Shapiro addresses lag times in licensing

Gov. Josh Shapiro has announced plans to cut red tape and make it easier to work in Pennsylvania by creating a “money-back” guarantee for industries that require different professional licenses, certificates and permits --- and that includes nursing licenses.

In February 2021, PANA joined with the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA) and the Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners (PCNP) to push the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing (SBON) to do more to address urgent concerns and challenges regarding licensing.

At the time, members reported difficulties related to initial licensure and/or renewal application processes. There were numerous examples where an employer has suspended a nurse due to a lag in new or renewal applications. Problems still persist, today.

Under the executive order Shapiro signed on Jan. 31, the governor is directing state agencies to catalog all the licenses, certificates and permits they issue, the rules outlining how long agencies should take to process applications, and the fees that are charged. Agencies have 90 days to comply.

Shapiro also made the pledge that if it takes too long to get a professional license, applicants should get their money back.

In 2021, NPR reported that Pennsylvania had some of the longest wait times in the country to issue nursing licenses, a critical need during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But it's not just nurses. More than one million workers need a license from Pennsylvania to do their jobs, ranging from doctors and hair stylists to accountants and real estate agents, according to a 2018 report by the Department of State.

Shapiro is directing state agencies to review existing digital services used to apply for licenses, certificates and permits, and then work to modernize them.

More details are forthcoming as agencies prepare their reports in the next 90 days.

Rich History Defines CRNAs, America’s Original Anesthesia Experts

By Laura Wiggins, DNP, CRNA

🔹🔹🔹National CRNA Week debuted as an annual commemoration in 2000 as a way to celebrate our nation’s Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists and nurse anesthesia students. But the history of our profession stretches back generations.

Nurse anesthesiology traces its origins to 1863, when nurses eased the suffering of wounded soldiers in the Civil War. Since then, nurse anesthetists have been the main providers of anesthesia care to U.S. military personnel on the front lines and remain the primary anesthesia providers in austere combat theaters.

Today, there are nearly 66,000 CRNAs and nurse anesthesia students nationwide, including more than 3,700 in Pennsylvania.

🔹In times of transition and strife, people look to nurses—and, more specifically, highly trained CRNAs—to bridge the gaps of care, offer compassion to those who need help, and ensure the safety of patients during their most vulnerable times. You bring the art and science to the practice of anesthesia, and the work you do to serve our profession so honorably and your patients so faithfully ultimately enhances the patient’s experience.

🚧 In today’s environment, with health-care overhauls, organizational mergers and changes, redesigned care systems, and fluctuating payment models and costs, patients can rely on CRNAs who demonstrate as the foundation of their practice these core values—integrity, accountability, trustworthiness, and community service. You should be proud of what you do.

As we transition through a global economic crunch and continue to emerge from the global pandemic, enhancing our personal emotional intelligence and well-being is becoming an increasingly essential component of our practice. Having self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, motivation, and empowerment skills, combined with these other core values, will only strengthen our ability to care more compassionately for our patients.

I am confident in the direction of our association and profession. CRNAs are leaders. We have been there from the beginning, as military necessities on the front lines of our nation’s wars, and we continue to build the teams necessary to serve, because we have the backbone, drive, and fortitude to fight, protect, and defend our patients, our communities, and our nation.

🩺 Looking back at the last 160 years, CRNA history is nursing history. It’s women’s history. It’s our nation’s history. So, let’s celebrate our rich past, but let’s not overlook our promising future. With your passion and commitment to our profession, America’s original anesthesia experts will continue to build trust, show compassion, provide stability, and create hope in the health-care system adjusting, adapting, and overcoming with finesse and grace.

😷 Thank you for all you do—and happy CRNA Week, Pa.! PANA would love to join in YOUR celebration of our profession, so if you're on social media, you can tag @panacrna on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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PANA Leads the Charge to Support AVANA

Nurse anesthetists have been the main providers of anesthesia care to U.S. military personnel on the front lines since World War I, and these professionals remain the primary anesthesia providers in austere combat theaters.

In fact, certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) most commonly are the only anesthesia providers in the military’s forward surgical teams. We truly are battle-tested providers, administering safe, high-quality care even in the most stressful and emergent situations, as in any active-duty military circumstance.

Although we pause—and rightfully so—every Veterans Day to celebrate and remember the brave anesthesia providers who have been tending to wounded soldiers since the Civil War, supporting the work of active military personnel and veteran CRNAs is a year-round commitment for the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA).

For years, PANA has been one of the strongest supporters of the Association of Veterans Affairs Nurse Anesthetists (AVANA), the only professional organization that represents more than 1,100 CRNAs employed within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health-care system.

AVANA is committed to the care of veterans through engagement with every VA medical center in a concerted effort to improve services and promote clinical excellence through advocacy and continuing education.

Over the years, support for AVANA has grown, and now 13 state associations are helping them fulfill their mission, along with dozens of individual contributors. Our hope is that even more come to appreciate AVANA and the special work they do in serving the brave men and women who have dedicated their lives to serving and protecting our freedoms.

PANA could not be prouder to partner with such an outstanding and mission-oriented organization like AVANA.

Learn more about AVANA and the work they do: www.vacrna.com.