National Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Week

In honor of  National CRNA Week, which took place Jan. 17-24, meet some of UTMB's Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists.

Amber High, assistant program director, SON-DNP Nurse Anesthesia Program

How long have you worked at UTMB?

7.5 years, CRNA for 15 years

Why did you decide to go into anesthesiology? 

I wanted more autonomy and didn’t want to have to work weekends. I worked every other weekend for years in the NICU and the schedule was really difficult for accommodating family time. 

What is the best part of your job?

It’s so cool to work in a team environment where everyone has the same goal—getting the patient in and out of surgery or through a procedure safely and comfortably. We get to complete a successful mission over and over and over.

The most challenging part? 

The career is challenging because every case and every patient is different—you have to stay on your toes and think ten steps ahead at all times. Pediatric cases are probably the most stressful, but they are also the most resilient population and they are also the most rewarding cases, so that kind of balances out the stress load.

Most memorable moment on the job?

By far, the best day of my career was being the CRNA for my best friend’s C-section! I was so thrilled to experience that moment with her and alleviate her anxiety by making sure she had the very best care.

One piece of advice or information you would like your patients to know:

CRNAs are with you every second in your most vulnerable moments; we are vigilant and compassionate anesthesia providers. 

Anything else you would like to add?

• There are more than 61,000 practicing CRNAs in the country (providing more than 50 million anesthetics to patients each year in the U.S.).
• CRNAs have been providing safe and high-quality anesthesia for more than 150 years!
• UTMB School of Nursing is FINALLY opening a DNP-Nurse Anesthesia Program. The first cohort will begin this fall. RNs accepted into the rigorous program will have at least two years of prior critical care experience. There are currently around 130 accredited CRNA programs in the country. 

Click on the links to meet:

• Dana DiMarco
• Christina Duffy
• Jasmin Eapen
• Brian Galle
• Bridget Petrillo
• Manu Reddy

Other members of the UTMB CRNA team:

• Nemuel Abasta
• Shirnyl Alviza
• David Babin
• Thomas Benafield
• Lesley Boyko
• Christie Delaune
  
• Leroy Domino
  
• Eduart Emiri
• Editha Flemming
• Bill Fontanilla
  
• Nancy Gilman
• Woody Green
• Valbona Ilias
• Leslie Jakubas
• Bryce Mansfield
• Jeremy Martinez
• Joshua Mascorro
• Daniel Penton
  
• Nola Rupprecht
• Billy Schumann
• Beth Stratton
• Mark Talon
• Thuy Van
• Michael Villanueva
• Emily Winter
• Carl Zamora

Above: UTMB's crew of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists

From the American Association of Nurse Anestheisology:

With a history spanning back to the Civil War, nurse anesthetists have remained at the head of the table for every moment of their patients’ procedures, administering their anesthetics, monitoring their vital signs and helping to ensure that each year millions of patients receive the safest anesthesia care possible.

CRNAs administer anesthesia to patients undergoing general, cardiac, neurological, oral and labor and delivery surgeries, just to name a few. Regardless of the setting, nurse anesthetists apply exacting standards of care. Their profession is dedicated to providing a safe anesthetic and has historically played a pivotal role in every facet of anesthesia advancement.

Nurse anesthetists are advanced practice registered nurses who administer more than 34 million anesthetics in the United States each year. Practicing in every setting where anesthesia services are available, CRNAs practice with a great deal of autonomy, and are the sole anesthesia professionals in most rural hospitals.

The priority of CRNAs is the safety of their patients during surgery. CRNAs care for their patients providing safe, quality anesthesia when patients are at very vulnerable times in their lives. They’re there for every heartbeat and every breath, caring for patients in northeast Kansas and throughout America.

While 2024 marks the 25th year for National CRNA Week, the nurse anesthesia profession began more than 150 years ago during the American Civil War. Since then, CRNAs have taken immense pride in administering safe, high-quality anesthesia with a level of care and compassion that is synonymous with being a nurse.

In today’s health care climate, CRNAs are the key to the future of anesthesia care, as there is an increasing demand for highly qualified healthcare specialists who can ensure access to patient care that is both extremely safe and cost-effective. By celebrating National CRNA Week, we aim to highlight the valuable role that CRNAs play today and will continue to play tomorrow. National CRNA Week serves as an opportunity to inform the public on exactly what CRNAs do and who they are.

Nurse anesthetists have been at the forefront of anesthesia patient safety for over 150 years. CRNAs play a key role in developing trends related to monitoring technology, anesthetic drugs and standards of care. In fact, due to continuing research and education, anesthesia today is nearly 50 times safer than it was in the 1980s.

As the primary hands-on provider of anesthesia care in both military and civilian settings, CRNAs practice in every setting in which anesthesia is administered. That includes but is not limited to hospital operating and delivery rooms; ambulatory surgical centers; the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, plastic surgeons; pain management centers, and within the U.S. Military, Public Health Services and Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities.

National CRNA Week was established by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) and was created to encourage CRNAs to take the opportunity to educate the public about anesthesia safety, questions to ask prior to undergoing surgery, and the benefits of receiving anesthesia care from a nurse anesthetist. To learn more about the AANA, visit www.aana.com.