Anesthesiology And Nursing Essay Research Paper Who — страница 2

governance. On June 17, 1931 the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists CRNA 4 (AANA), wasformed and held its first meeting. From that point on the nurse anesthetist had a new name, they were also known as Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, (CRNA). Up until World War Two, anesthesia was considered a nursing specialty. This fact was credited in 1942 when the ratio of CRNA’s to anesthesiologists(M.D.) was seventeen to one. Those statistics stayed relatively the same until the sixties,(Evans,1995,p 3). The construction of criteria and guidelines for CRNA programs has been the responsibility of the AANA and government organizations. Together they also created the criteria that was necessary for schools to follow to keep their accreditation and licensure of practicing

anesthetists,(AANA,1998,p 3). The CRNA of today is not much different than their counterparts that practiced in the late eightteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds. One noticeable difference between the CRNA’s of today and those of yesteryear is the constantly changing technologies and new developments in the drugs available to them. Along with new advances came the need for additional schooling and training. The new demands put on training institutions assured that only the best and most qualified nurses be accepted into the CRNA programs. The schooling required by nurses in this field is a rigorous and challenging set of didactic and clinical classes that can last twenty four to thirty six months with little or no breaks. The criteria for entrance into most accredited

schools is strict. Most require a GPA of 3.00 to 3.50,(UNE,1996,p6), previous experience in an ICU ward and a bachelors of science in nursing. The degrees that can be earned in anesthesia are CRNA, Ed in anesthesiology or a doctorate degree, (Evans,1995,p3). Due to the current trends in health care and demands for highly qualified CRNA’s in the work place, all accredited school must offer a masters of CRNA program as a mandatory degree by CRNA 5 the end of1998,(Evans,1995,p4). To this date there are some twenty seven thousand CRNA’s in practice in the United States alone and that number is constantly growing,(AANA,1998,p 1). Timothy Gale is one out of the twenty seven thousand CRNA’s in the U.S. and is presently employed at the Aroostook Medical Center. He received his CRNA

degree in 1992 from the Eastern Maine Medical Center. He loves his profession and the esteem that comes with it. He is among the CRNA’s that administered 65% of the 26 million anesthetics given to patients last year,(AANA,1998,p 1). These anesthetics were given in a wide array of settings that range from dentists offices to hospital operating rooms to training facilities. Tim also described his work in a hospital environment as very rewarding and challenging. The autonomy given to CRNA’s is an important part of the job to him. Not all CRNA’s are granted the same levels of autonomy as others. It all depends on previous performance and competency, luckily Tim is competent enough to be left alone in his job. Looking at CRNA’s from an economical aspect, they make perfect

fedutiary sense. When comparing the salaries of CRNA’s to MD’s that give anesthetics the difference is quit staggering. A CRNA makes about 70-100 thousand dollars a year compared to the 250+ thousand dollars a year that the MD makes,(ANA,1997,p3). The Health Care Financing Administration launched a study of the job performances and pay scales of CRNA’s and MD’s. They discovered that the quality of care between the two was the same(AANA/NOTICES,1998,p1). This led the HCFA to work with the U.S. Congress to help change the rules allowing CRNA’s absolute freedom from physician supervision while administering anesthetics. The U.S. Congress has even sat up and CRNA 6 taken note of the value of qualified CRNA’s and, they unanimously support more autonomy for the CRNA. They

believe that if CRNA’s can be reimbursed by Medicaid and Medicare and be expected to go to war for the U.S., then should be autonomous,(AANA/NOTICES,1998,p1). The future of the CRNA looks as bright and prosperous as its past has been. As hospitals and government keep trimming the fat in medical care the more cost effective CRNA’s will gain more ground as an independent source of quality care. The schooling that CRNA’s go through will keep evolving to the demands of the field. The demand for higher qualities in applicants to these schools will rise as the medical community demands more bang for its buck. I am excited that I have chosen this field to be my future specialty and look forward to the challenges that lay before me. 33c