Some nurses finally get the recognition they deserve | PennLive Opinion

July 28, 2021

By Matt McCoy

It used to be that certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) were the best-kept secret in health care. Not anymore.

Right before the General Assembly adjourned for its summer recess, lawmakers passed and the governor signed into law Act 60 of 2021, which grants formal title recognition to CRNAs in Pennsylvania.

The enactment marks the end of a legislative review that stretched more than a decade, and it brings tremendous professional satisfaction to the state’s 3,700 CRNAs and students, who will finally be recognized for their advanced education, specialized training, and clinical skills.

Until that moment a few weeks ago, Pennsylvania remained just one of two states (New York is now the lone holdout) that failed to formally recognize “certified registered nurse anesthetist” in some form.

Because there was no definition for nurse anesthetists under the state’s Professional Nursing Law, CRNAs were recognized only as registered nurses, despite clear differences between the two health-care professionals.

CRNAs are the hands-on providers of anesthesia care, operating safely in every setting where anesthesia is administered, including hospital operating and delivery rooms; ambulatory surgical centers; the offices of dentists, ophthalmologists, and plastic surgeons; pain management centers, and more.

Act 60 also expands the providers that CRNAs are permitted to work with to include podiatrists.

While many CRNAs practice with physician anesthesiologists, increasingly, CRNAs practice on their own in collaboration with other health-care professionals.

Act 60 also reinforces that nurse anesthetists are able to perform the full scope of anesthesia services without the involvement of physician anesthesiologists and embraces the existing patient care model of collaboration between CRNAs and their physician colleagues.

More than 49,000 CRNAs safely administer well over 34 million anesthetics nationwide each year --- and Pennsylvania remains at the forefront.

With 13 university-led programs, including York College’s WellSpan Health Nurse Anesthetist Program, our commonwealth is a national leader in anesthesia education and training. So, it has always been frustrating that our state didn’t even officially recognize these professionals.

It was costly, too. Without an official CRNA designation here, many students left. And even after they left, some graduating students had to wait as long as six months to get credentialed in out-of-state facilities, because state boards had to verify that students met requirements to be classified appropriately there.

This new law stems the flow of this “health-care brain drain” and reinforces our reputation for education and training.

Act 60 also remedies issues with credentialing that meant logistical and financial challenges for CRNAs.

Pennsylvania-based nurse anesthetists who serve in the military, for example, had to secure designation in another state to provide anesthesia in the armed services. Our CRNAs could not assist on rapid response teams in states affected by natural disasters unless they served only as RNs because they lacked formal credentials.

But it was the pandemic that finally put this decades-long professional slight into perspective.

In response to COVID-19, many CRNAs wanted to contribute more to the facilities where they worked but couldn’t. Likewise, hospitals and other health-care institutions wanted to use CRNAs to their fullest capacity but couldn’t.

And they couldn’t because of the way the state-licensed CRNAs as RNs, which limited our role to provide the most advanced, critical care services during the biggest health-care crisis of our lifetime.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the bipartisan cooperation of the administration and lawmakers, especially Rep. Tarah Toohil (R-Luzerne) and Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia), whose measure ultimately was signed into law.

In the most ordinary situations, surgery and anesthesia can be frightening or intimidating. But nurse anesthetists provide comfort and reassurance by never leaving their patient’s side.

We’re usually the last people patients see before a procedure begins and the first to greet them when they awake. It’s humbling to realize that now they will get to know us for who we really are -- finally and officially -- as CRNAs in Pennsylvania.

Matt McCoy, DNP, CRNA, is president of the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2021/07/some-nurses-finally-get-the-recognition-they-deserve-opinion.html

PANA CRNAs & SRNAs team up with Organizations vaccinate rural PA

👏 👏 👏 Thanks to all the Geisinger Health System / Bloomsburg University of Pa. Nurse Anesthesia CRNAs and SRNAs who turned out in Sunbury on April 20 and Shamokin on April 22 as part of a community service project with the United Way to help vaccinate rural Pa. residents. One of our SRNAs was able to vaccinate her sister, who was 2016 graduate of the nurse anesthesia program. Check out the photos and be sure to watch the clip from Eyewitness News WBRE WYOU.

VIDEO:

Pennsylvania SRNA Receives National Accolades

A Pennsylvania nurse anesthesia student received the 2020 AANA Student Excellence Award.

Ryan Wade, a senior at the Allegheny School of Anesthesia/La Roche University, accepted the award during the virtual Annual Congress.

The national award is an annual honor presented to a student in good academic standing who demonstrates outstanding leadership and professionalism, participates in activities that help foster a positive public image of nursing, and engages in activities that support health care.

Wade demonstrated his capacity for leadership and professionalism during his first clinical rotation when he took swift action to help a nurse found unresponsive on the floor. He immediately began CPR and called out for help, remaining calm as he continued providing care. Wade’s actions and competence helped her survive the cardiac arrest, intact cognitively. Her subsequent care uncovered additional complications, and though she later passed away, the family kept in contact with Wade, inviting him to attend her memorial service.

He also maintained academic excellence while being active with PANA. Wade has been an advocate for CRNAs in Pennsylvania by serving on PANA’s Government Relations Committee. He was an active member of the committee for two terms, having participated in numerous events. Wade met with state legislators and committees, including legislative leaders such as former Speaker of the House Mike Turzai and the House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee. His efforts also extended to the federal level, having met with Vice-President Mike Pence.

"Ryan is a leader among his peers and has consistently exceeded our expectations these past two years,” said PANA Director of State Government Affairs Jessica Poole, DNAP, CRNA. “His drive and enthusiasm is contagious and his wisdom and insight exceeds well beyond his level of training. He represents our profession with tact and professionalism."

Locally, he displayed his professional promise and capabilities of serving the community by serving as a PANA spokesperson to WTAE, a Pittsburgh news channel. During the broadcast, he demonstrated proper use of PPE and informed the public of PANA’s purchase of 3D N-95 masks, intended to support Pennsylvania CRNAs working with COVID-19 patients.

“I envision he will continue in his efforts to privately and publicly represent our profession as a knowledgeable, competent and pre-eminently invested CRNA after graduation,” said Allegheny School of Anesthesia Program Director Deborah Davison, DNAP, MS, CRNA. “I am very proud of his accomplishments and feel confident that he is deserving of this award as recognition for his hard work.”

PANA applauds Ryan Wade’s achievements as an SRNA and congratulates him on this well-deserved national recognition.