Benefits of being an anesthesiologist vs. nurse anesthetist

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Dr. Doom MD

Dr. Doom MD

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So recently something I've been considering is the value of being an anesthesiologist over a nurse anesthetist. Obviously I'm young and not the most knowledgeable on this subject, but I would like to be an anesthesiologist. I have relatives who work in the medical field and something they mentioned is the benefits of becoming a nurse anesthetist over an MD. For one, they get paid around 200k and don't have to cover malpractice insurance, which I know is usually rather expensive. Anesthesiologists clearly possess far more knowledge than their nurse counterparts or AA's, but my question is this: Is being an Anesthesiologist really more worthwhile and practical than being a Nurse Anesthetist or AA?
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Dr. Doom MD said:
So recently something I've been considering is the value of being an anesthesiologist over a nurse anesthetist. Obviously I'm young and not the most knowledgeable on this subject, but I would like to be an anesthesiologist. I have relatives who work in the medical field and something they mentioned is the benefits of becoming a nurse anesthetist over an MD. For one, they get paid around 200k and don't have to cover malpractice insurance, which I know is usually rather expensive. Anesthesiologists clearly possess far more knowledge than their nurse counterparts or AA's, but my question is this: Is being an Anesthesiologist really more worthwhile and practical than being a Nurse Anesthetist or AA?
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People go to medical school to become physicians. That's the motivation behind going to med school. It's not "anesthesia" but rather Physician first as the primary goal behind a medical school education. Residency then allows the new graduate a choice in specialty.

CRNAs are nurses first. That's their educational background. While this may not sound like much of a difference I can assure you the knowledge gap is huge not to mention the IQ, grades, tests scores necessary to go the MD route vs the nursing route. The militant CRNAs will tell you that it doesn't matter what route you pick: they are wrong.

CRNAs are moving to 36 months of education in order to get a Doctorate in Nursing practice. Again, this is just "fluff" to increase the value the terminal degree and attempt to equate their education with that of a Physician Anesthesiologist.

Now, that all said I believe CRNAs administer safe anesthesia to patients the vast majority of the time all across the USA. They can even give anesthesia safely to healthy patients having minor procedures without an Anesthesiologist being present. But, if something goes wrong the Anesthesiolgist would be of value.

For the sicker patients the role of the Anesthesiologist is essential to patient care and safety.
 
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FFP said:
:troll:
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Sorry but I wasn't trying to troll there.
BLADEMDA said:
People go to medical school to become physicians. That's the motivation behind going to med school. It's not "anesthesia" but rather Physician first as the primary goal behind a medical school education. Residency then allows the new graduate a choice in specialty.

CRNAs are nurses first. That's their educational background. While this may not sound like much of a difference I can assure you the knowledge gap is huge not to mention the IQ, grades, tests scores necessary to go the MD route vs the nursing route. The militant CRNAs will tell you that it doesn't matter what route you pick: they are wrong.

CRNAs are moving to 36 months of education in order to get a Doctorate in Nursing practice. Again, this is just "fluff" to increase the value the terminal degree and attempt to equate their education with that of a Physician Anesthesiologist.

Now, that all said I believe CRNAs administer safe anesthesia to patients the vast majority of the time all across the USA. They can even give anesthesia safely to healthy patients having minor procedures without an Anesthesiologist being present. But, if something goes wrong the Anesthesiolgist would be of value.

For the sicker patients the role of the Anesthesiologist is essential to patient care and safety.
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Thank you so much! That's kind of what I figured, because I can tell the difference simply between the level of effort in terms of grades and academics in general with myself vs. some friends of mine that plan to be nurses. I never considered the nurse first - doctor first aspect, so thanks for pointing that out.
 
Like Blade put it, do you want to be a doctor, or do you want to be a nurse? Or do you want to be a doctors assistant? Those are the three jobs that you are asking about....


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BLADEMDA said:
People go to medical school to become physicians. That's the motivation behind going to med school. It's not "anesthesia" but rather Physician first as the primary goal behind a medical school education. Residency then allows the new graduate a choice in specialty.

CRNAs are nurses first. That's their educational background. While this may not sound like much of a difference I can assure you the knowledge gap is huge not to mention the IQ, grades, tests scores necessary to go the MD route vs the nursing route. The militant CRNAs will tell you that it doesn't matter what route you pick: they are wrong.

CRNAs are moving to 36 months of education in order to get a Doctorate in Nursing practice. Again, this is just "fluff" to increase the value the terminal degree and attempt to equate their education with that of a Physician Anesthesiologist.

Now, that all said I believe CRNAs administer safe anesthesia to patients the vast majority of the time all across the USA. They can even give anesthesia safely to healthy patients having minor procedures without an Anesthesiologist being present. But, if something goes wrong the Anesthesiolgist would be of value.

For the sicker patients the role of the Anesthesiologist is essential to patient care and safety.
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Seems like my school moved to the dnp for crnas without any change in curriculum. Which makes sense considering the value of the degree
 
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BLADEMDA said:
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Don’t look now but nurse anesthetist pay is comparable to primary care physicians, despite differences in years of education between the two professions.

Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are making an average salary of $189,000 year, according to the most recent Review of Physician and CRNA Recruiting Incentives, issued by Merritt Hawkins & Associates. Compare that to the average salary offer made to: family physicians ($173,000), internists ($186,000), and pediatricians ($171,000), according to the report.

Primary care doctors must complete four years of college, four years of medical school and three years of residency for a total of 11 years. CRNAs must complete a four-year nursing program, then complete a two to three year master’s program in anesthesiology for a total of six to seven years.
 
Dr. Doom MD said:
So recently something I've been considering is the value of being an anesthesiologist over a nurse anesthetist. Obviously I'm young and not the most knowledgeable on this subject, but I would like to be an anesthesiologist. I have relatives who work in the medical field and something they mentioned is the benefits of becoming a nurse anesthetist over an MD. For one, they get paid around 200k and don't have to cover malpractice insurance, which I know is usually rather expensive. Anesthesiologists clearly possess far more knowledge than their nurse counterparts or AA's, but my question is this: Is being an Anesthesiologist really more worthwhile and practical than being a Nurse Anesthetist or AA?
Click to expand...
 
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