AdventHealth University - Nurse Anesthesia Program

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The Profession

Nurses first gave anesthesia to wounded soldiers during the Civil War, so nurses have been providing anesthesia care to patients in the United States for over 150 years. Nurse anesthetists have been the main providers of anesthesia care to U.S. military men and women on the front lines since WWI. Currently, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are the primary anesthesia providers in rural America, and in some states, CRNAs are sole providers in nearly 100% of the rural hospitals. CRNAs provide anesthesia in collaboration with surgeons, physician anesthesiologists, dentists, podiatrists, and other qualified healthcare professionals. CRNAs practice in every setting where anesthesia is delivered: traditional hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms; critical access hospitals; ambulatory surgical centers; offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, plastic surgeons, and pain management specialists; the U.S. military, Public Health Services, and Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities. As Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, CRNAs practice with a high degree of autonomy and professional respect.