Photo By Douglas Stutz | Poised, prepared, professional...Although the annual National Certified Registered...... read more read more
If there’s one healthcare group who already considered surgical masks as de rigueur for their job before the current ongoing pandemic, its Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs).
CRNAs at Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Bremerton and elsewhere are Navy Nurse Corps officers well-versed in caring for patients in a variety of acuity levels during various procedures such as surgical, obstetrical, diagnostic, therapeutic and pain management.
Their dedication to patient-centered care was acknowledged in a low-key manner with National Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Week held Jan. 24-30, 2021.
There was no elaborate celebration during the week. All CRNAs were too busy providing direct support for the daily patient caseload throughout the hospital.
“What the week really does is just highlight the science and practice of anesthetists, and that we have expanded the practice to the level of our training,” said Lt. Cmdr. Lisa O'Driscoll, CRNA assigned to NHB/NMRTC Bremerton.
Other CRNAs at the command are Capt. Shawn B. Kase, Cmdr. Paul Cornett, Lt. Jason Daniel, Lt. Joy Marie Bautista, and Lt. Anthony Duran.
The ongoing pandemic outbreak has placed added emphasis on the capabilities of the CRNA community.
“CRNAs are now more in demand for our expertise,” Kase said. “We’ve also been consulting since the onset of the pandemic with the command’s COVID-19 work group to establish and support any potential needs for caring of any COVID patients, bringing our experience and evidence-based practices to continue to make good decisions for all patients during the pandemic.”
CRNAs provide critical care services such as reviewing a patient’s medical history and providing anesthesia to that patient before surgery or s procedure. They monitor the patient’s vitals, and airwave management during the surgery/procedure. Afterwards they oversee the patient’s recovery from the anesthesia and help provide any additional post-operative care.
“Really a lot of what we do is mitigate risk to others, our patients. The best part of our job is helping the patients,” said Duran.
“We bond with the patients and get them through (their procedure/surgery). We establish a relationship, especially in Labor and Delivery. Patients remember,” Cornett added.
CRNA Week was initially established by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists to recognize the anesthetist profession's long history and enduring record of patient safety.
Although the celebratory week of CRNA has only been around for several decades, nurse anesthetists have been delivering safe and effective anesthesia for over 150 years.
They also have a history of significant military presence and have been providing anesthesia care to U.S. service men and women on the front lines since the Civil War.
Compiled information and statistics show that nurse anesthetists are advanced practice registered nurses who administer more than 43 million anesthetics in the United States on an annual basis. CRNAs practice in every setting where anesthesia is available – at Naval Hospital Bremerton they are primarily work in such areas as Labor and Delivery, Endoscopy, the Main Operating Room, and even the Urgent Care Clinic for consultation – and are frequently the sole anesthesia professional in a vast majority of rural hospitals.
“Actually, CRNA is really the pinnacle of art and science in nursing,” stated O’Driscoll.
NMRTC Bremerton CRNAs continue with their commitment to all patients and patient safety, even if it means missing – and masking up - a designated week in their honor.
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.01.2021 09:26 |
| Story ID: | 388056 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 675 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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