Every year across the U.S., certified registered nurse anesthetists administer more than 50 million anesthetics to patients. I am proud to count myself among the more than 61,000 CRNAs in the U.S. celebrating our profession during National CRNA Week, Jan. 21-27.
This year’s theme, “Trusted Anesthesia Experts,” acknowledges our rich history as part of the nation’s most trusted professions, according to Gallup. Nurses have topped Gallup’s Honesty and Ethics list for 20 consecutive years and are ranked in the top 10 of the 2023 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Health Care jobs report.
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Each year, CRNAs deliver anesthesia to millions of patients in traditional hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms, critical access hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, pain management facilities and in our nation’s military service.
My current roles include providing anesthesia at a busy orthopedic ambulatory surgery center in the Chicago area that utilizes an independent CRNA care model. In addition, I mentor future CRNAs through my faculty role with a local school of nurse anesthesia.
In rural areas, CRNAs are the predominant providers of anesthesia care, representing more than 80% of the anesthesia providers in rural U.S. counties. CRNAs provide care to patients where they live, forming the backbone of surgical deliveries in these rural communities.
CRNAs have always served on the frontlines of patient care, and we continue to answer the call to help keep patients healthy and safe. Please join me in recognizing trusted anesthesia experts as we celebrate National CRNA Week. Visit https://www.ilcrna.com to learn more about CRNAs in our state.
Kelly Lannert, Illinois Association of Nurse Anesthesiologists
Men should not weigh in on abortion
Why are men allowed to vote on any aspect of abortion access? No man will ever have to carry an unwanted child to term. No man will ever become pregnant as the result of rape or incest, and suffer the psychological and physical torment that can produce.
No man will ever have to drop out of school or stay in bed for months due to a difficult pregnancy. No man will have to suffer through an unwanted pregnancy and delivery alone because his partner has decided they don’t want to deal with it. No man will ever have to feel a severely deformed baby moving inside of his body as he waits for the inevitability of its death inside of him.
Nine months may not seem like a long time, but as someone who has carried two very much desired pregnancies to term, I can tell you it seems like much longer. I can’t imagine how long it would be for someone who was horrified at their situation.
Because no man will have to face pregnancy, no man should be allowed to vote or make decisions affecting those that may or may have in the past.
Sharon Novickas, South Loop