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Action taken to help ease shortage of valued anesthesia providers
Park Ridge, Ill. – The Bush Administration’s announcement today that it has tripled funding for nurse anesthetist traineeships is evidence that leaders in Washington are taking seriously the need to reverse a shortage of nurse anesthetists, said American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) President Deborah Chambers, CRNA.
"The shortage of nurse anesthetists is delaying surgeries and making healthcare less accessible to Americans," said Chambers, president of the 28,000 member AANA. "We have brought to the administration’s attention the need to help relieve the nurse anesthetist shortage, and the shortage of nurses generally. President Bush has responded to these shortages by increasing education opportunities for nurse anesthetists and nurses in general."
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson today announced that some 71 grants totaling $3.1 million are being awarded for nurse anesthetist traineeships by the Bureau of Health Professions Division of Nursing. This amount is three times more than has been annually awarded for nurse anesthetist traineeships the last several years. Such traineeships are provided to accredited schools of nurse anesthesia to help second-year students defray high educational expenses during full-time clinical study, especially students intending to practice in rural or medically underserved areas.
"The AANA applauds Secretary Thompson for taking the actions necessary to help secure safe anesthesia care for Americans who need it," said Chambers.
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) provide two-thirds of all anesthetics given in the United States each year, and are the predominant anesthesia providers to rural America and the military, said Chambers. She added that CRNAs meet the most stringent continuing education and recertification requirements in the field, and continue to play a major role in improving anesthesia safety for surgical, obstetrical and trauma patients. According to the Institute of Medicine, anesthesia care is nearly 50 times safer today than it was 20 years ago.
For More Information
Read the official U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announcement at http://newsroom.hrsa.gov/releases/2002releases/nursegrants.htm.
Learn about the impact of the nurse anesthetist shortage from the May 24, 2002, USA Today at http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020514/4108258s.htm.
Learn about the nurse anesthetist traineeships program at http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/
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