Anesthesiaman

There are no PAs that do Anesthesia...it's a separate program...PAs cannot practice anesthesia and AAs cannot practice as general PAs. Wtbcrna is absolutely right about the purpose of AAs. It helps protect MDs jobs. My mere purpose in commenting here was to make clear that AAs are competent anesthesia providers and there's no reason for CRNAs to make demeaning comments on here or in the community regarding AAs. In other words.... do your job and let me do mine without acting like your better.

And to your comment love anesthesia. I handle difficult asa 4e cases regularly with little to no input from the anesthesiologist. At the end of the case the anesthesiologist doesn't tell me whether to extubate or not...he asks me. Because I'm the one who was in the room managing the patient. If I say extubate he says OK. So yes I am trained to handle these cases solo as are you. But let me ask you... What is truly safer us handling difficult patients who are hemorrhaging solo? Giving blood drawing and sending labs? All of the above on our own? Or is it better to have a team someone who can be an extra set of hands. Because no one else in the room could help. Just this week I had a last spasm on an LMA and I tried to get the nurse in the room to help with a 2 hand bag and she couldn't help so I called my attending to assist and he came and assisted....a few months ago a CRNA called for help and I was the first to arrive her patients sat was in the 30a I intubated them without the anesthesiologist... The care team model is safer because it frees up qualified individuals to assist in emergencies. And even though we are trained to handle it alone it's better to have someone....

During the pandemic none of the CRNAs at my practice provided support in the ICU. The CRNAs at my practice do nothing differently than the AAs...go figure. They are also paid the same... Go figure...

Why don't you describe your daily routine at your job and I'll describe mine...I guarantee you were doing the same thing.

But here's the issue with the CRNAs outlook on AAs. Just because the rules for direct are more strict does not mean that AAs are any less capable than CRNAs. The job is the same and we can do anything a CRNA can do. Just as well and just as safely.

A lot of this hostility toward AAs is unfounded. AAs are not trained to merely "assist" we are trained to provide complete anesthesia care beginning to care. Anesthesiologist do not need to be legally present at any time during the surgery they merely have to be in the building. Most times they will come in at induction but it's not necessary and some don't come at all. The sole purpose of the AA profession was to protect the anesthesiologist from CRNAs ongoing attempt to provide anesthesia without them. By offering a care team model they can hire us and not have to deal with CRNAs who are corporately trying to push anesthesiologist out the door. But in terms of quality of care there is no difference in quality between a CRNA or an AA. My hospital staffs both and we perform. The same jobs, the same tasks, in fact some of our stronger anesthetists are AAs...not CRNAs. Though both of us are well trained and qualified. I have nothing against the CRNA profession and know this ...we are not competing for jobs...if AAs didn't exist I would have simply went to CRNA school instead...and competed for that same job as a CRNA....and with the anesthesia shortage you can't say your struggling to find jobs bc of AAs...if you are a CRNA in GA and can't find a job message me bc we're almost always hiring. So please CRNAs please stop preaching negative things about AAs....Either you are ignoring and don't know about what we really can do or you are malicious and just out to condemn my profession but at the end of the day patient care is most important and we are just as qualified. I read an article that literally said the outcomes between AAs and CRNAs was the same but it said CRNAs must be better because they aren't required to work with an anesthesiologist...that's what I'm saying....really it said they are better after showing similar outcomes? Give me a break!