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?

WoW!!! Great explanation without any politics. My hat is to you TeenyBabyRN.

Thanks, but I think I was not clear on my question. One of the programs that I was looking at had two out for town rotations for clinical for 3 weeks each. I am guessing that is not a normal part of most programs based on the responce level.

How does it work for out of town clinicals? Is housing normally provided and what is done for travel expenses? I am guessing that it is just wishful thinking that housing a food is provided by your host hospital, but thought I would ask. Can anyone give examples of cities/hospitals that provided exceptionally good or bad experiences? Thanks, Allen

At least increase for the next 25 years (for me)

i agree with your logic and the principals that you have put forth. i am more concerned with the ramping up of new crna schools than i am about the existing two aa schools or rumored third. as for mda flooding the market we have little control over that. but the huge expense and time to make it through the mda programs should be a hedge against them flooding the market.

i was looking at the billing issue as a totally separate topic. i wanted to understand the financials on why i will paid a fraction of someone else that does virtually the same job as me (when i graduate).

great information. help me a lot in understanding the financials behind my chosen (soon to be) career. if i am reading this correctly, then there is no additional net charge for having one mda and 4 aas or crnas in s "anesthesia care team" than to have just 4 mdas. the only way to decrease the actual billed amount is to have crnas work independently and bill directly for 85% of what an mda or "anesthesia care team" would charge. why are crnas willing to work for mdas and settle for 50% instead of just billing directly and getting the 85%? does medicare intend to imply that crnas are only 85% as skilled as a mda by there reimbursement policy?

I have no problem with people arguing over the issue, but just thought that the normal flow of information that I have enjoyed for the past year was being choked off by this one argument. It looks like people only have so much time/energy to participate in the board and the AA debate is hurting discussion of other issues. But it may have just been timing with most of the students getting new rotations and being distracted.

Thanks for the information. Any insight into the isurance part?

If the restrictions are so undesirable, then why do CRNAs work in "team care settings"? It has been established many times over that they can work independantly and that there is huge demand for their services.