Expansion

Well, here is the headline:

Nurses Seek Expanded Role

This is a headline that you will see more and more in the future.  Sort of.  First of all, it is not factually correct.  This story is about CRNAs and not regular nurses.  They are the midlevels of the anesthesia world.   They started as a collaborative effort to work with doctors in that field but now are trying to compete with them:

A federal agency is weighing whether to reimburse a specialized type of nurse for giving chronic-pain treatments, a move opposed by some doctors and one that critics say could complicate the battle against prescription painkiller abuse By Nov. 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expected to decide whether nurse anesthetists should be directly reimbursed by Medicare for evaluating, diagnosing and treating pain with epidural injections or prescription painkillers called opioids. The CMS rule, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2013, would reimburse nurse anesthetists on a par with doctors, signaling to private insurers and states that they are qualified to treat pain and may assume a more active role with such patients.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?  I have no idea why they would be given freedom in pain control but that is the power grab being launched by CRNAs.   It ceases to amaze me that doctors are afraid to speak up.   Remember this article, When The Nurse Wants To Be Called “Doctor”?

Wanting and deserving are two totally different things.