The 11th annual National Nurse Anesthetist Week celebration will be Jan. 24-30, 2010.

Although nurse anesthetists were the first anesthesia providers, much of the public is unaware that today certifi ed registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) practice in every part of the country, deliver every type of anesthetic and work in every setting in which anesthesia care is delivered. Not only are CRNAs a major provider of anesthesia care for the civilian population in the United States, they are the main provider of anesthesia care to American soldiers stationed around the world.

Robin Blanchard, CRNA, MSNA, has been a nurse for 13 years. "I became a registered nurse in 1996. A fresh-faced eager young nurse excited about my new career, I began as a floor, working in telemetry. I quickly gravitated to the fast pace of the surgical intensive care unit where I worked for over three years. I began to really enjoy the intensity, acuity and level of expertise required to be an intensive-care RN.

I began exploring my options; I wanted to find out more about advanced practice nursing. In the course of my investigation I stumbled upon nurse anesthesia. I was immediately intrigued.

Shortly after my newfound discovery I ran into an old friend who had coincidently just graduated as a certifi ed registered nurse anesthetist or CRNA. I shadowed her for one day ... and I was hooked!"

For many, the knowledge of impending surgery can be worrisome. Thoughts of cold operating rooms, beeping monitors, masked faces and sharp instruments all add to the unease.

The reassuring news is that an expert anesthesia provider will keep you safe and comfortable during your procedure. More often than not, that expert will be a CRNA, according to Blanchard.

CRNAs administer approximately 32 million anesthetics to patients each year in the United States, according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists 2008 Practice Profi le Survey. Thus, CRNAs touch the lives of countless patients and their families annually.

Practicing in every setting where anesthesia is available, CRNAs are the sole anesthesia providers in more than two-thirds of all rural hospitals, and have been the main provider of anesthesia care to U.S. service men and women on the front lines since World War I. Nurses fi rst provided anesthesia to wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

"CRNAs are the patients' eyes and ears during surgery," said Blanchard. "We are the patients' advocates when they can't speak for themselves. It's an awesome responsibility and a sacred trust upon which our profession has built its reputation for safety and quality care.

"CRNAs take their patients through the entire operative process – inducing sleep, monitoring vital signs, adjusting anesthesia levels and waking the patient after surgery," said Blanchard.

"One of the many rewards of being a nurse anesthetist is providing patients with the comfort of knowing that I will be by their side monitoring their vital signs and adjusting their anesthetics during the entire time they are asleep, a fact many patients are unaware of," said Blanchard.

"I take pride in belonging to a profession that has been at the forefront of anesthesia patient safety for nearly 150 years. CRNAs play a key role in developing trends related to monitoring technology, anesthetic drugs and provider education. In fact, anesthesia today is nearly 50 times safer than it was in the early 1980s," said Blanchard.

"As a CRNA, you have to be ever vigilant," said Blanchard. "You have to be aware of every heartbeat, every breath, and be ready to respond if something isn't right. Since the early 1980s, patient deaths related to anesthesia mishaps have declined from approximately two for every 10,000 anesthetics given to approximately one for every 240,000 anesthetics given. CRNAs are proud to have played a con-siderable role in that improvement."

Blanchard currently works for West End Anesthesia Group in Richmond, and she is an active board member for the Virginia Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

In honor of this responsibility and privilege, and to celebrate a sterling record of patient safety that extends back to the late 1800s, more than 1,200 certified registered nurse anesthetists from Virginia and thousands from across the country will tell America "We Never Miss a Beat" as they celebrate National Nurse Anesthetist Week.

The Virginia Association of Nurse Anesthetists just celebrated 75 years of supporting Virginias CRNAs and their patients across the state. For more information visit www.VANA.org