Marc Roettger

HST ISM- 1st period

September 28, 2015
ISM- Project Introduction and Purpose Paper
This is my senior year at Clear Springs High School, and I wanted to have spent it, trying
to have had figured out what it is I exactly want to do with my life. Im taking Independent
Student Mentorship for the fall semester of my senior year, mentoring under an anesthesiologist,
Dr. Arceneaux, MD at Memorial Herman Southeast and Cornerstone Hospital. For my semester
project, Im going to do an in depth study over the role of an anesthesiologist verses an
anesthetist to answer the question, is it worth the extra schooling and the added expense to a
hospital to have an established anesthesiologist, or is an anesthetist taking over the duties a
positive, cheaper alternative?
Throughout this semester, I will be researching the processes of applying anesthesia, the
differences between an anesthesiologist verses an anesthetist, and will include research from the
Nursing Handbook Debate. I chose this area of study because Dr. Arceneaux is a family friend
and has invaluable experience. I chose this specific topic after talking with him, because it is a
very popular debate in the current media, and it could potentially affect Dr. Arceneaux directly.
The project itself, I plan to have two main parts, which are the product; a video of the
anesthesia application process, pre, during and post op; and a power point that includes all of my
research and a formulated opinion based on that research. A main focus of the project will be the
Nursing Handbook Debate, which has been highlighting how the VA is considering a proposal
that would require VAs Advanced Practice Registered Nurses to be designated as independent

Marc Roettger
HST ISM- 1st period
September 28th, 2015

practitioners, regardless of individual state regulations. While I want to come to a concise

conclusion over the debate, I do however want to look at how this will affect everyone, and
understand why people take the stance that they do. For example, from a hospital perspective,
not all hospitals pay there anesthesiologist, the anesthesiologist bills the patient directly, so
having an experienced doctor is not necessarily a financial burden for the hospital. From a
patient view point, some patients might like the fact that they dont have to pay as much for the
anesthesia part of their surgery, while some might just want the more experienced doctor, and
from the surgeons view point, maybe the surgeon, who is the most directly responsible for the
outcome of the surgery, would probably want a doctor, at the very least, supervising, over a nurse
by themselves, regardless of how much it will cost.
The reason I wanted to do this topic is because the outcome effects so many people. My
main goal is to come to a conclusion that is fact based and well researched, while also
legitimizing points of view that dont agree with me. I will present this in power point form with
a video to accompany it and to add a visual aid, highlighting the differences between an
anesthesiologist and an anesthetist. I hope that others will get enough evidence and
understanding from this project to form their own opinions based on facts, even if it differs from
mine.