Should Anesthesia Be an only MD Profession

Specialties CRNA

Published

I knew this would get your attention.

This question is for those seeking, in current studies, and practicing anesthesia.

I understand the economics and statistics for various practice settings, hence the need in certain areas for CRNA's - so please save that - due to its obviousness.

But this question is an open to the debate ....."Is anesthesia really a nursing science?"

And For those practicing - Do "nursing interests" guide your daily practice

Why and why not......

Thank you for your post old salt...I think your question is a great one and definitely something that all of those interested in or practicing anethesia should give a great deal of thought.

I am wondering though, how specifically is the anethesist practicing nursing? How is nurse administered anesthesia any different than doc administered anethesia?

(I know the current studies that there is equal outcomes in the administration of both safety wise, I know the history of nurse anethesia)

Thanks for your post,

You've really hit it didn't you? I can certainly say that my practice is design for 100% safety and comfort for the patient - which would be exactly the same for any other type of practitioner.

Are these concerns/actions Nursing or Medical?

Many times I have heard the statement that Nurses are greater "Patient Advocates." But this statement does a great disservice to our MD colleagues. They too are equally concerned and work for excellent outcomes for their patients.

A Nurse by definition is: a person educated and trained to care for the sick or disabled.

A Doctor by definition is: person who has earned the highest academic degree awarded by a college or university in a specified discipline.

Therein is the divide. Which is alluded in my previous posts - In my personal experiences - Equal treatment or respect is shown in either equal degrees of competency and Skill equal to their training. In several institutions, I have had MDAs pull me aside to help place an interscalene they were unable to place, teach another a modified Supraclavicular approach, or teach a group to expeditiously place a popliteal block. In return they taught me various other techniques and personal tips. In all cases, w/o exception - Collegial and Pleasant exchanges.....Equal respect and treatment based on experience and competency rather than degree held.

Until we obtain Doctorates (which I DONT support) or obtain equal skill training and utilization across the board (which I find lacking)- I think that this issue will continue to present itself.

We do practice caring for the sick and disabled but, in Anesthesia, we are obligated to be as highly trained and proficient as we CAN BE. Not only for the sake of our patients but for the continued improvement and progress of the profession.

I recently met a very pleasant young man just fresh from anesthesia school. Completely able to do GA cases. That's it..... 2 ½ years of training and only able to do primarily bread and butter cases - but no vascular (unable to place invasive lines) - and definitely no OB. Never trained in Fiber Optics or any peripheral blocks....Everything had been dictated to him and completely directed in his studies.

He, unfortunately, represents schools producing graduates that only accentuate the issue that I have brought up.......

:)

I agree the, the waters have been murky as of late. while normaly this is somthing I might bite on. the post did a poor job of rousing my sns. if he is an agonist hes a partial. I do wish there were more actuall crna's here or actuall students talking clinically. another site like this requires you to submit your aana number to limit the fodder. i wonder if we could do somthing like that. although I am torn because I used this site before i was a student and it was very usefull. sometimes i wonder if people are useing us for research or some class project.

What's wrong with using this forum for research or a class project? Although, I READ every post there are many posts that I don't participate in because they are beyond my "scope of knowledge". Generally, these have to do with the efficacy of using certain drugs or CRNA procedures. However, should I ever become an SRNA or CRNA you can rest assured that I will share whatever knowledge or insites I have to anyone who will listen.

For one Roland, research and marketing is against the TOS for the site.

Alan, many times in past clinical issues have been asked, and they get good traffic, but as this is a public forum the signal to noise ratio is going to be low. Many people seem incapable of reading the FAQ, or using the search function to answer age old, oft repeated questions.

A Nurse by definition is: a person educated and trained to care for the sick or disabled.

A Doctor by definition is: person who has earned the highest academic degree awarded by a college or university in a specified discipline.

Equal respect and treatment based on experience and competency rather than degree held.

Until we obtain Doctorates (which I DONT support) or obtain equal skill training and utilization across the board (which I find lacking)- I think that this issue will continue to present itself.

Two questions come to mind:

Wouldn't it be more appropriate to compare the definitions of nurse and physician?

and

Why do you not support doctorates for CRNAs?

I consider everything that I read, hear, or otherwise translate into my memory to be my research base. How can research be against TOS under those conditions. Are you sure that the TOS is not meant to address commericial rather than intellectual research? Learning, and research are the very foundations of any intellectual pursuit.

I re-read the TOS and noticed the admonition against research. However, it was lacking a definition of the term as it relates to the prohibition. In it's strictest sense ANY question that is asked in the spirit of intellectual enlightenment could be considered research. I have read MANY questions in the past about various class room projects ect. and have not noticed these being deleted or otherwise modified for abrogation of TOS. It would be helpful to have more information into the intent behind this particular element of TOS. Consider for example the short "research paper" presented above. I will "integrate" that information into my knowledge base and hopefully expand upon the case law presented. Then, in the event that my wife or myself are ever granted CRNA interviews we will be more prepared to discuss at length the legal basis for the practice of anesthesia by CRNA's. If this occurs it will be in part due to the "research" that we conducted here and elsewhere. I must confess to having an opinion on this subject that is "Borg" like (yes I am also a Star Trek fan). In addition, in the even that I ever due Ph'd research I have obtained ideas for numerous possible thesis scenarios from the allnurses.com forums. Indeed, I have a friend (and locally noted author) who is writing a book on hospital hauntings, who got the basic idea to write a book from reading posts on this forum.

Also, I actually do have some input germaine to this particular thread as it was started. ONE, thing that might be useful in better establishing the expertise of CRNA's in the mind of MD's and the public would be to create new, optional anesthesia certifications. These certifications would test accessment, pathophysiology, ACLS, pharmacology, and other areas relevent to the practice of anesthesia. In addition, your SCORES would be maintained (unlike the NCLEX it wouldn't just be pass/fail) and could be reported at your option to those that you choose. I suspect that graduates of CRNA schools would do well as compared to MDA's and that this would serve as one more indication of their "worth" to practice (and could be used perhaps as further fodder to persuade more states to "opt out" of the Medicare supervisory provisions). Also, if MD's wish to post, I say let them! Let them place their best arguments down on the line to be examined within the cauldron of intellectual inquiry and debate. Perhaps creative and effective arguments that are generated in this forum can one day be brought to bare upon legislators and the public in order to persuade them that CRNA's are worthy of even greater (or at least the same as they have now) autonomy. They might even discover that the market place of ideas is no place for some of their intellectually, bankrupt arguments!

Specializes in Anesthesia.

Is it just me, or do there seem to be several posters of rather nebulous backgrounds "just asking questions" here lately?

KM

There do seem to be an inordinate number of MDs posting lately on this CRNA board. Makes one wonder about their motivations.

deepz

For one Roland, research and marketing is against the TOS for the site.

Alan, many times in past clinical issues have been asked, and they get good traffic, but as this is a public forum the signal to noise ratio is going to be low. Many people seem incapable of reading the FAQ, or using the search function to answer age old, oft repeated questions.

I have frequented this site for a year and a half... certainly enough time to know the repeated questions and I really don't think that ... how is anesthesia practicing nursing as opposed to medicine and its boundaries is something that really has been discussed at length....Moreover, I think that it is something that OUGHT to be discussed as it something that CLINICALLY affects each and everyone of us...... whether you are a future SRNA, SRNA or CRNA..... if you don't want to read about it then no one is forcing you too.......as far as using it for research or a class project.........well... i am not even in crna school yet...so I certainly do not fit in that category, however, I hope to be one day and as it is my future I enjoy discussing it.........

I agree the, the waters have been murky as of late. while normaly this is somthing I might bite on. the post did a poor job of rousing my sns. if he is an agonist hes a partial. I do wish there were more actuall crna's here or actuall students talking clinically. another site like this requires you to submit your aana number to limit the fodder. i wonder if we could do somthing like that. although I am torn because I used this site before i was a student and it was very usefull. sometimes i wonder if people are useing us for research or some class project.

How soon you forget that you were once a lowly potential SRNA

I have frequented this site for a year and a half... certainly enough time to know the repeated questions and I really don't think that ... how is anesthesia practicing nursing as opposed to medicine and its boundaries is something that really has been discussed at length....Moreover, I think that it is something that OUGHT to be discussed as it something that CLINICALLY affects each and everyone of us...... whether you are a future SRNA, SRNA or CRNA..... if you don't want to read about it then no one is forcing you too.......as far as using it for research or a class project.........well... i am not even in crna school yet...so I certainly do not fit in that category, however, I hope to be one day and as it is my future I enjoy discussing it.........

This is why I hate the forum as a method of serious discussion. No one reads the other persons post in its entirety, and instead shoots off a response from the hip. No where in my post did I imply or state that this was an old question. What I did say however is that there is a certain amount of repeating content here. I said this, in response to Alans post on the quality of the posts here, and whether or not this forum provided a valuable service. I for one, feel that the forum is invaluable, and is a great resource for the aspiring SRNA, current SRNA, current CRNA, and current MDA. If I did not feel this way, I would not spend my time moderating this forum.

Additionally, Roland has decided to once again approach a discussion with literal translations of what is being said. As such, he has muddied my comment on performing research here, by challenging the meaning of the word research, and the way it is used in the TOS for allnurses. It should be infered that research for the improvement of self is fine. It is not fine to conduct actual research here. i.e. posting a survey which will be used in a formal research project. Or any project that will be used to advance a business, or employment agency. I hope that what I have said will clear up my intentions and the use fo the word research and its context in my post.

To answer another criticism by a forum user, I am quite happy that MDA's participate in this forum. So far their posts have been very constructive, and enlightening. When this is no the case, I will worry about their presence. Currently though I welcome their input as long as it is constructive. This also holds true for all posters on the forum, be constructive in your posts, or go away (to further clarify, everyone to this point, has been constructive so please do not take offence, I am merely making a statement).

Now, Lets get this thread back on track.

Craig

This is why I hate the forum as a method of serious discussion. No one reads the other persons post in its entirety, and instead shoots off a response from the hip. No where in my post did I imply or state that this was an old question. What I did say however is that there is a certain amount of repeating content here. I said this, in response to Alans post on the quality of the posts here, and whether or not this forum provided a valuable service. I for one, feel that the forum is invaluable, and is a great resource for the aspiring SRNA, current SRNA, current CRNA, and current MDA. If I did not feel this way, I would not spend my time moderating this forum.

Additionally, Roland has decided to once again approach a discussion with literal translations of what is being said. As such, he has muddied my comment on performing research here, by challenging the meaning of the word research, and the way it is used in the TOS for allnurses. It should be infered that research for the improvement of self is fine. It is not fine to conduct actual research here. i.e. posting a survey which will be used in a formal research project. Or any project that will be used to advance a business, or employment agency. I hope that what I have said will clear up my intentions and the use fo the word research and its context in my post.

To answer another criticism by a forum user, I am quite happy that MDA's participate in this forum. So far their posts have been very constructive, and enlightening. When this is no the case, I will worry about their presence. Currently though I welcome their input as long as it is constructive. This also holds true for all posters on the forum, be constructive in your posts, or go away (to further clarify, everyone to this point, has been constructive so please do not take offence, I am merely making a statement).

Now, Lets get this thread back on track.

Craig

I'm confused. Did you not use this forum to solicit participation into a research study you were conducting for school?

Maybe I'm wrong though.

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