Anesthesia PA's

Started by jesse0081
Physicians and veterinarians: Turn your expertise into action! Explore CDC’s Epidemiology Elective Program and Epidemic Intelligence Service today.
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

Browse articles Compare schools My application plan Read Interview Feedback
Practice for interviews Ask an Advisor
J

jesse0081

New Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Just curious if anyone has any info on anesthesia PA's. I'm not talking about anesthesia assistants, either. I know it's not a common practice for PA's at present, but do you think it will eventually pick up? I had read an article online on a survey that was done, and only 5 PA's out of 1800 selected anesthesia as their practice. I'm am interested in anesthesia, but because there are only a few anesthesia assistant schools, AA is not really an option. I can't consider a CRNA because I'm not a nurse. I am a respiratory therapist, and I'm in the philadelphia area. Do you think there is a future for PA's in anesthesia?
 
jesse0081 said:
Just curious if anyone has any info on anesthesia PA's. I'm not talking about anesthesia assistants, either. I know it's not a common practice for PA's at present, but do you think it will eventually pick up? I had read an article online on a survey that was done, and only 5 PA's out of 1800 selected anesthesia as their practice. I'm am interested in anesthesia, but because there are only a few anesthesia assistant schools, AA is not really an option. I can't consider a CRNA because I'm not a nurse. I am a respiratory therapist, and I'm in the philadelphia area. Do you think there is a future for PA's in anesthesia?
Click to expand...

I believe this topic was addressed in a recent anesthesia assistant thread. I believe that PAs are not allowed by state law to perform anesthesia techniques without having a state endorsement (license) in providing anesthesia. The only way for a PA to be an anesthetist is to attend CRNA or AA school, unless they are grandfathered in thier state. I could be wrong, since I haven't checked all states' professional regulation sites, so if anyone disagrees, they could provide proof with a state's endorsement scope of practice for PAs.
 
I have seen an anesthesia PA. It was a mid-sized group (20 MD's, about 15 CRNA's). The PA didn't give any anesthesia, in fact didn't even go into the OR. She did pre-ops in the holding area, orders in the PACU, put out fires in the PACU, pre-ops on the floor, post-ops on the floor, pain stuff on the floor. You get the picture. All of the 'stuff' that frees up the anesthesia providers to be faster where it counts- in the OR.
 
No offense, but that sounds rather misleading. That sounds more like a surgical PA because a surgical PA can assist a surgeon, whereas PAs are not allowed to do anesthesia without proper credentials.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.