Can an RN administer general anesthesia?

When I had my wisdom teeth removed at an oral surgeon's office a few years ago, I was given general anesthesia by a regular RN. This RN was not a licensed advanced practice nurse and was VERY young (looked like she didn't have much experience). I'm not complaining or anything because there wasn't any sedation complications, but I always thought only certified registered nurse anesthetists could administer anesthesia. Laws probably differ from state to state regarding who can administer it, but its always something I've wondered about. Maybe she was allowed because it was fairly minor surgery and it was an outpatient setting with a DDS present in the room? Can RNs administer local anesthetics?

One other question - can RNs take x-rays or ultrasounds or not? Is it something only a technician can do?
In a private office, you can get away with a lot of stuff under your MD's direction, which is why so many offices don't even have nurses anymore. In my hospital, there have been a lot of directives and policies about anesthesia drugs, especially Propafol and Ketamine. Our BON scope is pretty adamant about RNs not giving anesthesia; in the ED we don't even push it when the doc is right there during a conscious sedation, we hand the syringe to them.Best place to find your answer is call the BON, or go on line to look up the scope of practice for your state.

I highly doubt you were given general anesthesia at the oral surgeon's office. More likely, you were given "procedural sedation". What an RN can and cannot do is governed by your State's Nurse Practice Act. These differ from state to state, but where I practice, yes, an RN can administer procedural sedation and local anesthetics, providing certain criteria are met.

It was definitely general anesthesia - they completely knocked me out. I was personally told by all the docs and nurses that they were giving me both local and general anesthetics. Also had nitrous oxide. Before the surgery they sent directions about not eating before the surgery because of the "general" anesthesia.

Quote from ~*Stargazer*~I highly doubt you were given general anesthesia at the oral surgeon's office. More likely, you were given "procedural sedation".

Quote from TinkkIt was definitely general anesthesia - they completely knocked me out. I was personally told by all the docs and nurses that they were giving me both local and general anesthetics. Also had nitrous oxide. Before the surgery they sent directions about not eating before the surgery because of the "general" anesthesia.

We do procedural sedation daily in my emergency department, and if you ask any patient who has undergone one of these procedures they would probably say they were "out" or "fully under" or some similar term. However, what we have given them is mostly definitely NOT a general anesthetic.You can google something like "difference between general anesthesia and moderate sedation" and get some useful information.

Trust us, you were NOT given general anesthesia in a doctor's office without an anesthesiologist or CRNA. That would include a complete paralytic and airway support in the form of an ETT, LMA or nasal intubation. The dentist/oral surgeon may have called it a general but you had IV sedation.

I am sure you were given "conscious sedation". I had this done during my wisdom tooth removal at my oral surgeon's office. It was done with propofol. You are given it IV push (in my case, by an anesthesiologist, not an RN) and you remember NOTHING. Next thing I knew I was done, and I asked them "are you guys ready to start?". The nurse laughed and said we were already done. It produces amnesia. You do need to be NPO for propofol. I was also give local anesthesia for pain control. I felt nothing and remembered nothing.So can RNs administer anesthesia? Not in this office, but I'm not sure about other office settings. As others pointed out, office settings allow RNs to do more and more under the MD's directive. I'm in Canada and I haven't heard of RNs doing this here.

Quote from TinkkIt was definitely general anesthesia - they completely knocked me out. I was personally told by all the docs and nurses that they were giving me both local and general anesthetics. Also had nitrous oxide. Before the surgery they sent directions about not eating before the surgery because of the "general" anesthesia.

Agreed with everyone else, I can almost guarantee you were given conscious sedation, not general anesthesia. My wisdom teeth were impacted so I was given IV fentanyl+versed for my extraction. You feel like you were put under because of the amnesia, but with conscious sedation you can actually follow simple commands, answer questions, and protect your own airway. And yes nurses can administer conscious sedation, I do routinely where I work, but everywhere is a little different.

I have nothing to add but wow, I had my wisdom teeth removed a long time ago and I wondered about that. I too have no recollection of the events. It was a nurse who administered the medication. All I remember is I HATED the way they made me felt initially. Wonder what I said/did while they were performing the extraction. I had general anesthesia and it was a much bigger "to do," which makes more sense now.

"getting away with" generally means the nurse and the Doctor are both clueless about the nurse practice act in that state. Great setup for lawsuit. I would protect my license and know for sure whether or not it is ok. In Texas only CRNA's can provide general anesthesia and nurses can do moderate sedation under certain situations and with specific drugs. Does the dentist know how to intubate and maintain artificial airway? Doubt it