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TALLAHASSEE - Anesthesiology assistants will be allowed to practice in Florida, helping doctors put people under for surgery, if Gov. Jeb Bush signs a bill sent to him Friday by the Legislature.
The measure (CS SB 626) has been before lawmakers for several years. Anesthesiologists, who are medical doctors, support it, while nurse anesthetists have argued that assistants are less well trained to administer anesthesia and will endanger patients. The issue has been one of the most heavily lobbied in the Capitol in recent years.
The House passed the measure 74-39; the Senate passed it earlier this session. Bush hasn't said whether he'll sign it.
Rep. Yolly Roberson, D-Miami, a registered nurse, called it the "worst bill this session." She said certified registered nurse anesthetists have critical care experience before they're allowed to administer anesthesia. Assistants, she said, won't have that vital background.
Others argued that assistants are quite qualified to help anesthetize patients, noting that they are trained in schools affiliated with medical schools, that they must be supervised by doctors, and that it is the surgeons who want them to be allowed to practice.