Anesthesiologist ~ Nurse Anesthetist

Can someone explain more about these two positions? I looked them up on the internet which explained the basic facts but what I'm wanting to know is...

Do you always have both during surgery?

If so, what is each ones' separate function?

Why is there a need for both?

Thanks.

swee2th

An Anesthesiologist is a Medical doctor specializing in the field of anesthesiology. A nurse anesthetist is a RN with further education (usually 4 yrs) enabling him/her to work under an anethesiologist guidence and give anesthetics. Only one or the other will do the surgery. An anesthesiologist must be available to assist the anesthesist if necessary. Some insurance plans will only pay for an anesthesiologist. Hope this helps.

The previous post has a few errors. An Anesthesiologist is an MD or DO who specializes in Anesthesiology. A Nurse Anesthetist is a Registered Nurse who specializes in Anesthesia. The usually title is Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). While at larger facilities you often find CRNAs being supervised by Anesthesiologists, that is not required by law in most states. In most states, CRNAs are recognized as independent practitioners and work on their own with no physician supervision. In many of the rural hospitals you will find one or two CRNAs supplying all of the anesthesia coverage. In some situations you will find Anesthesiologists and CRNAs working at the same facility with no supervision responsibilities assigned to the Anesthesiologist, with each of the practitioners doing their own cases independently of the other.

For further information check out the respective websites. www.aana.com for the CRNAs and www.asahq.org for the Anesthesiologists.

Keep in mind that there is some "competition" between the two groups so at times their respective associations may present information that is a bit biased in their favor. The bottom line is that the safety record for both Anesthesiologists and CRNAs is the same, they both provide high quality care.