Historical Perspective
In 1967-1968, the Board of Trustees of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (the "AANA") realized the increasing importance of documentation of continuing professional excellence. The Board recognized that continuing education ("CE") was essential to maintaining professional competence, that the public and healthcare consumers held the nurse anesthesia profession accountable for the competence of practitioners, and that the profession had the responsibility for establishing standards for CE activities. As a result, the Board of Trustees directed the AANA Education Committee to study CE for nurse anesthetists.

During the 1969 AANA Annual Meeting, a bylaw amendment was adopted to provide certificates of professional excellence at 5-year intervals to members with documented completion of additional clinical and didactic experiences. Participation in this optional program indicated that a nurse anesthetist was highly motivated to maintain current knowledge and skill for nurse anesthesia practice.

The rapidly changing character and increasing complexity of nurse anesthesia practice demands continuous updating of the practitioner’s knowledge, skills, and understanding. Any improvement in standards and expectations could not be accomplished without the ongoing involvement of knowledgeable and skillful professionals who were engaged in a lifelong growth process.

Nurse anesthesia practitioners accepted responsibility for their individual actions and for participation in quality CE activities. Nurse anesthetists have always been ethically and legally responsible for the quality of their individual practice. And as a profession, nurse anesthetists have accepted collective responsibility for the quality of service they offer to the public.

At the 1976 AANA Annual Meeting, the members amended the bylaws to provide for mandatory CE for recertification of active practicing nurse anesthetists. The Continuing Education Program was developed by the CE Committee and adopted by the membership at the AANA Annual Meeting on August 22, 1977, to be implemented August 1, 1978.

Nurse anesthesia professional development is the lifelong process of active participation in learning activities that assist in developing and maintaining continuing competence, enhancing professional practice, and supporting achievement of anesthesia career goals. Nurse anesthesia professional development begins within the basic nurse anesthesia educational program, continues throughout the career of the nurse anesthetists, and encompasses the educational concepts of CE staff development (SD) and academic education. Staff development consists of employer provider orientation, inservice and continuing education.

The CE Program for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists ("CRNA") seeks to enhance the professional competence of healthcare providers in the specialty of nurse anesthesia, and thereby, assure a higher quality of healthcare service. CE is an organized and evaluative process that extends beyond basic preparation and promotes the enrichment of knowledge toward the goal of maintaining anesthesia expertise. The AANA is prepared to assist each of its members in achieving that goal.

Philosophy of the AANA’s Continuing Education Committee
The AANA believes that nursing is accountable to the public for promulgating standards of nursing practice that improve the delivery of services and promote quality patient care. As the national professional association for nurses specializing in anesthesia, the AANA holds itself responsible for providing CE activities that help members maintain excellence in practice. It further meets this commitment to society and the profession by establishing standards that foster quality CE activities offered by other providers of nurse anesthesia programs.

The AANA’s CE Committee is largely responsible for providing opportunities for continued learning by individual nurse anesthetists as well as groups of nurse anesthetists. It believes that lifelong learning is essential for continued acquisition of the knowledge and skills required to maintain competence in practice. The committee maintains that nurses, by entering the field of anesthesia, hold themselves accountable and responsible for pursuing learning experiences that will improve and advance the practice of nurse anesthesia and the quality of care they provide.

The CE Committee believes that CE activities are most effective when the learning needs of participants are considered and when the principles of adult education are applied. It supports these beliefs by developing and upholding standards of CE education that include those basic concepts.

The CE Committee also monitors and appraises the CE activities of other providers to ensure that they adhere to established standards that promote quality CE for nurse anesthetists.

Purpose
The AANA’s CE Program is offered to support and promote quality CE for nurse anesthetists. It includes standards and criteria for the review, approval, and recognition of CE activities for nurse anesthetists for purposes of recertification. The AANA’s CE Committee, under the guidance of the Director of Continuing Education, oversees the program and continually monitors the system to ensure that the standards and criteria are met.

Goals
The goals of the AANA’s CE Program facilitate the promotion of quality CE for nurse anesthetists. They include:

1. Promoting quality CE by implementing a review and recognition process that includes standards and criteria for CE providers.

2. Providing a clearly defined application process, as well as procedures for the review and approval process.

3. Assisting state associations and other providers of CE to develop quality CE offerings in nurse anesthesia.

4. Implementing an ongoing process for evaluating the policies, procedures, and criteria of the CE Program to better assess the effectiveness of the services provided.

5. Engaging in strategic long-range planning activities to ensure the continued growth and viability of the CE Program.

AANA Continuing Education Program Accreditation and Approval
Since 1988, the AANA has been accredited as a provider of continuing education in nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. In addition, the AANA is an approved provider of continuing education in the following states: Alabama, California, Florida, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

Commercialization, Vested Interest and Protective Actions
All approved providers must ensure that all continuing education activities are free from bias and all presenters (faculty) must declare vested interests. In the event that any form of commercial support is provided for an education activity, the provider must maintain control of the educational content and disclose to the learners all financial relationships or lack of, between the commercial supporter and the provider or presenters. Relationships that could influence conduct and choices of faculty because of vested interests, must be disclosed.