VA Proposes Independent Status for All Advanced Practice RNs

medscape

.....The VHA proposal has set off alarm bells in organized medicine, already nervous about the prospect of physicians competing with NPs. At a press conference held September 9, the president-elect of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) said independent nurse anesthetists could jeopardize the care of the nation's veterans.
"Unfortunately, there's become a notion that you can take physician extenders and actually replace physicians [with them]," said Jane Fitch, MD, a former nurse anesthetist. "I'm here you to tell you from a personal perspective, we can't do that."
The training of anesthesiologists far exceeds that for nurse anesthetists in both duration and depth, said Dr. Fitch. That counts in an emergency.
"Surgical anesthesia can still be dangerous," she said. "Complications can occur that require medical interventions. We can never be too well-educated or too well-trained to function in this environment."............