More good news for advanced practice nurses and physician assistants, as California becomes the 15th state to liberalize requirements for nurse anesthetists to practice independently.
Though some medical organizations — shockingly!! — oppose the move, two large, recent studies confirm what many medical professionals and patients have known for years: Well-trained, skilled nurse anesthetists can safely provide anesthesia to clients undergoing surgery or childbirth.
As fellow “mid-level clinicians” (do you have a better term?? e-mail it to me or write it in the comments!), we owe it to the nurse anesthetists to speak up in their favor. Write to your legislator to support laws like California’s, comment on editorials and articles dealing with this issue, and advise your patients that they will be just as safe in nurses’ hands as in doctors’.
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