The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) was founded in 1931 to support Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and advance the practice of nurse anesthesiology. Since its founding, AANA has helped establish certification standards, support education and advocacy efforts, and improve patient access to anesthesia care across the United States.
Explore key dates in our history and AANA artifacts below.
1877 – Sister Mary Bernard, at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, becomes the first nurse to specialize in anesthesia.
1893 – Alice Magaw begins working as a nurse anesthetist at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, for Dr. Charles Mayo. He later bestows upon her the title of “Mother of Anesthesia” for her mastery of open drop ether.
1915 – Agatha Hodgins formally established the Lakeside Hospital School of Anesthesia in Cleveland, Ohio. She had been teaching anesthesia nurses and doctors there since 1911.
1931 – Agatha Hodgins founds National Association of Nurse Anesthetists (NANA) on June 17 in Cleveland, Ohio, the first national association of anesthesia providers in the U.S.
1933 – First Annual Meeting is in Milwaukee with 120 attendees; Agatha Hodgins is elected honorary president.
Report for First Annual Meeting of the National Association of Nurse Anesthetists (which would become the AANA Journal) is published.
1934 – In Chalmers-Francis V Nelson, the California Supreme Court affirms the finding for nurse anesthetist Dagmar Nelson in a ruling that confirmed the legality of nurse anesthesia practice. AANA files its first amicus brief for the case.
1939 – The NANA changed its name to the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) and reincorporated in Illinois on October 17.
1941 – The AANA seal “The Watchful Care” for the Sleeper by the Light of the Lamp of Learning” is adopted.
1944 – AANA membership was extended to African-American nurse anesthetists/nurse anesthesiologists.
1945 – AANA administers the first nurse anesthetists/nurse anesthesiologists qualifying (certification) exam to 90 women in 39 hospitals in 28 states, plus one in the Territory of Hawaii.
1947 – The first issue of The NewsBulletin is published. AANA membership was extended to male nurse anesthetists/nurse anesthesiologists.
1951 – Rev. Francis Przybylski wrote the prayer to St. René, the newly designated patron saint of nurse anesthetists/nurse anesthesiologists.
1955 – The U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare recognized the AANA as the accrediting agency for schools of nurse anesthesia.
1956 – The Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) credential is adopted.
1961 – The filmstrip “Anesthesia: A Special Type of Nursing” was released and won the Blue Ribbon Award at the American Film Festival.
1962 – The Puerto Rico Association of Nurse Anesthetists became the 52nd state affiliate.
1963 – COL Mildred Irene Clark, CRNA, becomes the first nurse anesthetist/nurse anesthesiologist to serve as Chief of the Army Nurse Corps.
1972 – John Garde, CRNA, MS, FAAN becomes the first male president of AANA.
1973 – Goldie Brangman, CRNA, became the first African-American president of the AANA.
1974 – A new logo, consisting of a stylized caduceus and the association’s initials, was introduced.
1975 – The Agatha Hodgins Award for Outstanding Accomplishment is first presented to Ruth Satterfield, CRNA.
1977 – AANA members approved mandatory continuing education for CRNAs.
1981 – The AANA Education and Research Foundation, today known as the AANA Foundation, is created.
1986 – Congress passes legislation providing CRNAs direct reimbursement under Medicare Part B, making nurse anesthesia the first nursing specialty/non-physician group to be accorded direct reimbursement rights under Medicare.
1990 – AANA Federal Government Affairs office opens in Washington D.C.
1992 – The AANA purchases the new headquarters building 222 South Prospect Ave. in Park Ridge, Illinois.
1994 – The AANA Archives collections were made available to approved researchers.
1996 – The first AANA website is launched.
2000 – The first official Nurse Anesthetists/Nurse Anesthesiologists Week (CRNA Week) held in January.
2001 – Iowa becomes the first state to opt out of the federal physician supervision requirement for nurse anesthetists/nurse anesthesiologists.
2004 – The AANA Wellness Initiative was launched in honor of AANA Past President Jan Stewart, who died of an accidental self-administered overdose in 2002. The Jan Stewart Wellness Lecture Series features speakers on wellness topics at each AANA Nurse Anesthesia Annual Congress.
2010 – Health Affairs published “No Harm Found When Nurse Anesthetists Work Without Supervision by Physicians” by Brian Dulisse and Jerry Cromwell. The study confirmed the quality and safety of nurse anesthetist care, and the authors recommended that Medicare repeal physician supervision requirement for CRNAs.
2015 – First Rally on Capitol Hill takes place during the AANA Mid-Year Assembly in Washington, D.C.
2016 – AANA membership reaches the 50,000 member milestone.
2020 – Nurse anesthetists step forward with courage and creativity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and federal and state authorities recognize CRNA’s expertise by temporarily removing barriers to care.
Members vote to change our name from the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists to the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology.
2021 – Arkansas enacts legislation removing physician supervision, making it the 22nd state with no supervision in the Nurse Practice Act.
AANA celebrates its 90th anniversary of service to members.
2021 — AANA reveals its first full brand update in 90 years. Moving forward as the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology, the new look and name change is part of a yearlong rebranding effort designed to advance the science of nurse anesthesiology and advocate for CRNAs.
2024 — AANA creates a new membership category for registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs).
A sign at Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, PA, celebrates Sister Mary Bernard, the first nurse to specialize in anesthesia.
The Army Nurse Corps (established 1901) named its first CRNA Chief, Mildred Irene Clark, in 1963.
Helen Lamb’s badge from the first Annual Meeting, held in Milwaukee. Lamb was among NANA’s founders and later AANA president.
An ad in the first NANA Bulletin, Feb. 1935, for the Heidbrink Kinet-O-Meter, an early system for administering anesthesia.
In May 1945, the AANA Bulletin was renamed the Journal. Today’s AANA Journal is published both in print and on a mobile app.
This recruitment brochure was published in 1945 and sent to everyone on the American Hospital Association mailing list.
Alice M. Hunt’s Anesthesia: Principles and Practice, was published in 1949. Hunt was an instructor at Yale Medical School.
A new brochure promoting nurse anesthesia as a career debuted at the 1956 Annual Meeting.
This pin featuring the official seal was one of the ways AANA celebrated its 25th anniversary.
Starting in 1958, green beanies were given to first-time Annual Meeting attendees, a tradition that continued until 1974.
AANA is the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology, the professional association representing Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and nurse anesthesiologists in the United States.
Updated: 5/14/2026
AANA supports nurse anesthesiology through advocacy, education, professional standards, research, and member resources.
AANA was founded in 1931 as the National Association of Nurse Anesthetists.
In 2020, members voted to change the organization’s name from the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists to the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology.
Our exclusive collection of documents, publications, photographs, memorabilia, equipment, and more preserves the history of AANA and the nurse anesthesia profession. AANA members are welcome to make research requests.