ep71

An AA is an Anesthesiologist Assistant.

That was one of the most ridiculous, illogical statements that I have ever read. CNA's are a part of the nursing system. What techs that aren't apart of the nursing system do nurses supervise? It would be stupid for a person with a masters to supervise another person with a masters. You can't compare doctorate supervision with master on master supervision. It's just silly.

I would think because they are not nurses. Do nurses of any speciality supervise non-nurses? I would think that AA's would be offended by the suggestion being that they probably feel that they had to endure a much more rigorous undergraduate curriculum.

i've noticed a sense of hostility on this forum towards aa's by nurse anesthetist or student nurses of anesthesia. why so hasty? i always read on this forum about the shortage of anesthesia providers, yet some people want to block aa's from being able to do just that. i don't understand. if aa's have proven to be successful at administering safe anesthesia, why is it such an issue that they be allowed the same privileges as a crna (other than supervision). i recently read an article in another thread on this forum that seemed to be rallying for support so that they can ban the use of aa's in louisiana. i don't understand the hell-bent attitude. if there's a shortage, and there's a solution, what's the problem? if crna's are so concerned with the health of their patients, why won't they allow the shortage problem to be solved. it definitely doesn't seem to be helping the patient by having a shortage of anesthesia providers.

What does that have to do with going over to the "dark side"

If it's so dark why are you going over there...Do you want to be evil? Do you want to trade your soul for some money? Do tell us your attraction to the "dark side".

You can't compare the practice of a nursing specialty to the practice of Medicine. You can compare certain Nursing Specialties to Medical Specialties (Nurse Anesthetist to Anesthesiologist, NP to Primary care Physicians), but you can't compare one specialty of nursing to the whole entire profession of Medicine. That's what you're doing when you say, "Haven't NP's proven to be as safe and effective as MD's." MD is not one specialty, it's an entire profession. Just because you practice similarly to a medical specialist doesn't mean you should have the privileges of the entire profession.

]Well congratulations! I hope you do well. It wasn't my purpose to sound rude. My mother always told me to never count my eggs before they hatch. But since you seem to have everything already taken care of, good luck!

You seem pretty confident about attending an extremely competitive $40,000 a year school. Don't count your eggs before they hatch.

.... . . . . ..kk. . .

What does that have to do with anything. I know what optometrists ophthalmologists and opticians are and do. Optometrists diagnose diseases of the eye. they treat diagnosed diseases of the eye. It only takes two years to be an Optician. it takes 8 yrs to be an optometrist. They are indeed Primary Care Physicians. I understand that NP's diagnose some illnesses and treat some diseases. but they are still nurses. I'm aware that optometrist don't attend medical school but they are Primary Care Physicians. You obviously don't know what an Optometrist actually does. An optician prescribes glasses, an Optometrist DIAGNOSES AND TREATS DISEASES of the eye. An Ophthalmologist performs surgery of the eye. What you see in wal-mart is not a true reflection of an Optometrist. They are indeed Physicians in every sense of the word. You can't just go to school for two years and go to Optometry School. You have to have a BS/BA degree. You have to take Medical School prerequisites. You have to be extremely competitive.

Ped Neurosurg and Family Practice don't have the same training. A Ped Neurosurg training is completely different from that of a primary care specialist. (ped neurosurg-7 yrs of training AFTER Med School...Primary Care 0-3 years after med school) Other than medical school, its completely different. I am fully aware of a nurse practitioners responsibilities however, they still are not Physicians. They are not their own profession. They are part of a profession.the profession of Nursing. Optometry is not a subspecialty of Ophthalmology, it is an alone sitting specialty. Ophthalmology and Optometry are two different professions. Unlike NP's which is an extention of nursing. You said that Nurse Practitioner practice similarly to Physicians and because of that, you want the privileges of a Primary Care Physician. Thats not true simply because when you say you practice similarly to a physician, you're saying that you practice similarly to a Cardiothoracic Surgeon, which is a Physician. You may practice similarly to a Medical specialist, but not a Physician. And for that, you shouldn't be given the Basic privileges of a Physican. What you're not getting is that the basic privileges of a Primary Care Physician are the same privileges of a neonatologist, cardiologist, and every other specialist. To give you that power to only practice primary care medicine would be ridiculous in every sense of the word. You are not a specialist of Medicine, you're a specialist of Nursing.

You are not grasping the point that I was attempting to make nor are you fully understanding what the OP desires. The OP wants to have more privileges in his/her field of profession. The privileges that s/he wants are only allowed to Medical Doctors(Cardiologist Neurologists etc..) The privileges that she wants ARE indeed that of a pediatric neurosurgeon. Although she isn't likely to be doing pediatric neurosurgery, she's lobbying for the privileges of one. She's lobbying for the privileges of an M.D. Not just a Pediatric Neurosurgeon, but all M.D.'s. If you give a NP the same power as a Primary Care Provider(M.D.), you're giving him the same power as a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. If you want the privileges, go to Medical School.

to say that you play a more important role in medicine than an optometrist and chiropractor is simply outrageous. i am not fully aware of the duties of a chiropractor however, i am little familiar with the profession of optometry. optometrist diagnose and treat diseases of the eye. they are indeed true professionals in every sense of the word. they have every privilege of an ophthalmologist except that they don't perform surgery. they are indeed physicians in every since of the word. unlike np's, they are drs., they do diagnose and treat all diseases of the eye, and they do practice without the supervision of an m.d. even while working in an m.d. office, they still practice completely alone and need neither a signature nor approval of an m.d. to diagnose a disease or prescribe medication. 60 hrs is two years and change not one. the majority of optometry schools wont accept you unless you have a bs/ba. same as md/do, you only have to have 90 credit hours, but the majority wont accept you unless you have a bs/ba. optometrist also have to take medical school prerequisites.(chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, biology, calculus, biochemistry) it generally takes 8 years to be an optometrist.and 2.5 is the basic minimum gpa, medical school has the same gpa requirement (2.5). that doesn't mean that they will accept you. to say that you have more responsibility than an optometrist is outrageously absurd.

i just fully read your post and i have to say you're way out of line. if you want all of the privileges of a dr., become one. i do understand your desire to be respected for being a competent professional but you chose the role you decided to lead and that's just the way things are. you're not a dr., and you shouldn't have the full privileges of one. no offense to the nurse practitioner profession but to give a nurse practitioner the same privileges as a pediatric neurosurgeon is simply absurd. that's basically what you're asking for. i understand that you want to have more responsibility as a primary care provider but the privileges that you're asking for extend much farther than those of your current profession. you're asking to be put on the same playing field as a cardiologist, internist, pediatric oncologist, cardiothoracic surgeon and all of the other medical specialist that perform the duties that you are requesting. it's simply out of the question.