At the 2011 House of Delegates in Chicago, ASA unambiguously defined its position in full support of promoting the practice of anesthesiologist assistants (AAs). By so doing, ASA secured the future of the anesthesiologist-led care team and ensured the expanding availability of safe, high-quality anesthesia care brought by AAs.
Anyone who attended last year’s annual meeting probably witnessed or heard about the many important and growing contributions of AAs to anesthesiology and ASA. At the time of submission of this article, AAs practice in 18 states (including the District of Columbia) and the Veterans Affairs system (see Figure 1). AA’s mode of practice is always in the anesthesia care team led by an anesthesiologist. Their scope of practice is limited to the duties and responsibilities delegated to them by their medically-directing anesthesiologist and consistent with their facility’s medical staff bylaws and rules. AAs enjoy membership privileges in ASA and...
