Resume Practice Nursing : Nurse Anesthetist

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

Knowledge of physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, and clinical medicine are absolutely necessary to the anesthesiologist. (“Anesthesiology”)

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).

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

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).

Before a procedure begins, the nurse anesthetist will discuss with a patient any medications the patient is taking as well as any allergies or illnesses the patient may have. This must be done so anesthesia can be safely administered. Nurse anesthetists then give a patient general anesthesia to put the patient to sleep so they feel no pain during surgery or they may administer a regional

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.

To become a nurse anesthetist, there are certain job tasks, special skills, as well as a higher education that is needed. Firstly this job requires a lot of tasks and responsibilities. They include monitoring patients to insure their safety, measuring level of anesthesia, informing surgeon if

(History of Nurse Anesthesia Practice. 2010, May), (Koch, E., Downey, P., Kelly, J. W., & Wilson, W. 2001).

The earliest documentation of anesthetic care given to a patient by a nurse was the work done by Sister Mary Bernard in 1887. She was a catholic nun who worked at the St. Vincent hospital in Erie Pennsylvania,(Thatcher,1952,p 12). The nurse anesthetists of that time were trained by physicians at first, but as time went on the nurses took a more active role in the study and research of anesthetics and eventually surpassed their teachers in the field of anesthesiology. This advance led to role reversal, where the teacher became the student and the student became the teacher. By 1909 the first formal educational program designed for nurse anesthetists was started at St. Vincents Hospital in Portland Oregon,(Evans,1995,p 3). Upon graduation from the school, the nurse anesthetists were placed in all sorts of settings. Most impressive were the teaching positions held by nurses in the medical schools of that time. They became the primary instructors of anesthetic to medical students. The nurse anesthetist also held positions in the battlefields. During World War One, the American nurse anesthetist was the primary health giver to troops in the European theaters of

Does the compliance with a sedation protocol improve after nurses receive a sedation competency over a three month period? The available data supported the hypothesis that nursing education and competency can lead to consistent best practices and positive outcomes for patients. The answers to this research question can help develop interventions that support best practices for patients who are mechanically ventilated and receiving intravenous sedation.

The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois: Recent network media coverage shows that anesthesiologists are irresponsible, inattentive, and uncaring despite their vital capacities. This leads to several patients’ dissatisfaction. This study was about 100 surgical patients from which 65% considered anesthesiologists as doctors. Concerning the role of anesthesiologists: 79% attribute them an important role. 54% said that anesthesiologists’ role consist of maintaining regular surveillance over patients, and 10% considered it as putting them asleep. Other responsibilities of anesthesiologists such as intensive care, epidural analgesia, pain management and research were known from 25 % of them.