Newswise — Park Ridge, Illinois – Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are advanced practice registered nurses who safely provide approximately 40 million anesthetics to patients each year. Although nurse anesthetists were the nation’s first anesthesia specialists, following are some facts that you might not know.
Claim #1: CRNAs administer anesthesia differently than physician anesthesiologists.
Truth: The nation’s 49,000 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) provide the exact same anesthesia services as physician anesthesiologists, and just as safely. CRNAs administer anesthesia to patients to keep them safe, comfortable, and pain free during surgical, obstetrical, trauma stabilization, and chronic pain management procedures.
Claim #2: CRNAs are a relativity new nursing specialty.
Truth: Nurse anesthetists have been providing anesthesia care to patients in the United States for more than 150 years. Nurses first gave anesthesia to patients on the battlefields of the American Civil War. Today, CRNAs provide nearly 40 million anesthetics to patients each year in the United States.
Claim #3: CRNAs are limited to where they can provide anesthesia care.
Truth: CRNAs practice in every type of healthcare setting where anesthesia is utilized, providing every type of anesthesia for every type of surgical and other healthcare procedure. CRNAs are the predominant providers of anesthesia care in rural and other medically underserved areas of the country, and to women in labor. In addition, CRNAs in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Indian Health Services, and combat hospitals all practice without physician supervision.
Claim #4: CRNAs are not prepared to handle emergency situations.
Truth: CRNAs are qualified by their education, training, and licensure to safely provide anesthesia services to all patient populations. The cases CRNAs cover range in levels of complexity from simple procedures such as appendectomies to complex heart surgeries. Nurse anesthetists remain with the patient throughout surgery, monitoring vital signs, adjusting anesthetic levels, and waking the patient after surgery.
Claim #5: CRNAs are not as safe without a physician anesthesiologist.
Truth: Since 2000, scientific evidence from nine anesthesia safety research studies published in peer-reviewed journals has confirmed that CRNAs are just as safe as their physician counterparts. The most recent study, titled "Scope of Practice Laws and Anesthesia Complications," appeared in the June 2016 issue of the journal Medical Care. Evidence trumps opinion.
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 advanced practice registered nurses, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) safely provide approximately 40 million anesthetics to patients each year for surgical, obstetrical, pain management, and trauma stabilization services. Nurses began administering anesthesia during the American Civil War, and today CRNAs in the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force all practice without physician supervision. CRNAs are nationally certified and are the sole anesthesia providers in the majority of field, general, and combat support hospitals, and forward advance surgical teams that care for critically injured soldiers in austere environments. Additional information about the AANA and CRNAs is available at http://www.aana.com; https://www.veteransaccesstocare.com/joinus/, and http://www.future-of-anesthesia-care-today.com
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