Want to be sedated (for surgery)? Anesthesia assistants could help shorten wait times [Video]

One solution to a critical shortage of anesthesiologists in Canada could lie with increasing the ranks of anesthesia assistants, advocates say.

“In a situation where we have a serious … access to surgical care issue, we have to think about creative solutions to move forward and get people the care they need,” Dr. Sally Bird, pediatric anesthesiologist and chief of pediatric anesthesia at IWK Health Centre in Halifax, told Dr. Brian Goldman, host of CBC Radio’s White Coat, Black Art.

Although many Canadians may not yet be familiar with their work, the anesthesia assistant profession was established more than 50 years ago in Quebec and about 15 years ago in most other provinces. However, they are not yet available everywhere.

As the name suggests, anesthesia assistants (AAs) work under the direct supervision of anesthesiologists.

Rob Bryan, a veteran AA at Mackenzie Health in Richmond Hill, Ont., just north of Toronto, said that “the role of an anesthesia assistant is to …