The History of Anesthesia Essay

In the summer of 1969 Dr. Moore, a board-certified obstetrics and gynecology doctor, administered a spinal anesthetic to a patient (Showalter, 2017). However, Dr. Moore did not follow the typical

The two main types of Anesthesia the doctors used was either chloroform or ether. The doctors usually did one of

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

This Anaesthetic case study would describes and discussed the scenario of a patient through the anaesthetic role of their surgical procedure. It will include and discuss the anaesthetic safety procedures equipment and drug interventions used to ensure this particular patients maximum safety and comfort before and during the procedure. The case study will include pre and peri-operative assessment in order to describe the involvement contribution of various specialties in the holistic care of the critical care patient. This assignment will focus only on the anaesthetics side of the procedure but will also highlight the importance of the triad of anaesthesia and discuss the administration, maintenance and reversal of

The role of the nurse anesthetist gradually developed as the demand increased for individuals who were highly and meticulously trained in anesthesia administration in an era where knowledge of germs, antisepsis and surgical interventions was emerging. During the 1800s, medical students were often responsible in the administration of anesthesia under the direct supervision of surgeons but the increased mortality rates in intraoperative patients suggested the need to reevaluate who would provide anesthesia. As a result of negative patient outcomes, surgeons turned to nurses, who served to be an adequate and reliable replacement. This trend proved to be catalytic in the movement of the nurse anesthetist.

Anesthesiologists are doctors who specialize in anesthetics, which are distributed to the patient before, during and after the surgery (American society of anesthesiologist). The world of an anesthesiologist is not just to give patients anesthetics, they are in and out of facilities and operating rooms, they monitor the patient, observe the levels of temperature, blood, and oxygen. The origins of anesthetics are,

Giving birth should be a beautiful experience even though delivery can be terrifying and discomfort. Even though women have the decision to choose between having a natural childbirth or get an epidural majority of women give birth at a hospital get an epidural. Make sure when you base your decision on what’s best for your infant and not base off anyone influencing you. What constitutes a “Natural childbirth”? A natural childbirth is when a woman gives birth without any medication. You can choose between having a mid-wife and having an at home birth or you can give birth at the hospital without any medication either way is consider giving natural childbirth. According to Kristeen, an epidural is drugs called local anesthetics, such as bupivacaine, chloroprocaine, or liocaine it numbs the abdomen or pelvic region during labor. An epidural is given when the women is about 4 or 5 centimeters dilated (Cherney, par.2-6). In order to get an epidural you have to get a shot in your spine (lower back). In 1909, the first caudal anaesthesia was given for labor pains by a German obstetrical, Walter Stoeckel, and he study 141 cases of healthy laboring women with epidurals. In 1931, the first catheter was used in an epidural. By the 1940s, epidural were being used sporadically for labor but did not gain true momentum until the 1970s. This was in large part due to the fact that other

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).

In comparison to modern medicine, the techniques used during the Civil War are vastly different than medical measures that are implemented in a medical setting today. Surgeons during the Civil War used sulfuric ether and chloroform as anesthesia. Sulfuric ether was discovered in Europe in the 1830s, and was first used as a anesthetic by William Morton in 1846 (Reimer). Anesthesia was only used in 95% of Civil War surgeries (Reimer). Sulfuric ether and chloroform were administrated by placing the chloroform or sulfuric ether on a sponge at the top of a cone and putting the open end over the nose and mouth (Reimer). This method wasted a lot of the liquid as it evaporated (Reimer). Due to the loss of solution, surgeons used just enough to make

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

In 1870, nonphysician Samuel Williams, had proposed the idea of using morphine and anesthetics to end a patient’s life, and to even lessen their pain when dying. As ether (a burning substance used in medicine) had been developed, physicians had begun to use anesthetic to relieve a patient's death, and in 1846, the first person to use ether anesthetics in an operation would be John Warren (Emanuel 793). During the Civil War, many physicians have been using hypodermic morphine to lessen the pain of soldiers, which had tremendously helped the physicians in gaining more experience with using the hypodermic morphine.

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

In conclusion, with Crawford’s discovery, we now have anesthesia for surgery. Anesthesia is insensitivity to pain, especially as artificially induced by the administration of gases or the injection of drugs before surgical operations. Anesthesia is now used when people have to have surgery that requires being put to sleep. There are two ways this can be given. It can be given by inhalation and also by injection into a vein. His discovery allowed

Anesthesiologists give patients anesthetics in a variety of ways, such as “orally, intravenously, by gas or direct injection to render patients insensible to pain Anesthesiologists typically maintain the same daily schedule a surgeon follows, participating in both scheduled and unscheduled operations. Anesthesiologists are responsible for determining the proper anesthetic and dosage level for each patient. They monitor the patients progress prior to, during, and after surgery.”(“Anesthesiologist” 31)

Anesthesia was developed in order to block or prevent pain during medical procedures. Anesthesia has been the backbone of the medical world for around 100 years now. Early anesthetics were primitive and many patients simply did not trust anesthetics. Anesthesia is still a risky process even in todays advanced medical world. Anesthesia is not used to treat or diagnose any specific disease; the sole purpose is to aid both the patient and surgeon through procedures. However, anesthesia is used in different ways based on the magnitude of the procedure. There are three levels of anesthesia which include; local, regional, and general anesthesia. An anesthesiologist determines which type of anesthesia will be needed.