Which physician was active in stating that nurse anesthetists violated medical practice acts and had to be banned?

• A. Dr. Francis McMechan
• B. Dr. Robert Farr
• C. George W. Crile
• D. Hodgins

Answer: (A)

During the early regulation of medical practice, there was a clash over who could administer anesthesia. Medical practice acts defined who was authorized to perform medical procedures, and some physicians argued that nurse anesthetists were practicing medicine without proper authority, calling for them to be banned. The physician who stood out for actively making this argument was Dr. Francis McMechan. His stance reflects a period when physician groups pushed to keep anesthesia under physician supervision and to restrict non-physician practice to protect safety and professional boundaries. Other figures on the list contributed to anesthesia or medical policy in ways that didn’t center on advocating a ban, so this particular position is most closely associated with Dr. Francis McMechan.