1980

Guidelines for the Practice of the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist were adopted.

The Helen Lamb Outstanding Educator Award was first presented to Joyce Kelly, CRNA.

The NewsBulletin was issued monthly.

The public relations film titled, “A Different Kind of Nurse,” was launched at the Spring Assembly of States (NB May 1980) and won a Golden Trumpet Award from the Publicity Club of Chicago in 1981. (NB July 1981)

The Nurse Anesthesia Manpower Study was begun.

The first all-mail ballot had the highest voter participation—39 percent—of any election since mail balloting was introduced.

1981

The AANA Education and Research Foundation (now the AANA Foundation) was created.

The Public Relations Recognition Award was first presented to the Nebraska Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

The 50th Anniversary of the AANA was celebrated.

The first AANA Journal Course was “Preoperative evaluation and physical assessment of the patient. Part 1—The respiratory system.”

The Board of Directors voted to ban smoking at the Annual Meeting educational sessions. (NB July 1981)

The AANA Policy Statement on Nurse Anesthetists and Reimbursement was adopted. (NB Aug 1981)

Ira Gunn, CRNA, MLN, was the first CRNA named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. (NB Jan 1982)

Position Statement 3.1: The Existence of State Boards of Nursing was adopted.

1982

The Board of Directors approved the title of Education Consultant Emeritus for Ruth Satterfield, CRNA, and Ira Gunn, CRNA, MLN, FAAN. (NB Aug 1982)

A registration fee of $50 was initiated for the Assembly of School Faculty and the Fall Assembly of States. (NB May 1982)

The AANA Board of Directors’ Statement for Minimum Educational Preparation for Entering a Nurse Anesthesia Educational Program/School endorsed a minimum of a baccalaureate degree and that nurse anesthesia education should be at the post baccalaureate level by 1986. (NB June 1982)

Position Statement 1.5: Minimum Educational Preparation for Entering a Nurse Anesthesia Educational Program and Position Statement 3.4: The Establishment of a Credentialing Center for Nursing were adopted.

The first AANA Foundation research grant was awarded in the amount of $500. (Foundation Historical Perspectives)

1983

The Board of Directors appointed John Garde, CRNA, MS, as executive director after Nancy Fevold’s resignation.

The 50th Annual Meeting of the AANA was held.

The CRNA-PAC was established.

The AANA filed a neutral amicus curiae brief in Jefferson Parish Hospital v Hyde (NB July 1983); the last amicus brief prior to that was filed in 1934.

Billy Crystal was featured at the Annual Meeting Comedy Hour. (NB July 1983)

“Quiet Dialogues and Silent Victories,” 30- and 60-second public service announcements about CRNAs, were filmed at Detroit Receiving Hospital using Anesthesia Department staff and students instead of actors. (NB July 1983)

Direct reimbursement legislation for CRNAs was introduced in the Senate by Senators Matsunaga, Inouye, and Pell. (NB Oct 1983)

The Ad Hoc Committee on Chemical Dependency was established. (NB Nov 1983)

Federal funds were appropriated for the first time for nurse anesthetist traineeships. (NB Jan 1984)

Gene Blumenreich, JD, wrote his first Legal Briefs column for the AANA Journal and has written a total of 88. (as of Apr 04 issue)

The first Journal article on AIDS was published. (J Aug 1983)

1984

“CRNAs Meet the Press,” a 17-minute video on talking to the media, was made available. (NB Mar 1984)

The AANA installed a toll free phone line for members to hear daily prerecorded messages on the latest legislative news. (NB April 1984)

The “Anesthesia and Patient Responsibility” brochure was published. (NB July 1984)

The AANA “pass through” provision in HR 4170, the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, became law; the amendment provided for a pass-through of costs incurred by hospitals for anesthesia services provided by CRNAs. (NB Sept 1984)

The Research in Action Award was first presented to Christine M. Suess, CRNA.

Active membership categories reflecting certification status were adopted: certified, recertified, non-recertified, life, and emeritus. (NB Nov 1984)

An AANA Public Relations campaign won first place in one of three categories of the American Academy of Nursing Media Award competition. (NB Dec 1984)

Glenn, Nyhan & Associates took over the administration of the AANA insurance program, replacing March & McLennan. (NB Feb 1985)

The Government Affairs director position was created. (NB Feb 1985)

The following position statements were adopted: Position Statement 1.7 Chemical Dependency; Position Statement 2.4 Administration of Nitrous Oxide by Qualified Anesthesia Providers; and Position Statement 3.6 Administration of Intradermal Local Anesthetics by Registered Nurses Providers.

1985

In Bahn v. NME Hospitals, Inc., the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that under certain circumstances CRNAs working with physicians other than anesthesiologists can compete with anesthesiologists and thus have standing to bring a federal antitrust suit under circumstances prescribed in antitrust law.

“A Tradition of Quality Care: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists” was published. (NB Oct 1985)

The Council on Accreditation received recognition from the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation (COPA). (NB Dec 1985)

The AANA donated to the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Project. (NB Sept 1987)

The Long Range Planning Committee recommended that all nurse anesthesia programs should be at the master’s degree level; this would not be implemented until 1998. (NB Dec 1998)

The Director of Finance position was created. (NB masthead)

The following position statements were adopted: Position Statement 2.8 Provision of Pain Relief by Medication Administered via Continuous Epidural, Intrathecal, Intrapleural, Peripheral Nerve Catheters, or Other Pain Relief Devices, and Position Statement 3.5 Endorsement of the American Nurses Association Resolution on the Associate and Professional Nurse Titles.

1986

Congress passed legislation providing CRNAs direct reimbursement under Medicare Part B, making nurse anesthesia the first nursing specialty/nonphysician group to be accorded direct reimbursement rights under the Medicare program.

The Board of Directors endorsed the Harvard Patient Monitoring Standards.

In Oltz v. St. Peters Hospital, nurse anesthetist Tafford Oltz proved in the Federal Court in Montana that hospital administrators and anesthesiologists conspired to dismiss him from his clinical privileges.

The Clinical Anesthesia Practitioner Award was first presented to Carolyn Nicholson, CRNA.

The first combined July/August issue of the NewsBulletin was published.

“Being Meeting Wise” was published for the first time for the 1986 Annual Meeting.

The PR Department held the first AANA photo contest; the theme was CRNAs in Action. (NB Oct 1986)

The computer system was brought in-house. (NB Nov 1989)

The Ad Hoc Committee on Chemical Dependency was made a standing committee, and the name was changed to Peer Assistance Committee.

The Peer Assistance Hotline was established. (NB Dec 1986)

The following position statements were adopted:

• Position Statement 1.3 Oppositions to Fixed Ratio of CRNAs to Anesthesiologists;
• Position Statement 2.9 Removal of Epidural Catheters;
• Position Statement 3.3 Model Guidelines for Developing Language Governing the Practice of Nurse Anesthesia Under Nursing Practice Act or Board of Nursing Rules or Regulations;
• Position Statement 1.6 Grandfathering Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists;
• Position Statement 2.1 The Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist in Alternative Practice Settings; and
• Position Statement 3.2 Recognition of Nurse Anesthetists by State Boards of Nursing.

Challenger crew.
Top row (l-r): Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnick. Bottom row (l-r) Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair

.

1987

The AANA partnered with the National Association of Broadcasters to produce a 30-second TV public service announcement titled, “Drugs Don’t Work on the Job,” with the message that street drugs and anesthesia don’t mix. (NB June 1987)

Meeting management activities were brought in-house (NB Nov 1989), and the Director of Programs and Meeting Services position was created (NB masthead) along with the Department of Programs and Meeting Services.

The Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists conducted its first Professional Practice Analysis. (NB Sept 2001)

The following positions statements were adopted:

• Position Statement 1.1 The Practice of Anesthesia;
• Position Statement 1.2: Relationship Between Health Care Professionals;
• Position Statement 1.4 The Role of the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist in Organizational Management;
• Position Statement 2.5 Preparedness for the Treatment of Malignant Hyperthermia; and
• Position Statement 2.10 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists’ Utilization of Invasive Monitoring Techniques.

The Risk Management Guide for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists was published.

1988

The Uniformed Services CRNA Task Force was created.

Formation of the AANA subsidiaries Anesthesia Professional Liability Services (Anesthesia Plus or A+, now called AANA Insurance) and AANA Publishing, Inc. (API) was approved by the Board of Directors; the insurance agency opened and API first met in 1989.

The Council on Nurse Anesthesia Practice is renamed the Council for Public Interest in Anesthesia.

Smoking was banned in the executive office. (NB May 1988)

The registration fee for the assemblies was set at $75. (NB Sept 1988)

The Practice Committee was changed from ad hoc to standing committee. (NB Nov 1988)

The AANA participated in a Centers for Disease Control pilot study to determine the feasibility of doing a national study on morbidity and mortality in anesthesia.

The Friends for Life endowment program was begun. (NB Nov 1988)

The Government Affairs Department was restructured into two distinct areas–state and federal–with their own directors. (NB Mar 1989)

The director of Education and Research position was created. (NB masthead)

The following positions statements were adopted: Position Statement 2.2 Qualified Providers of Conscious Sedation, and Position Statement 2.3 The Separation of Operator/Anesthetist Responsibilities.

The first Joint Committee Conference was held in Rosemont, Ill.

1989

Direct reimbursement for CRNAs under Medicare Part B was implemented.

Position Statement 2.7 Guidelines for Obstetrical Epidural Anesthesia Services was adopted.

Watchful Care: A History of America’s Nurse Anesthetists , by Marianne Bankert, was published by the AANA.

The Practice Committee’s Regional Anesthesia Needs Assessment Survey was undertaken. (NB Mar 1989)

The first Anesthesia College Bowl was held at the Annual Meeting. (NB Apr 1989)

The Face Behind the Mask, a 14-minute slide/audiocassette program, was developed for recruitment purposes and to provide basic information on nurse anesthetists to the general public. (NB June 1989)

Nurse anesthesia was named one of the 25 hottest careers by Working Woman magazine. (NB July 1989)

The AANA Professional Practice Manual for the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist was published. (NB Sept 1989)

A patient monitoring standard was added to the Standards for Nurse Anesthesia Practice. (NB Sept 1989)

The National Commission on Nurse Anesthesia Education was formed. (NB Dec 1989)

Guidelines for Infection Control in Anesthesia, Professional and Legal Issues in Nurse Anesthesia Practice, and Qualifications and Capabilities of the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist were published.

The first Foundation Poster Session was held at the Annual Meeting with two posters. (NB July 2001)

Position Statement 1.8 Education of Nurse Anesthetists at the Graduate Level was adopted.

The Foundation Fellowship Program began. (Foundation Historical Perspectives)

The First-Timers Ribbon was first given at the Annual Meeting