve the exact same purpose as a crna in the majority of situations. my guess is not as much as crna's make....why is that? they're doing the exact same thing...

-trg

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painman

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i for one think it would be great to monitor 2-3 crna's doing healthy cases while picking up 1 complex case a day. they can earn me as much as they want!

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kimya

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why do people get so offended that a nurse specialty is making more than some doctor specialties? some lawyers make much more than doctors with a similar amount of schooling time to crna's. bill gates is raking in the dough without even doing college.

i think all specialties should be paid more, including doctors. however, many of the other health care professions really have gotten the short end of the stick salary-wise for a long time. they deserve just compensation too. i don't begrudge someone making good money "just because they didn't go to school as long as a doctor". fact is some specialties get paid a lot more. i thought people weren't going into this for the money, but because of their love of the profession?

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ryo-ohki

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yeah, i just get mad when they can provide more to their children and spouses.

it seems like the #1 graduate from hms in his fourth year of residency will make less then a common crna. that is wrong.

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dr. cuts

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drfeelgood

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kimya.... (hope you got your asbestos suit on cuz here it comes!!!!)

it's not all about money. it's about the way americans have settled for the cheaper alternative. we're being invaded by middle-men. i heard kaiser is now starting nurse endoscopy school...so watch out all you budding gi docs. what next??? residency training for the primary-care pa??? there are plenty of jobs that pay more than medicine, i'm not arguing that. i get pissed of when wannabes try to play doctor.

why not fly on a plane flown by an certified pilots assistant????? hell...anyone can land an aircraft. wouldn't that be cheaper??? i'm glad the asa is finally fighting back against the crna lobby.

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dr. cuts

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quote:

originally posted by painman:

i for one think it would be great to monitor 2-3 crna's doing healthy cases while picking up 1 complex case a day. they can earn me as much as they want!

end quote

i am suprised at these two very uninformed and illogical comments. the advent and rise of the crna is inarguably a bad thing for anesthesiologists. it's basic economics people... if demand for crnas goes up (and it will/is b/c they are still "cheaper" than mds) while their supply stays the same, their salaries (i.e. their "price" in economic terms) will go up. period. it's an economic certainty.

now let's analyze painman's comment... while he covers that one complex case and simultaneously monitors 3 crnas doing 3 other cases, 3 mds are out of a job! back to economics 101... this results in demand for anesthesiologists going down... so if their supply were to the stay the same...??? see where i'm heading with this people? either anesthesiologists #s will stay the same and their salaries will go down, or, they will have to cut back on available positions to keep the salaries at their present level. if this trend continues, it's just a matter of time...

this article is very disturbing to me. enough so that although i have until now been giving serious consideration to anesthesia for next year for myself, i'm going to have to follow this trend closely and may ulimately be disuaded from it. damn rns.

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drfeelgood

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it's people like painman who are selling our profession out!!!!

my stupid family doc just hired 3 pas to man his three clinics. (freakin sellout)

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dr. cuts

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quote:

originally posted by drfeelgood:

it's people like painman who are selling our profession out!!!!

my stupid family doc just hired 3 pas to man his three clinics. (freakin sellout)

end quote

it's really not about "selling out." it is, as many things are, basically a matter of money. if crnas can indeed perform just as well as mds in most situations and their salaries are less, it's only logical that the powers that be would prefer their services in those situations... and i doubt that that money being saved is going to the make-a-wish foundation either.

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the pill counter

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i think part of the resentment is that nothing about the profession of medicine seems sacred anymore. crna's are not part of the medical profession, yet in essence, are practicing medicine. same goes for pa's and nurse practioners. ultimately, the public is going to get used to this para-medical care, which is sub-standard no matter what the circumstances. a crna argues, 'i would put myself up against any anesthesiologist in the country', but that simple statement is ignorant, in that a vocational course could ever equal the rigours and training of 7+ years of university and many more years of residency! while you're at it, you might as well say goodbye to fp's and peds as your primary care provider. you'll be taking your kids to see their np (who'll prescribe anything he/she pleases) with little understanding about the pharmacology or pathophysiological processes involved. unbelievable...

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ryo-ohki

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look for nurse surgeons in the future. heh heh

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halothane

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nurses are dumb period. they probably have lesser gpa and stuff than people going into pure scineces, computers, humanities etc. let alone be in comparision with doctors , dentists and lawyers. and they go about saying crap like they can match anyone....then why dont those smartasses come up with ground breaking research. the reason anesthesia became safer in the last 20 years is not because of some stupid crnas but because more mds entered anesth from 60 onwards. the groundbreaking work has been done mda. crnas are the or scutmonkeys who now wanna ape their creators. theyinfact have the guts go about doing proganada that nurses were the first to do anesthesia when medical historians clearly give that credit to dentists and docs. well i guarentee you their infinitely inferior iqs will not survive against mda......the docs will emerge successful. the us has a tendency to be reactive instead of proactive. when they become the butt of ridicule of the rest of the world for letting para professionals take over they will do something about it. the ass of a crna who said he could be as good as say some pioneers of anesthesia, soem of the guys who have done amazing research in say cardiac an, pain etc. is a fool to the core. he talks crap. the guys at hopkins, wash u etc. in the research dept. of anesth are sterling. they are geniuses ( many of them are md, phds) and a lowly nurse with 2 years of grad education( and i bet they only know the pharm of anesthesia, these guys dont have an idea of many commmon microorganisms, let alone complex physio and path)says he is as good. well thats free speech ( sounds like saddam saying he can finish the us). well the asa wants to make a slight oversupply of mda...cos shortage means a firmer footing for crnas. all medical professionals must join to rid the medical profession of wannabes.

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ryo-ohki

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i don't know. they may be stupid, but at least they have enough common sense to unionize.

it kind of stupid that a 30 year old crna can be making more then a fellowship doctor of the same age. but the fault like with those who believe they should be brutalized. those meds who suffer from some sort of battered wives syndrome.

so, no, nurses aren't stupid. they seem to have more common sense then some young doctors.

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halothane

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so, no, nurses aren't stupid. they seem to have more common sense then some young doctors.

as said by ryo ohki

well doctors are sensible enough to spend a decent amount of time to learn their stuff. to be competent. docs do not believe in taking the back door to practice med( thats why we became docs.). docs do not go into medicine cos they were rejected in nursing school( as it is soemtimes the other way). if all the physicians no matter what their field get together and work at keeping these half doctors from takin over we can keep quality of care better here. or soon we are gonna have midwives instead of obg, nps for primary( imagine our insurance carriers saying we have to get clearance from a pnp instead of pcp for a referral!!) and god forbid nurse cardiologists and or nurse surgeons.

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pacmatthew

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coming from a paramedical professional, you guys are absolutely right!!!!! that is why i have left the pa profession and 6 figure salary to head back to school to become a physician. pa's were really the first paramedical profession to compete with or shall i say do the job that only physicians previously did. the pa concept was superb. it was meant to train a person to go work like a physician in a place where physicians would not work. and the crna thing was created to do the same thing. however, legislation got out of control, and now you see the vast majority of crna's and pa's, np's working right where physicians would normally work, but for lesser money. the physicians that use pa's love them because they are competent and make them tons of money. i made about 100k per year and brought in about 400k a year. what phycisian would want to pay a physician to do this when he can make this kind of money off a pa? the creation of the professions like pa's and crna's was justifiable, but as always, while physicians slept, these people came in and put their lobbying power together to relax their practice rights. what is important to know is that these groups of paramedicals do provide a valuable service in areas where they are needed(like in the military and in rural areas). the reality of it though is that most of them don't work where they are needed. the lesson to be learned here physicians is that when you give one solitary inch to non-physicians, they will take a mile. physicians can't take back what they have already given away, but they can keep other groups from canabalizing their entire practice rights. stop the pharmacists now before they decide to be practicing medicine at k-mart, and stop psychologists from prescribing. don't give another inch.

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the pill counter

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i wholeheartedly agree, and coming from an allied-health profession, i know the desire is strong to expand one's professional role and profile. when practicing pharmacy, the greatest passtime was saying 'this doctor was crap or that guy doesn't what he's doing.' fact of the matter was, we didn't know what the hell we were talking about. i learned to be a pharmacist in pharmacy school, not a doctor. i'm learning to be a doctor now, and only medical school can do that.

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ryo-ohki

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yes, nurses are smarter then these residents/med students who enjoy or say they will enjoy getting brutalized with 80 hour work weeks and slave wages. how else can you explain the fact that a md(!) 4th year resident earns about as much as an rn. whose services are worth more? pure naivety on the part of some young docs.

i think we're arguing differents points.

nurse brain surgeons. i would personally like to see that.

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a little elf

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the reason that we got into this situation in the first place is because the old slow docs believed that they were invinsible and that no one would ever dream of stepping up and doing the job that they did without a medical license. now, the younger generation of docs is paying for their laziness...and they think that we've got it easy...maybe they should share their savings account

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mmaher

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i am not really sure how it works, but i bet that these nurses and pa's would be less inclined to practice if they they had to shell out for to cover themselves. as of right now, most of these allied health professionals are the responsibility of the supervising physician. we need to all be smart when we get out of med school and protect ourselves. for some reason or another, medicine has been targeted, and we must react appropriately. how? i am not sure, but i am all ears.

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jargon124

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i just want to say that i agree with all that is being said - particularly with you halothane. as in incoming medical student i am already wary of these issues and won't forget s i continue on through my career. we all need to see to it that this sort of crap doesn't go too far, if it hasn't already.

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dr. mc smile

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i've been following this topic and find it very interesting. now that we are on the issue of malpractice insurance (hot-topic lately) i was wondering why these paramed folks don't have to pay even heftier premiums?

read: less knowledge/experience = higher risk ... no?

just curious

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emedpa

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drfeelgood-

there are already residency programs for p.a.'s and have been for over 20 years. residencies are in surgery,ortho, emergency medicine, psych, peds/neonatology, derm, im, etc. most are 2 years with a few 1 yr programs out there. most programs are at major medical centers(hopkins, yale etc.) and have the pa doing the same curriculum as the pgy1 and pgy2 residents.

see this site for the american academy of postgrad p.a. programs for a list:

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neurogirl

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ryo-ohki,

unionizing has absolutely nothing to do with "common sense". but then, if you knew anything about the practice of medicine, you'd know that! the purpose of unions is to gain bargaining power by using the ultimate threat of strike. physicians haven't unionized because we won't strike. how would you feel if you or a loved one needed urgent care but the doc said, "sorry, i'm on strike"! our oath (committment to humanity) prevents us from withholding care for the sake of money. nurses, on the other hand can strike since there are always physicians available to handle care if necessary.

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meandragonbrett

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first off, halothane, since nurses are stupid, why do we have them??j\w answer that one for me. because i'm pretty sure you "residents" aren't going to go to the floor and perform nursing duties are you? no, i didn't think so. another thing, why do you guys keep brining this debate up anyway?

if you come around my area and look for a md to do your anesthesia you are going to have trouble b\c there aren't many. many aren't practicing anesthesia anymore because their salaries were dropping, aww poor thing, can't afford their bmws anymore crnas have the market around here. starting salaries are around 160+ benefits and malpractice is paid by the anesthesia group. sounds pretty good for somebody "who doesnt know anything" eh?

and it also seems that the residents on this board and in other places are the ones that keep firing up the discussion on this issue. it's like you guys have nothing else better to do. i've never seen the confrontation you guys have with each other in the real world. you make it out to be like mdas hate crnas guts because "they are taking over" i've never seen a conflict between a crna and a mda. it seems that it's mostly the students and people who don't do anesthesia. although, i'm not saying i know everything, this is what it looks like to me.

aa's do not get paid as much b\c there's not a demand for them. they can only work in 13 states, and must be under direct supervision of the anesthesia doc. aa's aren't required to have previous medical work either. pre-med reqs and the mcat is all that's required. they have no experience in the monitoring required for this type of work.

if you want something to debate, how about you guys debate the mda and aa issue? oh no, md's will never have a problem with aas because aas can do the md's work and the md still gets paid for doing it also. i also believe that the asa is a very large advocate for the aa profession. correct me if i'm wrong.

i don't have any more time to go on, but i'd love to debate some other time.

brett

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this is as far as the debate has gone at the moment. i have a question for the srnas and crnas on the board. have you guys ever seen or had a conflict with mdas? was i right when i said that it seems to be people who aren't involved with anesthesia, predominately students and residents are the ones that have problems with crnas? now i know the asa and the aana don't like each other but on the "real-world" level? please let me know if i'm wrong. i just thought this was something to post that might spark a discussion here on the board.

brett

:roll

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halothane

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A nurse recently on Tonight NBC was asked on Jay Walk as to what body fluid could be passed out everyday in the quantity 1L-20L per day and duh she said blood!!! I can swear never will I ever see a medical student say that let alone a physician. Nurses know stuff by practice but often have gaping holes in their fundamentals....I mean there is really a large gap in their knowledge, they know bits and pieces. If they should be allowed to take over physician roles...let authorities mandate a prerequisite no. of years of training similar to docs. not let them crashcourse their way into medical practice. SAd state of affairs for a developed nation like ours.

My friends who have MBAs and PHDs from ivy leagues barely make 120K and it so ridiculous to see nurses( who probably are the bottom of the academic hierarchy compared to lawyers, MBAs and docs with far fewer years of training)raking in 200K. Stupid, Stupid and anyone who thinks it is right is just a wannabe doc. We do not unionise cause we take a HIpp.Oath. If we drive BMWs its cos we have years of sacrifice and hard work behindus. If we do not strike its only cos we care for our patients and are not in this only for $$ unlike CRNAs who are a bunch of greedy doc. wannabes.

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At first, reading all this gibrish gave me gas. I went directly to the site ready to post some big long hate post. but then I decided not to waste my time. really I guess I am seathing inside after reading that crap.

I am sitting here looking forward to the day that I can go to the philippines and donate my skills to help a kid walk again or fix a cleft palat in south america and these guys want to thwart that effort.

I think I am going to make a personal pledge right here and now not to ever entertain any of the professional battle nonsence. My very best friend in the world is starting PA school next week. and despite what I have been brainwashed to think about those guys through 6 years of nursing school. I simply can't entertain it. It would destroy our realtion ship. and for what? Its just your job.

at the end of the day we all go home to our spouse and children and blow bubbles.

I do think your right though. the bashing seems to be contained to those who are not actually in practice. I think that deep down maybe they are still a little unsure of he academic path they have chosen and feel the need to fight those feelings verbaly.

bla bla bla bla bla

matt

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Good Post. I think these people (residents) just want to keep anyone other than a M.D. from making a decent salary in health care. I think it is also a power issue. They don't want anyone else in health care making more money than they do. Poor residents! I bet they are struggling to make ends meet in their residency and are ticked off that someone that doesn't have MD behind their name is making more than they are.

I am really ticked off and sad that one of them called nurses dumb. You will never see one of them doing pt care. Who take care of the patients? not the residents or the doctors. It is the Nurses! Who catches the resident's/doctors orders for medications that the patients are allergic to ?

I'm wondering. What do anesthesiology residents learn in their residencies? How many cases do they do before they complete their residency?

And about the knowledge base issue, CRNAs do not need to know how to diagnose STD's etc. in order to practice asnesthesia. Their learning is specific to what they practice. They learn what they need to know to practice anesthesia safely and efficiently.

Do anesthesiologist use all of the information that they learned in medical school to practice anesthesia? What do they learn in an anesthesiology residency that a CRNA doesn't learn in CRNA school? I'm not saying that they do not learn more than a CRNA, but if they do, I want to know what.

And if nurses are so dumb, why is it that in many rural hospitals CRNAs are the only providers of anesthesia? Do the surgeons who oversee them know more about anesthesia than CRNAs? I doubt it.

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I don't know why I even read that whole load of crap.... I find it interesting he said docs won't strike. They are currently "withdrawing their services" in my town, though I guess that isn't a strike. Offices are being closed next week, elective surgeries have already been cancelled and urgent surgeries are next on the chopping block. Hyppocratic oath? PUHLEEZE!!! I also like how docs need to flaunt the fact that they have sooooo many years of schooling compared to CRNAs. They never mention the fact that their undergrauate degrees often have NOTHING to do with medicine and that most CRNA programs require their students to have had work experience in ORs or ICUs....

I am getting so sick of hearing doctors whine about their salaries. We wouldn't need to use MDs nearly as often as we do if we had NPs and CNMs. It would also save a lot of money....

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I have read over the posts, and frankly, I find them kind of funny, in a sad sort of way. I have registered to the bulletin board, and will be posting a rebuttal. If any of you wish to do the same, allow me to make a recommendation. Base your rebuttal on fact. Stay calm, and don't flame. Otherwise, your post will be ignored, and may add ammunition to THEIR arguments.

My largest impression is that these posters are mostly children who have yet to leave the world of academia. They are spouting back what they have learned at the feet of some of their more ignorant professors. Sooner or later, the attitudes they are expressing will cause some "stupid" RN to hang them out to dry in their residency. The real world has some hard lessons in store for them.

Kevin McHugh

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Let me say this. I am proud of our board. we usually stick to good worthy issues and we don't have a some pshyco post heathen cluttering it up like that fella on their site.

thankyou all for your brilance

p.s. did you see my knew signature.. now if I can only figure out how put a picture up (don't tell me I'll figure it out)

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It looks like that thread is gone or at least I couldn't find it. maybe the modertor zapped it.

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Nope, it's still there. More about how nurses are stupid and if we want respect we should go to med school.

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under what heading is the thread

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Under "rotations and residencies" in the student forum.

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I agree with who said that it was a bunch of crap.

Brett

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