Should nurses (CRNAs) be able to administer anesthesia without doctor supervision - Essay Example

ving gone through four year training and earned a degree in nursing, taken another two years in clinical training and worked in the field more than a decade, Clifford on his own was still not set to handle the unexpected dire situation. The training he underwent as a nurse had only equipped him with the skill to administer medicine, work the equipment, and ensure the smooth working of the procedural anesthesia delivery. In the recent past there has been a growing call for nurses (CRNAs) to be allowed to administer anesthesia without doctor supervision.

This new development emanates from the 2001 changes made on regulations governing Medicare and Medicaid that allowed states to opt out of the requirement that CRNA be supervised. According to supporters of the move, the removal of the existing requirement works to increase access to health care, particularly for the people in the rural areas. Today, states such as Colorado have already embraced this new idea. This work argues out the point that it may be dangerous to allow CRNAs to administer anesthesia without the supervision of doctors.

First, compared to physician anesthesiologists, a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) training is limited especially when it comes to understanding medical response, medical diagnosis, and the ultra-complex operation of human body system. As in the case of Clifford, many nurses are likely to tense when faced with situation where such systems are under the influence of a drug induced coma, thus endangering the patient’s life (Kahana, 381-383). Supervisory doctors or physician anesthesiologists typically depict higher knowledge when compared to that acquired by CRNAs.

This training places them in a better position to make on-the spot medical decisions frequently required when handling adverse situations in the operating room. The decisions include those made in the whole perioperative experience to even those depicted in the life-threatening circumstances. This is not