Developments in the Field of Nurse Anesthetists Essay

Nursing education is constantly evolving as new techniques are introduced within the medical profession. Thus, it is imperative nurses are kept updated, and continuously learning new methods to enhance and improve patient care. Over the last 150 years there has been a drastic change in nursing`s participation in research. Nursing research advanced initially from the investigations made by Nightingale in the nineteenth century of nursing education during the 1930`s. This further progressed to the research of nursing roles in 1950s following on to the 1990s where nurses began to focus on clinical problems and finding solutions to these problems which had a major impact within the nursing profession. As of today many health professionals are focusing on clinical research which in turn has helped to establish an evidence informed practice for nurses. (Burns and Grove 2003)

The CRNA has deeper understanding of disease processes, pharmacological treatment and technological interventions when caring for patients. Advance practice comes with a high level of responsibility; furthermore, increased autonomy is why I aspire to advance my nursing practice. I want to be the nurse that eases my patient’s way through what may be the most stressful time in their life. During my anesthesia shadowing experience I witnessed the complexity and compassionate care that the CRNA provided safely and efficiently. Most importantly I observed clear communication that was vital to all involved in the care of the patient’s unique needs. My shadowing experience fueled my drive to continue to pursuing CRNA School and extend my knowledge at the

Nurse Anesthetist has been providing anesthesia to patients in the United States for more than 150 years. In the year 1840 the anesthetic qualities of drugs were demonstrated in the country. Ether, chloroform, nitrous oxide is some chemicals who helped nurses and doctors in conducting a modern surgical procedure. Florence Nightingale was a well known nurse because of her work in the Crimean War during the late 1850s, that ushered in the advent of professional nursing. Women started to choose nursing as a vocation. Nurses first gave anesthesia to wounded soldiers from the battlefield during the Civil War. The specialty nurses Anesthesia was then formed. Nurse

The work of an anesthesiologist is fulfilling with many benefits. A person would desire to become an anesthesiologist because there is a high standard of excellence due to a low percentage of doctors in this special field, not to mention the high salary. This occupation benefits the doctor through a feeling of personal gratification while receiving a great education. The community benefits through his or her help relieving the pain accompanied by surgery. Becoming an anesthesiologist involves extensive education and training, while also having many requirements and a good salary range.

Nurse Anesthetists are also known as CRNA, which means Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists. Being a CRNA, one has big shoes to fill when it comes to their job. CRNA’s work with anesthesiologist surgeons and other physicians and medical professionals to give anesthesia to patients undergoing medical and surgical procedures. CRNA’s care for patients before, during and after a medical or surgery by doing a patient assessment , preparing the patient for anesthesia, they must maintain the anesthesia throughout the whole procedure to secure the proper sedation, and pain management, and as a CRNA they must make sure the patient recovers from the anesthesia properly. CRNA’s usually overshadow anesthesiologists. They perform much of the work

Anywhere anesthesia is delivered, CRNAs can be found, from hospital operating rooms, to outpatient settings, to military healthcare facilities. In many situations, such as hospitals in rural areas, where physician anesthesiologists are not available, nurse anesthetists are the sole providers of anesthesia to patients (“Nurse anesthetist,” 2012).

They also take care of patients anesthesia before, during, and after surgery. They even give mothers epidurals during child birth for pain management. A CRNA can also perform physical assessments, participate in preoperative teaching, administer anesthesia to keep patients pain free, oversee recovery from anesthesia, prepare for anesthetic management, and follow the patients postoperative course from recovery to the patient care unit. These types of nurses are the only certified personnel to deliver anesthesia in most rural hospitals in the United States (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 42).

With change comes evolution. Most professions, specifically nurse anesthetist, as we know them today did not begin in the state they are in today. They grew through trial and error. Before revealing the history of this profession and most important, its leading pioneer, one must be familiar with the role of a nurse anesthetist. Nurse anesthetists, often confused with anesthesiologists, are nurses with baccalaureate degrees in nursing and master degrees in anesthesia who are responsible for administering anesthetics to patients preoperational. Contrary, anesthesiologists are physicians whose education requires a baccalaureate degree as well as medical schooling with special education in anesthesia. However, the anesthesia part of the education is very similar for both providers (KANA. 2011).

The history of the Nurse Anesthetist dates back prior to the Civil War and were considered by many as the pioneers of the practice of anesthesia. As the complexity of administering anesthesia increased, physicians deemed the practice of anesthesia to be equivalent to the practice of medicine. As time progressed, some physicians attempted to have the practice of anesthesia banned from the nursing scope of practice. It was not until a case was brought in front of the California Supreme Court where they ultimately established the legal precedent granting nurse anesthesia its legality. Specifying that nurses can administer anesthesia and that they would be operating under their scope of practice as long as it was done under the guidance of a supervising physician (Hamric, Tracy, & O 'Grady, 2014). That law was federally mandated until 2001, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid changed the federal supervision rule of Anesthesiologist and Nurse Anesthetists in order for facility to receive reimbursement of care ("Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Fact Sheet", 2016). This offered states an “opt-out” rule allowing the unsupervised practice of nurse anesthetists. This change led to conflict in the anesthesia community between physicians and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) as the debate of a CRNA’s ability to practice autonomously was now the center of attention. With the costs of healthcare rising and the

The US News ranked a Nurse Anesthetist number 4 in the top 100 best jobs of 2016. Although satisfying, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is a highly stressful nursing specialty (Phillips, 2010). According to Gouveia (2016), a registered nurse is ranked top 5 in most stressful jobs. Some of the brightest and best CRNAs, even past presidents of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) have taken their own life because of addiction (Quinlan, 2009). Substance abuse and addiction is a well-known topic unfortunately, it continues to be an issue and struggle everyday for some anesthesia providers. CRNAS are well-educated individuals; however, the prevalence, and relapse rates for substance abuse are alarming. The

The history of nurse anesthesia cannot be accurately studied without a thorough analysis of the pioneer and transformational leader, Alice Magaw. Charles Mayo called her the Mother of Anesthesia for many good reasons (CRNA Profiles, n.d.). It is worthy of the student anesthetist’s time to study the life, education, employment, leadership, publications, and legacy of Alice Magaw.

Do you want to help save a life in the medical field but not do all the dirty work? Well being a nurse anesthetist is the perfect job for you. You get to be involved with the surgery and you don't need to even touch the insides of another person. Betty Horton, a experienced CRNA, says “Beings a nurse anesthetist is the best job you could ever have. It started my life off and made other things in my life accomplishable.” There are 170,400 jobs available to become a nurse anesthetist. That means there is 170,400 opportunities to help save someone's life. I believe that college is important in order to become a successful nurse anesthetist.

With all of the different specialties in healthcare, some get overlooked or may be under the radar. An uncommon and often disregarded career choice in healthcare is that of a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist or a Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice. Although not many people know about these healthcare careers, they play a vital role within the healthcare team. This field is growing rapidly and the likelihood of coming into contact with a nurse anesthetist during a hospital stay is on the rise. Knowing the history, education, responsibilities, and career outlook for a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist or a Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice can aide in understanding their very specific role in the care of patients.

My mother and I were discussing what kind of nurse I wanted to be, I had never thought about it before and asked her what all options I had. She found a website that listed all kinds of nursing specialties and descriptions of what they are. I spent about four hours that evening reading about each specialty. I will be honest, seeing the average annual pay of about $160,000 is what really caught my eye about nurse anesthetists. But after reading more on it, I thought that administering anesthetics sounded really interesting and decided to look further into that. I had originally thought that anesthesiologist’s provided most anesthesia in the United States but this is not the case. “Approximately 65% of all anesthesia provided is by nurse anesthetists” (Aguda, 2016, p. 18). Another fact that interested me was CRNA’s can collaborate with many different health care professionals. According to Aguda (2016), Nurse Anesthetists may work with all specialties of surgeons, anesthesiologists, dentists, and other qualified professionals in many healthcare facilities (p. 18). I like the idea of working in many different health care settings. I also was drawn to this specialty because of its education level. I’ve always believed that knowledge is the key to success and therefor try to learn as much as possible. Becoming a nurse anesthetist requires having a master’s degree in nursing. I figure if I’m going

Nurse’s roles are expanding according to the need of the patient and society. A nurse has to play roles from bed side nursing to the prevention of disease and illness, educating patient, families and collaboration with different healthcare teams. Howell (2012) indicated