We’re celebrating National Nurse Anesthetists Week on January 20 – 26, 2013. According to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, this year marks the 14th annual celebration which began in 1999.
History tells us that the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) were the first nurse specialists who were able to provide anesthesia care in the U.S.
During World War I, nurse anesthetists were the primary volunteers to bring instrumental improvement and implement modern techniques in anesthesia. Today, CRNAs play an important role in anesthesia care serving both civilian and military patients.
With this week’s celebration, we are bringing back this article on CRNA to highlight once more the contributions they provide in the health care system.
The following is some information gleaned from researching the site regarding the practice and history of the field of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). For this article, I went to the source: The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists website.
Table of Contents
What do CRNAs do?
CRNAs provide anesthesia services in a variety of healthcare settings. CRNAs collaborate with other health professionals (i.e. anesthesiologists, surgeons, and dentists) to provide anesthesia services to patients.
Did you know that when a nurse anesthetist gives anesthesia, the service falls under the nursing practice, but when an anesthesiologist gives anesthesia, his/her service falls under the practice of medicine?The interesting part is that both professionals administer the anesthesia in the same manner.
Where do CRNAs practice?
CRNAs can be found in all medical settings where anesthesia is delivered. Some examples are rural hospitals, surgical suites in hospitals, delivery rooms, dental offices, offices of plastic surgeons, and pain management centers. CRNAs also work with the US Military, in Public Health, and with Veterans Affairs.
What are the advantages of becoming a CRNA?
You will have both independence and respect as an advanced practice nurse.That’s because you will have a high degree of responsibility and workload, your compensation package will reflect this.
How do I become a CRNA?
Education and experience required to become a CRNA include:
1. A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or other appropriate baccalaureate degree
2. A current license as a registered nurse
3. At least one year of experience as a registered nurse in an acute care setting
5. Graduation with a master’s degree from an accredited nurse anesthesia educational program. As of February 2008, there were 109 nurse anesthesia programs with more than 1,800 affiliated clinical sites in the United States. These programs range from 24-36 months, depending upon university requirements. All programs include clinical training in university-based or large community hospitals.
6. Pass a national certification examination following graduation
History
Did you know that nurses have been providing anesthesia services for over 150 years? Credentialing for Nurse Anesthetists came about in 1956.
When it came to the military, nurse anesthetists have been recognized as key providers of anesthesia to military men and women since WWI. Nurses first provided this type of service during the Civil War! Nurses in this field are currently working with our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Statistics
“According to a 1999 report from the Institute of Medicine, anesthesia care is nearly 50 times safer than it was in the early 1980s. Numerous outcomes studies have demonstrated that there is no difference in the quality of care provided by CRNAs and their physician counterparts.”
“CRNAs are anesthesia professionals who safely administer approximately 30 million anesthetics to patients each year in the United States, according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists’ (AANA) 2007 Practice Profile Survey”
CRNAs are highly represented in rural hospitals and in many states are the only providers of anesthesia services in almost 100% of rural hospitals.