Specialist Nurses Making Big Bucks

 Specialist Nurses Making Big Bucks

         In the CNN Money article, "Some nurses paid more than family doctors,” author Parija Kavilanz discusses the disparity in salaries between Primary Care Doctors and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs).  Kavilanz states that "the nation is already facing a shortage of about 60,000 primary care doctors." (Kavilanz, 2010) She suggests that there should be more incentives in place for medical students to choose primary care as their specialty. Currently, primary care physicians are paid less than CRNAs, making it difficult to recruit more primary care doctors.

Kavilanz uses facts and figures from recruiting and consulting firms to show the disparity between salaries of primary care doctors and CNRAs. She states that "Primary care doctors were offered an average base salary of $173,000 in 2009 compared to an average base salary of $189,000 offered to certified nurse anesthetists." (Kavilanz, 2010) However, The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) disagrees with these figures, based on their own data. This discrepancy in figures clearly calls into question the validity of the author's statements.

The title of the article itself misleads the reader in that it leads you to believe that Registered Nurses in general are receiving a higher salary than a doctor. While this claim catches the reader’s eye, it does not convey the whole story. It is a type of very specific nurse working with anesthesia who receives a larger salary than a family doctor. Furthermore, as the AANA suggests, “comparing its members to family practice physicians is not appropriate, since they provide different services, and that a fairer comparison is to anesthesiologists, who make much more.” (Kavilanz, 2010) This information is presented at the end of the article and clearly refutes the title and main point of the article, which stands as a testament to how poorly the article is written. It is never in good form to invalidate your thesis at the conclusion of your work. While the author attempts to present both sides of the argument, she clearly does a poor job in disguising her prejudices on the topic.

While CRNAs receive higher wages than that of primary care physicians, this article does not present an adequate or fair comparison. More data and figures from multiples sources should be taken into consideration when producing an article of this type. This article only encourages an unfair misinterpretation of salaries in the medical field. 

References

Kavilanz, P. (2010, March 23). Specialist Nurses Paid Higher Salaries Than Family Doctors. Retrieved from CNN Money: http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/11/news/economy/health_care_doctor_incomes/index.htm