American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

School of Nursing, California State University, Fullerton

NURS 452: Leadership and Management in Professional Nursing

Leah Cleveland Ed.D, CNS, RN

American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) association has registered over 56,000 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and students registered nurse anesthetics. AANA was founded in 1931. AANA is tasked with ensuring that it promotes the best education and practice standards with stipulated guidelines that ensure that the nurses offer the best anesthetic consultations in private and public institutions. The association also has a foundation that provides scholarships and research grants to its members. Nine out of ten anesthetic nurses are AANA members (Who We Are, 2020). The AANA represents Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) (https://www.aana.com/about-us/who-we-are)

Mission, Vision, and Values

AANA’s mission is to strive to advance patient safety through excellence in practice to serve the community. AANA’s vision is to act as a transformative leader prioritizing patient-centered care and innovation in Anesthesia and overall healthcare. AANA’s Values are dedicated to advancing anesthetic nursing through training and practice to guarantee patient safety through championing for evidence-based practices, professional development dedicated to innovation, collaborations, and diversity.

Memberships

AANA offers memberships to the registered nurses and is renewed annually. To become an active member nurse, pay $100 in application fees and a $750 annual membership fee. However, U.S. military nurses pay $250 membership to be active or associate members. Associate members also pay an annual membership fee of $750. The international members pay $150, while a resident or fellow member does not pay the membership fees. Lastly, Advanced Practitioner and Senior Members pay an annual membership fee of $375. Membership Categories (aana.org) (Website)

Rationale for Selection

I have a student membership that opened the door to many possibilities and opportunities to acquire an education and the necessary skills to practice anesthetic nursing. I decided to discuss AANA since I joined the association due to its numerous benefits and privileges. An active member can access the community resources and learn about clinical and practice issues. Furthermore, there are special offers that help students save money through the Member Advantage Program. My rationale behind discussing AANA was to bring awareness to other students to join and access the vast amounts of knowledge and opportunities.

AANA drafted and implemented a certification program for non-members in 1945 and introduced a recertification program for members in 1978. In 1952, it developed an accreditation program approved by the U.S Department of Education’s nursing courses (Who We Are, 2020). Non-members also receive anesthetist’s specialty as independently licensed healthcare professionals and operate under CRNA. A nurse must graduate from an accredited anesthesia educational program to be eligible for CRNA certification. CRNA is recognized as a gauge of quality and aptitude. The National Board of Certification and Recertification certifies a nurse to be certified as a CRNA.

Educational Opportunities

AANA offers many opportunities to its members, especially to its active student members. There are several educational opportunities and a platform to showcase knowledge and academic abilities meant for students. For instance, the Anesthesia College Bowl presents students with a chance to register virtually, answer multiple-choice questions with various rounds, and reward the winners. AANA also offers Student Mentoring Program at the Assembly of Didactic and Clinical Educators (ADCE), which includes a one-day mentoring experience where students interact with experienced CRNA educators. Other educational opportunities include the student writing contest requiring no more than 1500 words on a topic that touches on wellness, healthcare, and health policies (Students, 2020).

ANA Code of Ethics Provision 5

Provision 5 is part of the code of ethics that inform the nurse of their responsibilities to others as to self. The nurse’s priority is to promote health and safety, treat patients without bias, and encourage continual personal and professional growth (Winland-Brown et al., 2015). For instance, a nurse should not discriminate against a patient or medical practitioner because of their race, age, sexual orientation, or religion. Everyone should be treated with respect and unbiased (example is provided above).

ANA Code of Ethics Provision 9

Provision 9 encourages the nurses to collectively communicate against social injustices through organizations to promote health and maintain the profession’s integrity while integrating nursing and health policies. For instance, after the outbreak of COVID-19, nurses needed all the support and equipment to cater to the patients (Jacoby & Scruth, 2015). However, certain parts of the country were reluctant to comply, and the social injustice was raised through organizations to get medical support and equipment assistance. For example, AANA was at the forefront, pushing for the government to release the necessary equipment, resources, and salaries for the nurses to address the dire situation nurses faced with putting their own lives at risk (example is provided above).

Healthcare Policy

AANA was vocal on the huge Medicare Part B anesthesia and a physician payment policy that Congress set to begin on December 1, 2010. AANA sought to ask Congress to enact a longer-term relief from the cuts because of their effect on the healthcare system’s stability and the Medicare beneficiaries (Falyar, 2019). AANA addresses the healthcare policies that affect anesthesia. Therefore, they use their power to lobby for better rates to have access to medical services.

Political Advocacy

Professional nurses should also pursue political careers due to their ability to raise concerns as experts to enact change. Typical politicians are slow to act since they fail to comprehend the stakes involved when health and environmental issues arise (Ortega & Orsini, 2020). Furthermore, being in a power position, more resources will be allocated to the health sector if there is an outbreak. They can better analyze the situation and act accordingly. Furthermore, they can fund awareness campaigns and free clinics that can offer affordable health services due to the steep medical cover cost. For instance, in an unlikely situation but if a professional nurse had the president’s job, they would have taken the pandemic more seriously and deployed the resources to curb the coronavirus’s spread.

Moreover, accurate information would have reached the people and mandated the wearing of masks. AANA funds awareness campaigns and free clinics for communities and populations that offer affordable health services due to the steep medical cover cost. AANA advocates for environmental issues if nurses report diseases directly linked to environmental problems such as water contamination or pollution. During the COVID-19, AANA used its political influence to advocate for the government to raise awareness to influence individuals to wear masks and act as the global example on how to deal with the pandemic.

Professional Advocacy

AANA’s vision explains the association’s dedication to innovation and patient-centered care. The association funds research through grants and offers student scholarships or CRNA fellowship that ensure the association releases competent nurses. For example, the scholarship program encourages participation and gives cash rewards in excess of $3,000. As a non-profit, AANA raises funds that have sponsored more than 2,000 individuals giving $2.5 million in the last 30 years (AANA Foundation Funding Opportunities, 2020). AANA was vocal in advocating for the extension of relief after the Medicare cuts

Achieving Diversity and Meaningful Inclusion

AANA is an association that has proudly achieved diversity and meaningful inclusion that engages nurses and the external associates who have built a framework that integrates cultural sensitivity, diversity, and equality regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or background (Kilburn & Linda Hill, 2019). AANA is proud to be linked with members who value professionalism, collaboration, quality service, diversity, and inclusion.

For example, the AANA has different communities that engage in cultural competency training, such as Berkeley Culture and Diversity Tip that embrace the other nurses from the various organizations. Furthermore, educational services such as Diversity of Nurse Anesthesia Education have a mentorship program that trains the nurses to handle situations while being sensitive and compassionate toward different individuals of different cultures or backgrounds (AANA Diversity and Inclusion, 2020). Such training programs are vital to foster collaborations to advance patient-centered and care since they understand patient health comes first.

Belonging

AANA is an organization that is critical in fueling the flow of ideas, support proactive work, and motivating members by advocating for patients’ and nurses’ needs. Memberships provide a sense of community where nurses can share or borrow ideas, get the latest information on patient safety, professional resources, and access to other anesthetic nurses (Raymond & Sheppard, 2018). Associations arrange annual meetings for all of their members where they discuss their concerns or latest projects. Therefore, it is essential to make in-person appearances to have face-to-face interactions with some members for work connections that are beneficial long-term. Such conferences have booths that showcase some of the latest technology and gadgets showcasing different ideas that improve anesthetic nursing efficiency. AANA membership categories are critical to understanding the level of skills an individual has in anesthetic nursing, impacting an individual career trajectory since AANA gauges one’s skill and education level. Further, being a member opens one’s accessibility to the knowledge one can acquire from the newsletter’s latest information.

References

AANA Diversity and Inclusion. (2020). AANA. https://www.aana.com/about-us/aana-diversity-and-inclusion

AANA Foundation Funding Opportunities. (2021). AANA. https://www.aana.com/advocacy/research/aana-foundation-funding-opportunities

‌Falyar, C. R. (2019). To Block or Not to Block: Role of Ultrasonography in Guiding an Anesthetic Plan for a Patient With Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease. AANA Journal, 87(2), 111.

Jacoby, S. R., & Scruth, E. A. (2017). Negligence and the nurse: The value of the code of ethics for nurses. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 31(4), 183-185.

Kilburn, F., & Linda Hill, D. N. P. (2019). Inclusive recruitment and admissions strategies increase diversity in CRNA educational programs. AANA Journal, 87(5), 379-389.

Raymond, J. M., & Sheppard, K. (2018). Effects of peer mentoring on nursing students’ perceived stress, sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and loneliness. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 8(1), 16-23.

Ortega, F., & Orsini, M. (2020). Governing COVID in Brazil: Dissecting the ableist and reluctant authoritarian. Somatosphere. Series: Dispatches from the Pandemic, 17.

‌ Who We Are. (2020). AANA. https://www.aana.com/about-us/who-we-are

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