Mass. Because the courts do not understand what nurse anesthetists do, they designate nurse anesthesia as a profession. The profession sets its own standards of care, and when the courts are faced with questions as to what those standards are, the courts ask for experts to testify. Some people erroneously assume or question whether there is a dual standard of care in the anesthesia field, one for anesthesiologists and one for nurse anesthetists. In fact, because of the nature of anesthesia and the fact that attention and proper monitoring of patients is the overwhelming consideration in the practice of anesthesia, there is in fact a single standard of care. The single standard of care is reflected not only in the .reality of practice' but also in the decided cases which discuss the standard of care.
Standard of care is closely related to the quality of care.
A profession. which renders care at a lower standard than another will, necessarily, have a different quality of care. Numerous cases have set forth the standard of care for nurses, 'to apply that degree of skill and learning in treating and nursing a patient which is customarily applied in treating or caring for the sick or wounded who are suffering in the same community. The charge was made that nurses had to be examined on the same negligence standard as the general population. In fact most cases have recognized that nursing is a skilled profession to which malpractice standards apply. In Whitney v. Day , the courts specifically discuss the profession of nurse anesthetists.