Wellness in the Workplace
A well anesthesia professional is one who uses healthy, adaptive coping strategies to combat stress and fatigue at work and home. At work, a healthy fit-for-duty CRNA is integral to providing safe patient care. See below for healthy workplace tools and resources to handle disruptive behavior, impaired colleagues, adverse events and career transitions; tips to be safe, manage stress, avoid burnout, think positively, advocate for a well workplace, and get involved.
Help for Drug/Alcohol
- AANA
- AANA Practice Considerations - Promoting a Culture of Safety and Healthy Work Environment
- Bullying - Disruptive Behavior/Workplace Incivility - www.AANA.com/DisruptiveBehavior
- What can you do to improve your workplace wellness?
- American Nurses Association #EndNurseAbuse
- American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN)
- Is Your Work Environment Healthy? free workplace assessment tool
- Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments
Wellness in the Workplace Topics
Adverse/Critical Events
Bullying/Disruptive Behavior/Workplace Incivility
- Professional Practice Document
- AANA Journal
- Additional Resources
- Wellness Milestone Articles (PDFs)
Stop Bullying Tool Kit
- Truth tools to assess your organization/environment/staff
- Wisdom tools to obtaining knowledge and information
- Courage tools to address behavior
- Renewal tools and resources to support healing
Additional Resources
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
- American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN)
- American Nurses Association (ANA)
- American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE)
- American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM)
- Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN)
- Emergency Nurses Association
- Institute for Safe Medication Practices
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- The Joint Commission
- Bullying, Disruptive Behavior, Communication - articles and research
Career Transitions
CRNAs, like most healthcare professionals, will face multiple challenges during their career. Transitioning from student to anesthesia professional, career changes, coping with job loss when it is not your choice, and approaching retirement age.
From SRNA to CRNA
- SRNAs: Key Tips for Transitioning to Practice
- Some Thoughts on the Day After Graduation
- Perceptions of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists on Factors Affecting Their Transition From Student
Finding a New Position
- Considerations for Adding New Activities to Individual CRNA Scope of Practice
- AANA listing of Career Opportunities
- National Board of Certification & Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists
- Join or become active with your state association
- AANA Practice Management Initiative
- Employment Resources
- Business of Anesthesia
- Is it possible to work for a different type of facility?
- Network - contact anyone you know, both in and out of healthcare
- Ask for referrals, leads, introductions and recommendations
When Job Loss Is Not By Your Choice
- NurseTogether: 5 Steps to Rebuild your Nursing Career after getting Fired
- CareerCast News: Layoffs, Downsizing, or Being Fired: It All Hurts and Getting Fired or Laid off: A Survival Guide
- Santoro, P CRNA. Business of Anesthesia: The Importance of Finding a Good Attorney and CPA
- Locate an attorney through: The American Association of Nurse Attorneys or Martindale-Hubbell
Coping with Job Loss
Losing a job can be devastating and trying to manage the emotional and mental stress may be detrimental to your overall health and well-being.
- American Nurse Today: Coping with Unexpected Job Loss
- HelpGuide.org: Job Loss and Unemployment Stress
- Annual Review of Psychology: The Individual Experience of Unemployment
- CareerOneStop, Worker ReEmployment: Deal with Stress
- See also Stress and Nurse Anesthesia Professionals, Emotional and Mental Well-Being, and Physical Well-Being for more information
Approaching Retirement
- Wellness Milestone Article
- AARP Retirement Planning
- National Guild for Community Arts Education: The Arts and Aging Toolkit
- Monster Jobs Career Advice: On the Job Survival Guide for Mature Nurses
- American Nurses Association: Finding Ways to Keep Long Time RNs
- National Academy on Aging Society
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Wisdom at Work: The Importance of the Older and Experienced Nurse in the Workplace
- Civil Engagement Diagram
- Minority Nurse: Retirement Planning for Minority Nurses
- See also Healthy Aging for more information
Note: Links to external sites are provided as a convenience and do not imply endorsement. AANA Health and Wellness is not responsible for any content on these websites, but hopes they help support your well-being.
Ergonomics
Fatigue/Sleep​
Impaired Colleagues
Safe Practices/Workplace Violence
- AANA Professional Practice for nurse anesthesia practice resources, including safety
- Active Shooter: Are We Complacent? guest editorial, December 2016 AANA Journal
Additional Resources
- American Nurses Association (ANA): includes safe patient handling, needle stick safety injury prevention, and environmental health.
- American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) and Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) Tool Kit of Mitigating Violence in the Workplace
- Becker's Infection Control & Clinical Quality: Patient Care and Staff Wellbeing Inextricably Linked
- Council on Surgical and Perioperative Safety (CSPS): endorses safe surgery principles with participation from all members of the multidisciplinary perioperative care team to achieve optimal patient outcomes and safe workplace practices.
- Emergency Nurses Association Workplace Violence Toolkit
- Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert 57: The Essential Role of Leadership in Developing a Safety Culture
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
- OSHA's Worker Safety in Hospitals, Caring for our Caregivers
Advocate for a Safe Workplace
- American Hospital Association's report: A Call to Action: Creating a Culture of Health
Stress/Burnout​
New - Substance Use Disorder Workplace Resources
Working with a Disability
CRNA Fitness-For-Duty
What you can do about workplace wellness?
Think Positively
- Why I Became a CRNA
- Stress and Nurse Anesthesia Professionals Study
- The Florence Prescription From Accountability to Ownership 2015 AANA Journal
- Wellness Milestones articles on positive thinking:
- Authentic Happiness Inventory Questionnaire
- Ten Keys to a Happier Living
- See also Emotional and Mental Well-Being
Join the AANA Wellness Movement
- State Health and Wellness Resources
- Contact your state association to volunteer
- Consider serving on an AANA committee
- Advocate for the profession
AANA Learn Online Educational Module
Advocate for a Safe Workplace
- American Hospital Association: A Call to Action: Creating a Culture of Health
- The Joint Commission Guide: Improving Patient and Worker Safety
Create an environment of mutual respect to find meaning and joy in your work:
​Note: Links to external sites are provided as a convenience and do not imply endorsement. AANA Health and Wellness is not responsible for content on these websites but hopes they help support your well-being.​​​
