PANA Members Pack the Halls of Capitol in D.C.

The AANA Mid-Year Assembly is nurse anesthetists’ largest advocacy event of the year, and this year the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA) sent a small army to the nation’s capital to inform federal lawmakers and advocate for our shared profession.

📝PANA had 76 registrants for the annual event in Washington, D.C. Over the course of the assembly, which ran April 29 to May 3, Pennsylvania-based certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and students (SRNAs), advocating in groups, convened 19 in-person meetings with lawmakers or their key staff members.

🏛️Where we couldn’t meet with lawmakers or staff, our team dropped off packets of information and promised to follow up to secure in-district meetings, something any of us can do whenever our schedules allow. Advocacy is key to promoting our issues and strengthening our profession.

The Mid-Year Assembly happened a bit later than usual this year, bumping up against PANA’s own Spring Symposium in Hershey, so the time crunch was a real challenge for many of our CRNAs and SRNAs, but the number of attendees proves our devotion to the cause.

PANA Members Pack the Halls of Capitol in D.C.

What’s more, for some of our SRNAs, the Mid-Year Assembly came during finals week, too. In fact, a few students from the University of Scranton School of Nurse Anesthesia went above and beyond --- not only in their advocacy but in their assigned schoolwork. They took finals remotely, either in the middle of the day or at the start of a long day running between office buildings to attend meetings. That commitment is impressive.

The Mid-Year Assembly offers five days of educational sessions, live speakers, legislative lobbying, and networking, all of which is important for attendees to gain the knowledge and tools to drive change in our profession, enhance their careers, and promote CRNAs at both the national and state levels.

🩺Thank you to everyone who participated. As tiring as Mid-Year Assembly can be, it is equally impressive, and the talent we see among our CRNAs and SRNAs gives us confidence in the good work we are doing to affect change that enhances our profession, improves health-care delivery models and ensures patients have affordable access to the highest level of care.

PANA Advocates with Senator Bob Casey

But wait...there's more 📷!

THANK YOU, CRNAs AND SRNAs FOR ATTENDING THE 2023 AANA MYA !!!

INTERESTED IN JOINING US? CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

CRNAs in the News: Prolung Ngin Taking on Diverse Patient Challenges in the APP Field

Advanced Practice Provider Spotlight: Certified registered nurse anesthetist shares perspective on caring for diverse patients

Advanced practice providers (APPs) play an integral role in meeting the needs of Penn State Health’s increasingly diverse patient populations. With their advanced training and credentials, these professionals expand access to high-quality care, build trust with patients and are a valuable aspect of patients’ overall experience.

Posted April 11, 2023 by Penn State Health News

Prolung Ngin, a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, said she was inspired to become a health care practitioner at a young age when she was her mother’s interpreter during her doctor’s visits and hospitalizations. Her family had fled Cambodia as political refugees and settled in the United States, where Ngin said she admired the doctors and nurses who cared for her mother. That motivated her to learn to care for her mother and others as well.

Ngin studied to become a nurse at Villanova University near Philadelphia and planned to become a pediatric critical care nurse practitioner. Part of her pediatric critical care transport training involved performing advanced airway management in the operating room. Her interactions with other CRNAs piqued her interest in pursuing certification in the field, which she said were a natural fit with her experience in pediatric critical care and transport.

A CRNA specialty, Ngin added, “allows a marriage of advanced critical care skills, the technical skills, advanced knowledge and skill sets required to take of care of patients in a variety of settings.”

After graduating from the nurse anesthesia program in 2010, Ngin began working at Hershey Medical Center, where she said she enjoys providing care to its diverse patient population.

ADDRESSING DIVERSITY CHALLENGES IN THE FIELD

Diversity in the nurse anesthetist field was challenging when she was enrolled in the anesthesia program at Villanova, Ngin said. At that time 85% of the students were white, 14% were Asian and there was no Black or Latino representation in the program. She compared those statistics to the current composition of CRNAs at Penn State Health, which is predominantly white, with 6% Asian and 8% Black CRNAs but no Latino representation.

Reflecting on the impact of diversity in her field, Ngin shared that she feels socially isolated from time to time and “invisible” as a minority female. Because English is her second language, she experiences occasional microaggressions, she said.

While there is always room for improvement, “I think it’s been very positive that there is a systemwide push for inclusion and diversity at Penn State Health,” Ngin said. “By doing this, we are meeting the need of our growing diverse patient population. I think we are moving in a good direction.”

One way Penn State Health is helping to meet the needs of its diverse patients is by being flexible with its medical processes, allowing families to be a part of their child’s care in the hospital. She also noted the health system’s effort to address language barrier challenges through certified interpreters, appreciating different cultural beliefs and traditions and providing equitable care to all, no matter their socioeconomic background.

The best approach to addressing diversity issues, Ngin said, is by “leaders and educators continuing to promote a culture of acceptance, understanding and empathy toward diverse individuals, staff and patients.”

HOW TO BECOME A CRNA

After CRNAs earn a bachelor’s degree, become a registered nurse and gain experience in critical care, they must also earn either a doctorate in nursing practice or in nurse anesthesia practice and pass a national board certification exam before obtaining a license to practice in their state.

PATIENT CARE RESPONSIBILITIES

CRNA patient care responsibilities include:

• Administering anesthesia before, during and after surgery

• Monitoring a patient’s response to anesthesia

• Educate patients before and after they receive anesthesia

The advance practice providers at Penn State Health include certified registered nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse midwives and clinical nurse specialists. Rigorously trained and credentialed, APPs work collaboratively with other health care providers to offer patients the highest level of care possible. This is the second feature in our APP Spotlight series. See the March APP Spotlight feature on nurse practitioners.

If you're having trouble accessing this content, or would like it in another format, please email Penn State Health Marketing & Communications.

Jefferson DNP Nurse Anesthesia students get hands-on practice

The Impact of Simulation-Based Education Utilizing 3D-Printed Task Trainers to Improve Surgical Airway Preparedness

Students in the DNP-Nurse Anesthesia Program (jefferson.edu) at the Jefferson School of Nursing are practicing various difficult airway scenarios using the Emergency Cricothyrotomy (EC) procedure on 3D-printed tracheas.

BACKGROUND: Anesthesia providers are highly skilled at performing basic airway management but also must remain proficient in difficult airway scenarios requiring emergency cricothyrotomy (EC). Patients are at risk for adverse outcomes, which escalate over time if not managed effectively and efficiently by the provider (Kaiser, 2018).

However, the low incidence of emergency airway events, coupled with the high skill level requirement of an emergency cricothyrotomy, has resulted in decreased skill proficiency and self-confidence across anesthesia providers. EC also needs more presence in medical and nursing curricula, as demonstrated in a survey of anesthesia providers with less than five years of experience (Fayed et al., 2020).

As a result, it is essential to incorporate education and skills development into the anesthesia resident and nurse anesthesia curriculum. A literature review yielding 95 articles identified simulation-based education (SBE) as a valuable medium to increase provider knowledge, skills, and self-confidence related to EC (Alanazi et al., 2017).

Despite the literature, there currently needs to be more consensus on the best format of simulation education and data directly related to student nurse anesthetists (SRNAs). The project team utilized a pretest-posttest research design to evaluate the impact of education on the knowledge and confidence level of SRNAs to perform an EC.

The survey consisted of a 5-point Likert Scale and multiple-choice questions to assess knowledge and evaluate self-confidence. The intervention consisted of a live demonstration and an independent simulation using 3D-printed tracheas.

The Wilcoxon sign rank test and paired t-test were the primary statistical tests for data analysis. Limitations of the study involved using a small sample size and lack of generalizability.

Pictured Above: The "dragon skin" was made in different shades to be more inclusive.

Pictured Above: Jefferson DNP Nurse Anesthesia students (Hannah Sanders, Mina Youm, and Christine Goldman) receive hands-on practice performing the Emergency Cricothyrotomy (EC) procedure on 3D-printed tracheas at the Jefferson College of Nursing. Skin representing patients of different races ("dragon skin") was also made at Jefferson. Melker Emergency Cricothyrotomy Catheter kits were used to familiarize students with real equipment.

Pictured Above: Jefferson DNP Nurse Anesthesia Class of 2023 students practice the Emergency Cricothyrotomy (EC) procedure on 3D-printed tracheas after viewing an educational video on the procedure, indications, contraindications, and related information.

PROJECT GROUP (FULL LIST):

STUDENTS:

🔹Monica Sucharski, RN, BSN, SRNA

🔹Hannah Sanders, RN, BSN, SRNA

🔹Stefanie Yuen, RN, BSN, SRNA

FACULTY LEADS:

🔹Kristen Simmons, DNP, CRNA, CHSE

🔹Jacqueline Mainwaring, PhD, DNP, MS, CRNA, CNE

SIM LAB COORDINATOR:

🔹Maryanne Halligan, DNP, RN,CCRN-K, CHSE, CNML

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WATCH THESE JEFFERSON CRNAS IN ACTION!

Learn more about the Jefferson DNP Nurse Anesthesia Program here.