Allocation of tasks between anesthesiologists and anesthesia nurses in Finland
- 1 July 2006
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
- Vol. 50 (6), 659-663
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-6576.2006.01036.x
Abstract
The shortage of anesthesiologists in Finland is worsening. A survey was carried out in 2003 among head anesthesiologists and head nurses to clarify current practice and the potentials for reorganizing tasks between anesthesiologists and anesthesia nurses. A national working group analyzed the results. A questionnaire concerning doctor and nurse resources in anesthesiology, current allocation of tasks, and opinions on how these tasks could be reallocated was sent to 87 head anesthesiologists and 32 head nurses in 45 different hospitals. The answers from the doctors and nurses were compared. The response rate of doctors and nurses was 87% and 100%, respectively. In the enrolled hospitals there were 64 unoccupied positions for specialists in anesthesiology. The ratio of anesthesiologists to operation rooms (OR) they attended varied between 0.3 and 1.5. Doctors and nurses reported the allocation of tasks quite similarly. The great majority of respondents considered spinal, epidural, and interscalene brachial plexus blocks, and the induction of general anesthesia to be tasks that should be performed by an anesthesiologist. Very few respondents of either profession were willing to reallocate tasks so that nurses could deliver general anesthesia, including endotracheal intubation, even in low-risk patients. Nurses could be trained nationwide to perform procedures already performed by locally trained nurses in some hospitals. To cope with the shortage of anesthesiologists, other strategies must be adopted in addition to transferring part of their work load to nurses.Keywords
This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
- Careers in anaesthesiaBritish Journal of Anaesthesia, 2005
- Career choices for anaesthesia: national surveys of graduates of 1974–2002 from UK medical schools † †This article is accompanied by Editorial II.British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2005
- A demand-based assessment of the Canadian anesthesia workforce — 2002 through 2007Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie, 2005
- An Updated View of the National Anesthesia Personnel ShortfallAnesthesia & Analgesia, 2003
- Guidelines for the practice of anesthesia in NorwayActa Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, 2002
- Preoperative assessment: from tribalism to cooperationThe Lancet, 2001
- Who should provide anaesthesia?European Journal of Anaesthesiology, 2000
- Non-physician anaesthetists: can we agree on their role in Europe?European Journal of Anaesthesiology, 2000
- Demography of French anaesthesiologists. Results of a national survey by the French College of Anaesthesiologists (CFAR) and the French National Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care (SFAR), supported by the National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED)European Journal of Anaesthesiology, 1999
- Anaesthesiological manpower in EuropeEuropean Journal of Anaesthesiology, 1996