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Difference Between Anesthetist and Anesthesiologist?

asked 2 years ago by Researcher7 in Michigan
Latest answer by Brian M. Braithwaite, MD
Question viewed 8,654 times
Tags: face, neck

Is there a difference between an anesthetist and an anesthesiologist? Is it safe to have a face lift, or neck lift under anethesia that was administered by an anesthetist, in a plastic surgeon's office facility? That is, they have operating rooms and say it has some qualifying certification.

17 answers to Difference Between Anesthetist and Anesthesiologist?

An Anesthesiologist is a doctor and an Anesthetist is a nurse

This is a significant difference you have touched upon! Such an important difference, in fact, that the AAAASF (the most demanding of all accreditation agencies for a plastic surgeon's OR) requires that you have an MD Anesthesiologist. The doctor clearly has a higher level of training and responsibility and this is a saftey issue for the patients in sorting out who to go to for your surgery.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

An Anesthesiologist has an MD; an Anesthetist is a nurse

Hi there- The primary difference is the education and training involved. An anesthesiologist is a doctor who has completed years of training in anesthesiology. An anesthetist is a nurse, who after a few years of experience, returned to anesthesia school for 2 years of anesthesia training. While, being doctors, anesthesiologists are able to practice as independent professionals, anesthetists are only able to administer anesthesia under the supervision of a physician. This supervising... more

Armando Soto, MD
Orlando Plastic Surgeon

Anesthetist vs Anesthesiologist

Very different. Anesthetist is usually a nurse with extra training in the field of anesthesiologist and has the ability to administer anesthesia. In most surgery centers and hospital settings they work under the supervision of a board certified Anesthesiologist. Anesthesiologist is a physician who has gone through medical school, internship and then an accredited residency training program in a US hospital. A board certified anesthesiologist is certainly more qualified than an anesthetist... more

Tanveer Janjua, MD
Bedminster Facial Plastic Surgeon

Anesthesiologist is a physician and anesthetist is a nurse.

An anesthetist has an R.N. degree and went to nursing school and did a usually two-year nursing anesthetist program. An M.D. physician anesthesiologist went to four years of medical school then completed four or five years of residency specializing just in anesthesia. Both anesthetists and anesthesiologists are very well qualified to perform anesthesia. Physician anesthesiologists are able to perform more complicated anesthetics when multiple medical complications present themselves with... more

William Portuese, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

Anesthetist is a nurse; anesthesiologist a doctor. Be cautious about general anesthesia in office

Nurse anesthetists typically work under the supervision of an anesthesiologist (MD) in a hospital. The problem with general anesthesia outside of a hospital operating room is the lack of emergency support when something goes wrong (e.g. Michael Jackson). Although nurse anesthetists typically give anesthesia throughout the case, the MD anesthesiologist is always present during induction and emergence, the two critical phases of general anesthesia. The limitations of office surgey are many,... more

Brooke R. Seckel, MD
Boston Plastic Surgeon

Anesthesiologist vs Anesthetist

An anesthesiologist is an MD; an anesthetist is an RN. With proper training both are qualified to administer anesthesia in a surgeon's accredited office operating room. Over the past 30 years I have used both. Make sure the operating rooms are accredited or certified. Here in California we have made this a legal requirement.

Richard W. Fleming, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Anesthesiologist vs anesthetist?

This is a difficult question to answer and is hotly debated and not dissimilar to similar questions such as opthalmologist vs optometrist, or podiatrist vs orthopedic surgeon. As already stated an anesthetist usually refers to a nurse (RN or CRNA) whereas an anesthesiologist refers to a phsician (MD or DO). Generally physicians can be independent practitioners whereas Nurse anesthetists in most states must work in relation/association with a physican. Physicians also generally carry a... more

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Anesthesiologist for office surgery.

Hi! In our New York City ACCREDITED office surgical suite, we think it is safest to have anesthesia by board certified anesthesiologists. These are medical doctors who did a residency in anesthesia, and then passed rigorous testing. Some anesthetists are good, but they are not doctors, and have not had nearly as much training.

George J. Beraka, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Anesthesia safety

There are many highly qualified people who administer anesthesia and both an anesthetist (typically an RN) and an anesthesiologist (an MD) are capable. There are well trained and very competent people in both fields, just as there are people with poor skills in both fields. In my own practice we use an anesthesiologist for sedation as I prefer having another physician to monitor the patient. In situations where the Surgeon uses an anesthetist, the surgeon would become the supervising... more

Darrick E. Antell, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Nurse anesthetists are highly trained specialists

Just a quick point of clarification to add: An RN can give sedation under the supervision of an MD, but a nurse anesthetist (CRNA) has years of additional training to specialize in giving anesthesia. They still must work with an MD, usually the surgeon. No differences in safety or other outcomes have been demonstrated between anesthesiologists and CRNA's, though some make an effort to imply that having the MD anesthesiologist is better (I disagree and use a CRNA). BTW, in the British system... more

Richard Baxter, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Excellent question

Simply put an anesthetist is an RN and an Anesthesiologist is an MD. It is common for an anesthetist to give sedation in the office setting and certainly within anyone's standard of care. I would allow any of our nurse anesthetists to give sedation to any of my family members!

S. Randolph Waldman, MD
Lexington Facial Plastic Surgeon

Your care with an anesthetist might actually be better

Dear Researcher I have worked with many anesthesiologist and anesthetists. The anesthesiologist is a physician who has completed a residency in anesthesiology. A Certified Nurse Anesthetist is a nurse with a four year degree (BSN) and a minimum of 1 year of critical care nursing. However, I believe that the average is about 5 years. This experience is often minimized by anesthesiologists who feel they are financially competing with the CRNA. However, critical care nurse operate under very... more

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD
Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon

Surgical Suite accreditation is essential

I think you have been given very good information by Dr. Pfeifer in the post above. I would like to add my emphasis to the importance of having the proper accreditation for the facility where you are doing your surgery. Make sure the accreditation is done by one of the organizations that she noted. Board certified plastic surgeons that are members of ASPS are required to only operate in accredited facilities. If the facility is properly accredited then the people working there have the... more

Marcus L. Peterson, MD
Saint George Plastic Surgeon

Anesthesiologist vs Nurse Anesthetist

Anesthesiologists are physicians and anesthetists are nurses with advanced (and usually quite good) education and training. State law dictates whether or not nurses can work alone, without anesthesiologists, and the operating surgeon supervises them when an anesthesiologist is not mandated. Most hospitals and facilities use a combination of both to control costs. My feeling is that healthy patients almost always do well with either because the risk is so low to begin with.... more

Brian M. Braithwaite, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Operating room certification and anesthesia are crucial issues!

Safety is the first concern when to come to outpatient facility and anaesthesia. When it comes to free standing surgery centers, it is very important to check for certification e.g AAA, AAAA etc... An anesthesiologist is an MD; an anesthetist is an RN. I use board certified anesthrsiologists but I know of many nurse anesthetists who are equally good. Best of luck!

Hisham Seify, MD, PhD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Anesthesiologist = MD, anesthetist = RN, usually

Dear Researcher: You as a question the many of our patients ask. An anesthesiologist is a MD physician working in the field of anesthesia. Most anesthesiologists are board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology, and provide physician level anesthesia care. Many supervise nurse anesthetists who then deliver the care directly. Our office surgical facility chooses to only use a board certified MD anesthesiologist for our cosmetic surgical cases. An anesthetist is a more general... more

Sutton Graham II, MD
Greenville Plastic Surgeon

Is office based surgery safe with an anesthetist?

Hi. An anesthesiologist is a physician. An anesthetist usually refers to a nurse. Both have training in administering anesthesia; however a physician has more training and education. The regulations vary from state to state. In some states, a nurse anesthetist can work on their own, without supervision by an anesthesiologist. In other states, nurse anesthetists must be supervised by an on-site anesthesiologist. This is so that if something goes wrong, the more skilled anesthesiologist... more

Tracy Pfeifer, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

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