Fascinating article

[Planktonmd]

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This is a fascinating speech by Caroline Palmer M.D addressing the California medical association in 1933:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=1658770&blobtype=pdf

I found it amazing that 74 years ago they knew that we should not allow non physicians to practice anesthesia but they still did it!

 

[VolatileAgent]

i'm equally amazed that a woman gave this speech. female physicians were few and far between back then.

 

[Planktonmd]

I am bringing this one back because I think it's important for the new guys to realize how long our specialty has been struggling with the same issues.

 

[VolatileAgent]

Years ago I was called to anesthetize a patient
who had developed mastoiditis in the course of
pneumonia. He was desperately ill, his heart
being in an especially alarming condition. The
surgeon asked me to give chloroform because of
the pneumonia. I mentioned the heart condition,
but he insisted that chloroform was the least of
evils. I said that a patient in the condition of this
one would not live through even induction with
chloroform. The reply was, "Well, what are we
to do ?" I suggested local. "No, impossible."
Nitrous oxid and oxygen? "No." At last in
desperation, I said, "I am sorry, but I must
refuse to act as executioner. Gas is the only general
anesthetic possible in his condition." Finally
the surgeon consented, and I gave nitrous oxid
and oxygen with the only apparatus then available-
a first-model Teeter machine with no pressure
control, with nitrous oxid cylinders holding
one hundred gallons, and oxygen cylinders with
a capacity of forty gallons. The operation required
two hours, and when it was finished I felt
years older; but the patient was alive and uninjured
by his anesthetic. What would an anesthetic
technician have done in this case?

great stuff, man. i predict a lot more of this scenario, with bad outcomes, if the AANA gets their bidding.

 

[jetproppilot]

I am bringing this one back because I think it's important for the new guys to realize how long our specialty has been struggling with the same issues.

I hope your point is taken in the correct context by my fearful resident/ med-student colleagues.

I've tried to convey an opinion of "yeah, I see your point. And it is valid. And we need to do something about it. But the sky is NOT falling."

To no avail.

Its OK, though.

Back in the mid nineties when I was a resident, the sky was falling then, too.

CRNAs were on the brink of taking over, I was told.

Alas, I'd picked the wrong specialty.

My specialty was being taken over by mid-levels.

So here I am, eleven years later, able to put on a blindfold, randomly let my finger fall on a city on a United States map, and make 350-400 K a year.

Maybe 700K if I wanna live where noone else does.

Yep.

I definitely picked the wrong specialty.

 

[Planktonmd]

Yes, that is the point, It's not the end of the world, We do have major issues, but we always did!