TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — You see them in the doctor's offices or hospital when you go in for a procedure.
Thirty states allow nurses with advanced training to practice without a physician supervising them according to Rep.Cary Pigman of Sebring.
On Tuesday, about 200 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists gathered in Tallahassee to support House Bill 607. Rep. Pigman is the bill's sponsor. He's a doctor who has been pushing for years to allow Advanced Practice Registered Nurses and CRNAs to have their own practice. He’s been working with them shoulder to shoulder as part of a team taking care of patients.
Pigman says under the bill, the average CRNA would have 10 years of education and experience between getting their degrees and spending years in supervised clinical practice.
The President of the Florida Association of Nurse Anesthetists, or FANA, says CRNAs have an estimated 9,369 hours of clinical training. Dr Jose D. Castillo says people should learn more about their backgrounds.
They believe allowing nurses with an advanced education to care for patients without a physician watching over could make more options for health care available, especially in rural areas. Only two percent of physicians practice in 30 rural communities in Florida according to Floridians Unite for Health Care.
Pigman spoke about how the resistance to allow autonomous practice appears sexist at today’s rally.
“Eighty-five percent of Advanced Practice Nurses are women. And last year, during the renewal period for physicians, 70 percent of physicians in Florida who renewed their license were men," Pigman said. "If you don’t hear that number and take a second thought, you’re missing out. Because whether or not the dismissal of such a large group of qualified and capable women is intentional, it is something that cannot stand.
"It is on its face sexist and reprehensible."
He also says the Florida Medical Association is making false claims and using scare tactics to prevent people from supporting the bill.
Opponents say they have concerns about surgery outcomes without a doctor supervising giving a patient anesthesia. Clearwater anesthesiologist Dr. Jay Epstein told 10News, “The benefit of having a physician anesthesiologist or a physician involved in some manner with the anesthetic has been proven over time in terms of rescue.”
He added, “my biggest concern is the disruption of the very successful anesthesia team care model, which is a paradigm of what Speaker Oliva and Representative Pigman are trying to achieve in the health care space. This physician-led and protocol-driven partnership between doctors, advanced nurses, and mid-level practitioners (anesthesiologist assistants) provides access to the highest quality care at the lowest possible cost.”
Another doctor tweeted, “Expanding scope in and of itself is not a viable long-term solution. There are many States that have done so and the gaps in care have not been closed at all.”
What other people are reading right now:
- What caused the crash that killed Kobe? Photos show how hard it could be to find out
- 7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes the Caribbean, reportedly felt in Miami
- President Trump's Middle East peace plan calls for Palestinian state, settlement freeze
- 'Star Voyagers' | Remembering the astronauts killed in the Challenger space shuttle explosion
- Sheriffs: Group broke into homes, stole $1M in stuff, including Dali artwork and a Jimi Hendrix guitar
- FDA warns Purell to stop claiming its hand sanitizers can stop the flu, Ebola
- The Tampa Bay 55 podcast is here. Listen to the first episode!
- Attention viewers: WTSP is undergoing planned work on our tower
