Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are extensively educated, advanced practice registered nurses who deliver anesthesia to patients in exactly the same ways, for the same types of procedures and just as safely as physician anesthesiologists. CRNAs are well prepared to respond appropriately in emergency situations. In California, CRNAs are authorized to perform all of the direct and indirect patient care services associated with the administration of anesthesia without physician supervision.

Learn more here: CRNAs At A Glance

California state law has allowed certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) to practice independently since the 1980s. In 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger codified their ability to bill Medi-Cal as independent providers to ensure all rural and underserved counties in the State had access to high-quality anesthesia care. Our history is well-documented, and our safety and efficacy are well-proven. Countless studies find CRNAs to be as safe and effective as physician anesthesiologists, including when practicing independently and in complex cases.

Learn more here: CANA Scope of Practice Guidelines for California Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists

The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) Standards for Nurse Anesthesia Practice provide a foundation for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) in all practice settings. These standards are intended to support the delivery of patient-centered, consistent, high-quality, and safe anesthesia care while assisting the public in understanding the CRNA’s role in anesthesia care. These standards may be exceeded at any time at the discretion of the CRNA and/or health care organization. Although the standards are intended to promote high-quality patient care, they cannot ensure specific outcomes.

Learn more here: AANA Standards for Nurse Anesthesia Practice

Before being licensed to practice anesthesia care, CRNAs must undergo 7 to 8 years of rigorous academic and clinical training and must pass a national certifying exam. CANA works closely with the educational institutions graduating CRNAs in California. All are accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs.

Learn more here: CRNA Education and Training

Numerous studies confirm that anesthesia care is equally safe regardless of whether it is provided by a CRNA working alone, an anesthesiologist working alone, or a CRNA working with an anesthesiologist. There is no difference in care provided by CRNAs and physician anesthesiologists, and no differences in patient outcomes.

Learn more here: CRNA Fast Facts

CRNA practice is directly impacted by federal, state, and local laws and regulations, and accreditation standards. In addition, a facility may impose other limitations on CRNA practice that exceed legal and accreditation requirements. These limitations are often found in the organization’s medical staff bylaws. Medical staff bylaws serve as the roadmap for the governance structure of the organization’s clinical practice. CRNAs should review these documents to understand the organization’s expectation of practice and for any problematic language that may restrict CRNA practice.

Learn more here:

• AANA: Facility Bylaws, Department Rules and Regulations and Policy: What the CRNA Needs to Know
• Introduction to Medical/Professional Staff Bylaws
• Medical Staff Bylaws: Impact on CRNA Practice
• Medical/Professional Staff Bylaw Framework

Anesthesia is freedom from pain. Each year, millions of people in the United States undergo some form of medical treatment requiring anesthesia. Anesthesia, in the hands of qualified professionals like Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), is a safe and effective means of alleviating pain during nearly every type of medical procedure.

Anesthesia care is not confined to surgery alone. The process also refers to activities that take place both before and after an anesthetic is given.

In the majority of cases, anesthesia is administered by a CRNA.

CRNAs work with your surgeon, dentist or podiatrist, and may work with an anesthesiologist (physician anesthetist). CRNAs are advanced practice registered nurses with specialized graduate-level education in anesthesiology.

For more than 150 years, nurse anesthetists have been administering anesthesia in all types of surgical cases, using all anesthetic techniques and practicing in every setting in which anesthesia is administered.

Your nurse anesthetist stays with you for the entire procedure, constantly monitoring every important function of your body and individually modifying your anesthetic to ensure your maximum safety and comfort.

There are three basic types of anesthesia:

• General anesthesia produces a loss of sensation throughout the entire body.
• Regional anesthesia produces a loss of sensation to a specific region of the body.
• Local anesthesia produces a loss of sensation to a small specific area of the body.

Yes. The most common chronic care services provided by CRNAs, such as anesthetic injections near nerves, effectively reduce a patient’s need for prescription narcotics and opioids. Chronic intractable pain afflicts more than 100 million Americans and costs the United States over $600 billion per year. CRNAs are specifically trained and qualified to treat pain patients. Patients referred to a CRNA for pain care can be confident that their experience will be safe and appropriate. It may even change their quality of life for the better.

Because responses will be different for each patient, based on medical history and personal characteristics, answers are not provided below. These are some sample questions you should ask your anesthesia provider before having surgery.

• Which type of anesthesia is best for me and the surgery I am having?
• What should I avoid eating or drinking before I come in to have my surgery?
• Is it alright to come alone or should someone come with me?
• Which kinds of medications do you need to know I am taking before I am operated on?
• (Men) I am currently taking Viagra. Will that interfere with my anesthesia experience in any way?
• Is it alright to take medications for my allergies before I come in?
• I have asthma, what do I need to know before and after I have surgery?
• I am diabetic, are there any special concerns before or after I have my surgery?
• I take complementary / alternative medicines–will these pose any problems or is it alright to keep taking them before my surgery?
• What about herbal supplements?
• Will I be able to eat solid foods right after my surgery?
• What if I have more questions after the surgery? Who can I contact?
• My child is having surgery — what do I need to know? How can I help prepare my child for surgery? Will I be able to stay with my child until the anesthesia takes effect?
• (Women) What are my anesthesia options for labor and delivery?