State Board of Nursing Regulation #16A-5145: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists and Fees

The Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing recently published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin its proposed rulemaking to recognize and license “certified registered nurse anesthetists” as intended under Act 60 of 2021. It’s an exciting moment – the culmination of years of hard work by so many!

The rulemaking solidifies the scope of practice for these highly trained, advanced professionals to administer anesthesia in cooperation with and under the overall direction of licensed physicians, podiatrists, and dentists, while setting licensing fees and certification standards. It also updates provisions relating to licensure by endorsement and mandatory child abuse education and training, and updates reactivation fees provisions for clinical nurse specialists.

The rulemaking includes a public comment period that runs through July 28, 2025.

CLICK HERE to read the entire proposed rulemaking, and PANA will continue to share updates with members.

Longtime CRNA Champion Sen. Gordner Retires

Pennsylvania Sen. John Gordner, R-Columbia County, is resigning his Senate seat on Wednesday to become counsel to interim President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County. 📷 File/Mark Pynes

State Sen. John Gordner, a Republican who has represented parts of northcentral Pennsylvania for the past three decades, will vacate his 27th Senatorial District seat on Nov. 30 to take a new role among the Senate leadership. He announced his decision Monday.

Gordner has been a longtime champion of nurse anesthetists, sponsoring the Senate measure (S.B. 416) that became law (Act 60 of 2021) last legislative session, granting formal title recognition to the state’s CRNAs.

Because of his work—and after more than a decade of legislative advocacy by CRNAs around the state—nurse anesthetists finally got the recognition they deserve. Until then, Pennsylvania had been one of just two states that failed to recognize “certified registered nurse anesthetist” in some form, meaning CRNAs were recognized only as registered nurses.

Besides title recognition, Act 60 also expanded the providers that CRNAs are permitted to work with to include podiatrists, and it clarified regulatory language as it pertains to physician involvement with anesthesia services, formalizing the status quo.

The push to formally recognize CRNAs was a family affair for Gordner.

His mother, Shirley (Kishbaugh) Gordner, was among just three student nurse anesthetists who comprised the first class at Williamsport Hospital and, in 1954, successfully completed examinations for membership in the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA).

Gordner isn’t leaving the legislature entirely. He will become counsel to interim Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County, whose own daughter is a CRNA in another state.

💙On behalf of PANA, we extend a heartfelt thank you to John Gordner for all he did and congratulated him and wish him the best of luck in his new role.

BACK TO THE FUTURE! Governor Signs Ceremonial Professional Designation Bill

More than a year after Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law Act 60 of 2021, which granted formal title recognition to the state’s Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), members of the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA) got to join the state’s top executive for a ceremonial bill signing at the Capitol Building.

Public bill signings were halted during the COVID-19 pandemic and only recently restarted, with PANA visiting Harrisburg on Sept. 20, 2022. Even though it was delayed in coming, the ceremony still made for a glorious day. Act 60 remains one of the biggest legislative achievements in a generation for CRNAs and SRNAs in Pennsylvania --- one that took more than a decade to secure.

With no definition for nurse anesthetists under the state’s Professional Nursing Law, CRNAs were recognized only as registered nurses. Now, with Act 60, everyone knows us for who we are and what we train to be --- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists.

Thank you again to every CRNA and SRNA in Pennsylvania, and to dedicated PANA board members and trustees, for everyone’s tireless advocacy to get this law across the finish line and significantly advance our profession.

Learn more about the issues at www.PANAforQualityCare.com. Click on “Legislative Updates.”

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