Ep #35: The Relevance of Nurse Anesthesia in Evolution of the Profession

There’s some concern in educational circles that the history of nurse anesthesia has lost importance during the evolution of the profession. We want to dive into that topic today and explore the history, accomplishments, and milestones with two experts on the subject. Sandra Ouellette and Evan Koch will provide historical insight and some wonderful information on this episode.

Check out the full show notes by clicking here.----more----

Today's rundown: 

1:38 – Introducing Sandra Ouellette, one of our guests today.

3:50 – A little background on Ouellette’s career and recent honor.

5:16 – Introducing our second guest Evan Koch and his background.

6:16 – Our main topic today: relevance of nurse anesthesia history in evolution of profession.

6:46 – What are some of the common themes found throughout history?

9:05 – Surgeons can be a CRNA’s greatest asset.

9:26 – Surgeon Evarts Graham’s impact on the history of the industry.

11:18 – Humbug in anesthesia at the outset of discovery.

12:47 – Ouellette on some of the history that’s been edited through the years.

14:01 – Where you can find a lot of great information on anesthesia history.

14:47 – The role that educators have played in our history.

15:54 – Helen Lamb’s impact.

17:00 – Educators have faced various threats and obstacles through the years.

19:30 – Contributions that CRNA’s have made on anesthesia.

22:19 – Has the discussion of professional identity been around for a while? The debate surrounding the title Nurse Anesthesiologist.

28:23 – It’s important to know and understand the history of nurse anesthesia.

30:51 – What’s the difference between DNPs vs PhD?

34:38 – When did history get taken out of the nurse anesthesia curriculum?

39:17 – History of the CRNA journal and other achievements.

42:13 – Closing thoughts from both guests.