To become either a Fellow or Student member of the GAAA and an Education Affiliate member of the GSA, click the heading "Membership" on the top of the Home page.

The GAAA strives to realize several objectives. The organization acts as a liaison between the AA profession and the GSA, the Georgia Medical Board, and the Georgia Hospital Association. GAAA also works to promote and increase the visibility of the profession throughout the state while updating members on current political and legislative activities that affect AA practice in Georgia. Additionally, the GAAA works to increase job opportunities for practicing AAs both inside and outside the state of Georgia.

The GAAA is the only organization dedicated to protecting and promoting AA practice in the Anesthesia Care Team model in Georgia. With the current changing climate of healthcare delivery, it is fundamentally imperative that there be a strong organization in place to promote the interests of AAs.

In the 1960s, three practicing anesthesiologists (Drs. Joachim Gravenstein, John Steinhaus, and Perry Volpitto) were concerned about the shortage of anesthesiologists. They researched and evaluated the possibility of creating a new type of mid-level anesthesia provider that would work in a care team model under the medical direction of a physician anesthesiologist. The result was the creation of the original AA Programs at Emory University in Atlanta and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, which matriculated their first classes in 1969 and 1970, respectively.

AAs practice either under licensure or under delegatory authority of the supervising anesthesiologist. States where AAs currently practice under licensure law are: Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Vermont, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Indiana, and Washington, D,C. AAs practice currently under delegatory authority in Texas and Michigan.

Anesthesiologist Assistants are graduates of one of the accredited AA Programs who have passed the initial and then subsequent certifying exams. They have a pre-medical background and have completed coursework and training in anesthesia over the 24-28 months of their programs to earn a Master's Degree. During the course of their training, they have also completed over 2,000 clinical hours in hospital and surgery centers operating rooms.

The best information can be found at the American Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants (AAAA) website using this link: https://www.anesthetist.org/hire-a-caa.