Newswise — PARK RIDGE, ILLINOIS – As the first program of its kind in the United States, an advanced pain management fellowship prepares Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) with the pain management skills necessary to meet the needs of Americans with chronic pain, according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA).

The fellowship is a partnership between the AANA, Park Ridge, Ill., and Hamline University School of Education, St. Paul, Minn. It recently graduated its third class of nine CRNA fellows. The Advanced Pain Management Certificate Program is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, and graduates are eligible to take a certification examination on Non-surgical Pain Management offered by the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists.

Since the beginning of the nurse anesthesia profession, CRNAs have excelled at managing acute pain, such as the temporary pain from surgery. “The AANA-Hamline fellowship program is a natural progression of CRNAs learning to provide holistic care for chronic pain patients,” said AANA Senior Director of Education and Professional Development Bruce Schoneboom, CRNA, PhD, FAAN. The post-graduate certificate fellowship in advanced pain management is just over a year in length and covers theoretical foundations of pain; imaging and radiation safety; assessment, diagnosis, and referral; pharmacology; interventional pain practice; spiritual aspects of health and illness; and non-allopathic aspects related to pain.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, “Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education and Research,” states that about 100 million American adults suffer from chronic pain, and the nation spends more than $600 billion annually in pain management medications.

The AANA also is an advocate and supporter of the PAINS Project (http://www.painsproject.org) and its four core messages:• Chronic pain is a real and complex disease that may exist by itself or be linked with other medical conditions.• Chronic pain is both an under-recognized and under-resourced public health crisis with devastating personal and economic impact.• Effective chronic pain care requires access to a wide range of treatment options, including biomedical, behavioral health and complementary treatment.• Denying appropriate care to people with chronic pain is unethical and can lead to unnecessary suffering, depression, disability and even suicide.

Under the guidance of experienced pain practitioners, the AANA-Hamline fellowship combines online classes with hands-on clinical work. There are 19 academic (didactic) credits and 240 mandatory clinical hours across four semesters.

The CRNAs who have graduated from the program practice primarily in underserved areas, including rural settings. The graduating CRNAs come from all over the United States to participate in this program, and upon graduation put their newfound knowledge and skills to work in their practices.

About Hamline UniversityCreativity and innovation in teaching and learning are the hallmark of Hamline University—home to nearly 4,500 undergraduate, graduate, and law students. At Hamline, students collaborate with professors invested in their success. They are challenged inside and outside of the classroom to create and apply knowledge in local and global contexts, while cultivating an ethic of civic responsibility, social justice, and inclusive leadership and service. Hamline is the top-ranked private university in its class in Minnesota, according to U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1854, Hamline also is Minnesota’s first university and among the first coeducational institutions in the nation. Find out more at http://hamline.edu.

About the American Association of Nurse AnesthetistsFounded in 1931 and located in Park Ridge, Ill., the AANA is the professional organization for more than 49,000 nurse anesthetists across the United States. As anesthesia specialists, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) safely provide approximately 40 million anesthetics to patients each year for surgical, obstetrical, pain management, and trauma stabilization services. CRNAs deliver essential healthcare in thousands of communities and are able to prevent gaps in access to anesthesia services, especially in rural, inner-city, and other medically underserved areas of the country. They are highly valued in today’s healthcare environment because they deliver the same safe, high-quality anesthesia care as other anesthesia professionals but at a lower cost, helping to control rising healthcare costs. Additional information about the AANA and CRNAs is available at www.aana.com and www.aana.com/future-today.