user69

How many CRNA grads end up going for the full blown MDA? Does anyone know?

Let's not forget that many of the new CRNA students served the absolute minimum caring for patients before starting there programs. About half of my class has said that they went into nursing just as a path to the CRNA job. I know that in the past nurses worked many years bedside before going into a CRNA program, but that is not the norm today. As far as the comment about "Wall-Mart" healthcare and it being cheap. Let's be realistic here. We are talking abut "less expensive" and not "cheap" alternatives. With starting salaries for both AAs and CRNAs being around 100K, the word "cheap" just does not apply. This is in no way meant to say that we are not worth the money that the job pays.

My observation from the amount of bickering and hate throwing on this board, is that AAs are very significant. At least to you DeepZ. If the AA issue is so insignificant then why do so many people have such deep rooted feelings about a handful of professionals that have a different background prior to entering Anesthesia school? It looks like the actual anesthesia training is almost identical on a whole.

Thanks for all of the great info

Can someone tell me the differences between working in a general practice and a dedicated pediatric practice? The info I am looking for is just the kind of day to day differences, and not the specific dosages or medications. Thanks

Could the remark have been meant just to put the patient and there family at ease and not as a major political statement to force CRNAs everywhere to be subservient? Also I would think that anyone providing anesthesia (AA, CRNA, MDA) is part of the support staff for the surgery. The reason they are there is not to be put to sleep, but to have surgery. Everything else being done is support.

Do all CRNAs hold Masters degrees? Or do some just hold a cert?

Quick question for the CRNAs that are practicing now. Does a MDA take offince to the term "Anesthesia Doctor"?

I am still confused on why a CRNA would work for any MDA, much less one that does not have proper respect for a fellow professional. I understand that an AA has to be supervised, so it makes since on why they work for a MDA. But from my understanding is that a CRNA can work and bill independently in all 50 states without any involvement of a MDA. There must be some reason that I am missing on why a CRNA is willing to work for a smaller piece of the pie. Can someone break this down for me please.

JWK, How many people in your class of AAs were English majors? And how many of the English majors out there have all of the pre-med coursework needed to get into one of the AA programs? Are there any CRNAs that are practicing today that do not have a collage degree from undergrad and then a full masters on top of that? If there are any, should they be forced to stop practicing until they complete both degrees?

Is there any procedure that you would want a MDA over a CRNA to be putting you under?

I have a Palm T3 and it works great. Most of my class has Palm PDAs. Many of the Anesthesia books come with a free version in electronic format and are great reference from the PDA. I have a Palm OS PDA, but I think that almost all of the software is available in wither the Pocket PC or Palm format. You can get a keyboard to go with the PDA for taking notes if you want to be able to type in class. Personally I think too many people get laptop computers that would be better off getting a home system and PDA for less money. I am sure that the group can provide plenty of feedback on the best software, but I liked the free version of the PDA from PDA.ORG, I bought ePocrates and it is OK, but I have been told that some of the information on drugs might be incorrect. For a voice recorder you might want to think about getting an iPod and using that, any PDA you get might do voice recording, but will not be the best solution for recording classes. With the iPod you can play the classes back in your car or while you exercise, or even email them to the rest of the class if you need to. Good luck.

Does anyone know why the vote was so one sided? I was not so surprised about the outcome, but was amazed that it was a landslide. Just good lobbying on the part of the AANA or was it typical Louisiana politics? Also, does anyone want to give odds that a new bill is put in next year to try and reverse the AA decision?

One you are in, the best motivation is probably knowing that you already have student loans invested in your education. By sticking it out you will be able to at least be able to break even and then quit.

can a crna practice without any md involved? specifically doing something like pain management on a private basis, or do they always have to work in cooperation with some licensed physician?