Colorado hospitals can now choose whether to employ anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, or a combination of the two. The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that advanced-practice nurses can administer anesthetics without supervision in response to an appeal by the Colorado Society of Anesthesiologists and the Colorado Medical Society. Advanced-practice nurses who work one year in critical-care jobs and earn their master’s degree are eligible to become anesthetists. Nursing boards claim the training is identical to an anesthesiologist and that they be able to administer anesthesia unsupervised. Doctor’s groups, however, disagree claiming that should patient complications arise; a licensed doctor is the best person for the job. Hospitals and other healthcare providers are siding with the nurses and the courts. They claim there aren’t enough anesthesiologists in the state as it is and, even less so, in rural areas. In addition, hospitals claim that they need cost-effective solutions to prepare for the increase in patients due to healthcare reform. New Advanced-Practice Nurse’s Regulation May Be Causing a Bit of a Medical Turf War While hospitals are looking for improved operations and cost reduction opportunities, nursing and physician groups are ramping up their public relations. In an article in the [+]