“Nurse Anesthesiologist” is Commercial Free Speech

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed June 19 an opinion by a federal district court in Texas, saying certain types of advertising restrictions enforced by the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners on dentists - including dentist anesthesiologists - violated dentists' First Amendment rights to engage in commercial speech.

Notably, the court noted that in order for commercial speech to be protected under the First Amendment, it "must concern lawful activity and not be misleading." 

While involving the profession of dentistry and as such having a number of nuances, the parallels are clear: CRNAs who advertise as “nurse anesthesiologists” - itself a term recognized by the national body - are advertising in a way that is “lawful and not misleading” and as such would fall under commercial free speech protection.

Read the entire brief:

http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/16/16-50157-CV0.pdf