PANA President Marks CRNA Week in Pa.

🔹🔹🔹On behalf of the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists, I want to wish everyone a happy National CRNA Week in Pa.! The annual celebration this year runs Jan. 21-27.

With more than 3,700 certified registered nurse anesthetists and student anesthetists across the state, PANA has emerged as a recognized a leader in helping the state address rising health-care costs, protect patient health, and ensure access to quality care.

While CRNA Week is just a snapshot in time, the critical role we play is year-round. More and more people are starting to understand our importance and appreciate the value CRNAs bring to the health-care arena.

Here are a few facts that might be of interest:

• CRNAs were the first professional group to provide anesthesia in the United States, first providing anesthesia to wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

• Today, there are more than 61,000 practicing CRNAs in the United States.

• Pennsylvania ranks among the top nationally for CRNA students, with 14 highly rated nurse anesthetist programs spread out across our commonwealth.

• The average nurse anesthetist completes an average of 9,369 clinical hours of training prior to becoming a CRNA.

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

• CRNAs are the primary providers of anesthesia care in rural America and underserved communities.

These are just a few of the facts we will share publicly over the next few days.

Visit our CRNA Week website at https://www.panaforqualitycare.com/2024-crna-week to learn more. To stay up to date with everything that’s happening, join our new TikTok account, follow us on Facebook, talk to us on Twitter, and see us on Instagram.

This is the second time I have served as PANA president. I could not be prouder to be a CRNA, and I could not be more honored to partner with such an outstanding group of professionals who will do anything to keep their patients healthy and safe.

I know the time you have invested to be the best you can be, and I know the care and commitment you have devoted to the science and art of anesthesia. Thank you for all you do, and …

Happy National CRNA Week in Pa.! 

by Angelarosa DiDonato, DNP, CRNA 

President, Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists 

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Lawmakers, staff experience “day in the life” of nurse anesthesia residents

Seeing is believing --- and several northeastern Pennsylvania lawmakers and staff got a firsthand look at just a few of the intensive education and training programs that students must master to become certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs).

Aaron J. Crowell, BSN, RN, SRNA, a nurse anesthesia resident at the University of Scranton School of Nurse Anesthesia, initially reached out to invite state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski (D-Luzerne) to visit and check out the university’s simulation labs.

🏫 But, as the senior student leader on the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists’ (PANA) Government Relations Committee, Crowell realized he had a golden opportunity to help inform key decision-makers in Harrisburg. So, he expanded the invitation to cover all lawmakers in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.

🩺On Sept. 5, a contingent of legislators and staff visited the campus for a “day in the life” tour of the university’s anesthesia simulation lab and advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) labs.

Besides Pashinksi, other attending lawmakers included state Reps. Jim Haddock (D-Luzerne) and Kyle J. Mullins (D-Lackawanna) and state Sen. Marty Flynn (D-Luzerne & Lackawanna), and staffers from the offices of state Reps. Bridget M. Kosierowski (D-Lackawanna) and Kyle Donahue (D-Lackawanna) and state Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne & Wyoming).

As sought-after anesthesia care providers, CRNAs are highly educated and expertly trained with years of education and experience before entering into practice. Nurse anesthetists obtain an average of 9,369 clinical hours of training prior to becoming a CRNA. They are required to be nationally certified and must be recertified every four years. Recertification includes meeting advanced practice requirements and obtaining a minimum of 100 continuing education credits.

Of course, it’s one thing to talk about education and training. It’s another thing altogether to see it and experience it firsthand.

Crowell and other nurse anesthesia residents, including Brandon Perrotte, Nelson Ramos, and Meghan Visalli, used the simulation lab as a tool to demonstrate how extensive CRNA training is and what skills nurse anesthetists demonstrate so expertly in the operating room.

Shadowing these nurse anesthesia residents ensured lawmakers saw up close and personal the skills that CRNAs possess to keep patients safe --- an invaluable experience they will take back to the state capital in Harrisburg to help inform their decisions about important health-care initiatives, especially those related to CRNAs.

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 !!!

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