CAYLOR SCHOOL OF NURSING CELEBRATES NATIONAL NURSE ANESTHETISTS WEEK

January 28, 2009 - Harrogate, Tennessee— For nearly 150 years nurse anesthetists have provided patients with proven, professional and passionate care. Now in its tenth year, National Nurse Anesthetists Week will celebrate this theme as it officially recognizes the accomplishments of the nation’s first anesthesia providers January 25-31. The Caylor School of Nursing at Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) will celebrate the week with its inaugural class of Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Nurse Anesthesia concentration students.

The Nurse Anesthesia Program at LMU has recently been granted accreditation by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Education Programs (COA). There are currently 20 students in the program, which began in August 2008. Program administrators aim to admit 24 new students in the fall and a class of 24-28 students the following year.

Established by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), National Nurse Anesthetists Week is an opportunity for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) across the country to celebrate their history and accomplishments while educating patients and their families on the important contributions CRNAs make to America’s healthcare system.

“I take pride in belonging to a profession that has played such an important role in advancing healthcare in the United States,” said Jackie Rowles, CRNA, MBA, MA, FAAPM, president of the 40,000-member AANA. “Since the beginning of the nurse anesthesia specialty during the Civil War, we have played a key role in improving patient monitoring technology, anesthesia equipment, provider education, and overall patient safety. In fact, according to the Institute of Medicine, anesthesia today is nearly 50 times safer than it was during the 1980s, and the efforts of CRNAs have been monumental in the achievement of these results.”

Nurse anesthetists are advanced practice nurses who administer approximately 30 million anesthetics in the United States each year. They are at the forefront of anesthesia patient safety, practicing in every type of setting where anesthesia is needed. CRNAs are the sole anesthesia providers in nearly two-thirds of all rural hospitals, and have been the main provider of anesthesia care to U.S. service men and women on the front lines of battle since World War I.

“I believe I speak for the majority of today’s CRNAs when I say that one of the most fulfilling parts of my job is reassuring patients that I will be by their side throughout their entire procedure, monitoring every beat of their heart and every breath that they take, and ensuring the safe provision of anesthesia and the effective treatment of pain,” Rowles said.

Often patients are asleep or sedated while under the care of a nurse anesthetist in the OR, and may not recall that a nurse anesthetist is caring for them. Patients often associate their anesthesia experience with the fading of operating room sounds and activities only to safely awaken later in the recovery room. But while their patients sleep, CRNAs remain vigilant during the procedure—checking their patients’ vital signs, adjusting their anesthesia, and bringing them back to consciousness when the surgery is complete.

Founded in 1931, the AANA is the professional organization for more than 36,000 nurse anesthetists throughout the nation. To learn more learn more about National Nurse Anesthetists Week or the AANA, visit www.aana.com.

Lincoln Memorial University is a values-based learning community dedicated to providing educational experiences in the liberal arts and professional studies. The main campus is located in Harrogate, Tennessee. For more information about the undergraduate and graduate programs available at LMU, contact the Office of Admissions at 423-869-6280 or e-mail at admissions@lmunet.edu.

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