Providers are sounding the alarm on the impending shortage and what it could mean for the specialty.
“This shortage is driving a shift in practice models, particularly in states requiring supervision, where anesthesiologist assistants are unable to practice independently,” Jeff Tieder, MSN, CRNA, clinical assistant professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, told Becker’s. “The key question is, ‘How will anesthesia care teams adapt when there aren’t enough physician anesthesiologists to supervise?’ In response, we may see a growing reliance on CRNA-led models, as CRNAs in most states can practice independently or under the supervision of a surgeon, whereas AAs cannot.”
The American Society of Anesthesiologists, led by Richard Dutton, MD, presented a number of responses to the impending shortage in a new report titled “National Anesthesia Workforce.”
The report lays out that because every single hospital and surgery center in America needs anesthesia services, hiring and retaining qualified talent is becoming increasingly more difficult.
Here are three proposals to address the problem:
1. Train more providers. ASA recommends expanding existing residency programs, adding more spots for new practitioners. New residency programs are opening nationwide every year, and this needs to continue.
2. Import more overseas clinicians. Currently, practicing anesthesia in the U.S. is favorable to overseas physicians. Currently, state and local laws nationally impact overseas physicians’ ability to practice in the U.S. The ASA recommends a revision to those policies.
3. Take advantage of MD specialties with a surplus of workers. Some emergency medicine or primary care physicians could work as “sedationists” with current training.