Who should "Pass Gas"?

[NRSKarenRN]

let's not create another new healthcare worker position!

fla anesthesia assistants gain ground in senate over nurses' objections

by mike salinero [email protected] http://tampatrib.com/floridametronews/mgah0yoqcxc.html

tallahassee - a senate committee on tuesday approved

published: feb 6, 2002

licensing anesthesia assistants to practice in florida under anesthesiologists' supervision.

currently, only anesthesiologists, who are doctors, and nurse anesthetists may provide anesthesiology.

anesthesiologists support the bill, saying there is a shortage of anesthesia providers in the state.

but nurse anesthetists deny the shortage. they say the bill is a move to replace them with lesser-trained and lower-paid anesthesia assistants. only registered nurses with a minimum number of clinical hours may enter a two-year anesthesia program. candidates for anesthesia assistant can enter that program with a four-year degree in any field.

``the licensing of anesthesia assistants is an experiment, and florida patients would be the test subjects,'' said bruce weiner, a tampa resident and president of the florida association of nurse anesthetists.

john mcdonough, a professor at florida international university, told the committee that he teaches nurse anesthetists and knows they are better trained.

but jerome modell, who recently retired as chairman of the anesthesiology department at the university of florida, said training for nurse anesthetists and anesthesia assistants is ``different but comparable.''

the sponsor of the bill, sen. debbie wasserman schultz, d-weston, confirmed she got a $1,000 campaign contribution from don sokolik, president of the state society of anesthesiologists. wasserman schultz said her vote was based on a ``deliberative'' study of the issue.

the bill is scheduled for three more committees before going to the senate floor. a companion house bill has cleared all committees and is ready for floor action.

reporter mike salinero can be reached at [phone].

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info for letter writing campaign:

key committees for healthcare

florida senate and house of representatives members of the key healthcare committees

from fla nurses assoc.:

http://capwiz.com/fln/issues/alert/?alertid=8

senate committees

health, aging, and long-term care

chairman: senator saunders

vice chairman: senator dawson

members: senators brown-waite, campbell, clary, cowin, klein, peaden, pruitt, silver and wasserman-schultz

appropriations subcommittee on health and human services

chairman: senator silver

members: senators mitchell, peaden, sanderson, and saunders

banking and insurance

chairman: senator latvala

vice chairman: senator holzendorf

members: senators campbell, carlton, clary, constantine, dawson, garcia, geller, king, posey, rossin, and wasserman schultz

senate health committee members links:

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/view_page.pl?tab=committees&submenu=1&file=index.html&directory=committees/senate/hc/

house of representatives

council for healthy communities

chair: nancy argenziano

vice chair: curtis richardson

committee members: allan bense, gus bilirakis, nancy detert, frank farkas, mike fasano, carole green, ken littlefield, evelyn lynn, sandra murman, ken gotlieb, sally heyman, cindy lerner, eleanor sobel

elder and long term care

chair: carole green

vice chair: mark weissman

committee members: jeff atwater, hugh gibson, joe negron, jerry paul, dave russell, david simmons, leslie waters, phillip brutus, suzanne kosmas, richard mackek

health and human services appropriations

chair: jerry maygarden

vice chair: frank farkas

committee members: holly benson, heather fiorentino, rene garcia, hugh gibson, carole green, ken littlefield, phillip brutus, nan rich, irving slosberg, eleanor sobel

health promotion

chair: ken littlefield

vice chair: mike hogan

committee members: bob allen, ralph arza, holly benson, renier diaz de la portilla, manuel prieguez, susan bucher, joyce cusack, arthenia joyner, sara romeo, irving slosberg

health regulation

chair: frank farkas

vice chair: eleanor sobel

committee members: jd alexander, heather fiorentino, mike haridopolis, gayle herrell, randy johnson, marco rubio, stacy ritter, gary siplin, roger wishner

house committee on health regulation:

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/committees/index.cfm?mode=committee%20pages&view_mode=view%20page&committee_id=1150&tab=committees&submenu=1

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

I would suggest if you want a non biased response to stop hanging out on nursing websites.

Now for the part about non degree CRNAs.....The AANA has required a Master's degree to become a CRNA since 1990, almost twenty years! I don't anyone is going to have any qualms about a CRNA that has been practicing over 20yrs having a certificate vs a MSN.

According to the AMA anesthesiologist assistants have only had their national certification set up since 1989! The idea of AAs only goes back to sometime in the 1970's and there is still only a couple of thousand AA's!

Also, I highly doubt there are still thousands of practicing CRNAs w/o degrees. There are only around 30,000 CRNAs to begin with and then by the time you figure that the youngest CRNA would have to been practicing for over 20yrs.....I think someone is skewing facts for their own AA campaign now.

Now as far as people/nurses being uniformed about AAs. I think most of us are perfectly informed what AAs have become. The AA is nothing more than degree program for intelligent people designed to give the AMA/ASA a political tool to fight CRNA independence to ensure that MDAs maintain their supervising capabilities and high pay. The stuff about shortage of anesthesia providers is all bull! ASA doesn't care that there are potential shortages. ASA only cares about supervision and control of AAs/CRNAs. The recent AA battle in Maryland was a perfect example. The ASA tried to start an AA program in Maryland under the premise that their was/would be overall shortage of anesthesia providers in Maryland. When it was pointed out it would be faster and cheaper to just expand Univ. of Maryland's nurse anesthesia program then the story changed to oh we want to diversify the anesthesia providers!

Excellent response; whether or not my response was emotional, the facts are still there...if you've never been exposed to the medical environment EXCEPT while in school, there are many, many nuances one would miss.

Sorry, CRNA or anesthesiologist ONLY--I wouldn't trust an AA and I think many of my colleagues would agree--oh and dare to ask a layperson who they would prefer someone with experience or none--who do you think they will pick?

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

Excellent response; whether or not my response was emotional, the facts are still there...if you've never been exposed to the medical environment EXCEPT while in school, there are many, many nuances one would miss.

Sorry, CRNA or anesthesiologist ONLY--I wouldn't trust an AA and I think many of my colleagues would agree--oh and dare to ask a layperson who they would prefer someone with experience or none--who do you think they will pick?

I'm a CRNA and I believe in SCIENCE. I don't believe a man rose from the dead or went to heaven. I don't believe 42 virgins await a recently deceased male. I don't believe AA's are evil unless the results tell me so. And when we put them down, it sounds very similar to some MDA's who want to keep CRNA's in a very limited place - like a regular old politically heated turf war. Of course, doing the studies comparing the two professions would be difficult since AA's cannot practice independently, but then again, neither do most CRNA's. Of course I deeply believe that our nursing experience gives us the experiential edge. But after 35 years of experience, I also don't have a lot of respect for a strict medical model in anesthesia since I've worked with MDA's who have more medical knowledge than I but not a lick of the common sense one needs to give anesthesia. Anesthesia is not rocket science but it does require that you pay attention to the results of every anesthetic you give , if you aim for super competence; I'm not sure that the more difficult science courses that the AA students take contribute much to clinical competence.

[PageRespiratory!]

quote=wtbcrna;3630343

Here is an excerpt from an article/response to AA's in Maryland:

New Anesthesia Provider May Threaten Operating Room Safety

Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:47pm EST

Legislation would Lower the Standard of Care by Allowing Inexperienced and

Less Educated Anesthesiologist Assistants to Deliver Anesthesia to Maryland

Patients

ANNAPOLIS, Md., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Maryland Association of

Nurse Anesthetists (MANA), whose members are Certified Registered Nurse

Anesthetists (CRNAs), today announced their opposition to Senate Bill 798 and

House Bill 1161. These troubling bills would license anesthesiologist

assistants (AAs) to practice in Maryland and would drastically alter the

anesthesia delivery model currently utilized in the state. AAs, who are less

qualified than anesthesiologists and CRNAs, currently are licensed or

certified to practice in only 10 states and cannot practice in the U.S.

Military. The bills are being supported by Johns Hopkins Hospital.

"The passage of this legislation would radically ...

>

How can this piece of trash propaganda piece be viewed as anything other than defamation?.............Perjury, slander, I'd be concerned about legal action if I was a MANA member.

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

>

How can this piece of trash propaganda piece be viewed as anything other than defamation?.............Perjury, slander, I'd be concerned about legal action if I was a MANA member.

You really are on the wrong board if you think you are going to get a sympathetic ear from a bunch nurses..... Now you must really be ignorant or naive to think this is any worse than the trash that the ASA slings around on a daily basis about CRNAs.....What most of these statements from either organization (ASA or AANA) are is merely part opinion mixed with facts. It is the same thing the ASA does, but is a lot more toned down....