Sauk Prairie Nurse Anesthetists focus on quality and excellence

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) across the country are recognizing their profession’s long history and enduring record of patient safety as they celebrate the 13th annual National Nurse Anesthetists Week, January 22-28, 2012.

This year’s theme, Quality and Excellence in Anesthesia Care, emphasizes the high standards CRNAs adhere to when administering anesthesia.

“One of the many rewards of being a nurse anesthetist is providing patients with the comfort of knowing that I will be by their side monitoring their vital signs and adjusting their anesthetics to ensure a pain free and safe anesthesia experience,” said Tom Murphy, CRNA at Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital & Clinics (SPMHC).  A 36-year member of SPMHC’s team, Murphy directs SPMHC’s Anesthesia department.

Established by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), National Nurse Anesthetists Week was created to highlight the nurse anesthesia profession and allow CRNAs to educate the public about anesthesia safety, questions to ask prior to undergoing surgery, and the benefits of receiving anesthesia care from nurse anesthetists.

Nurse anesthetists are advanced practice nurses who administer approximately 32 million anesthetics in the United States each year.  Practicing in every setting where anesthesia is available, CRNAs are the primary anesthesia providers in rural hospitals, and have been the main provider of anesthesia care to US service men and women on the front lines since World War I.

“I take pride in belonging to a profession that has been at the forefront of anesthesia patient safety for 150 years.  CRNAs play a key role in developing trends related to monitoring technology, anesthetic drugs and standards of care.  In fact, due to continuing research and education, anesthesia today is nearly 50 times safer than it was 20 to 30 years ago,” said Murphy.