The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) is the

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and t ...

of nurse anesthetists in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The organization states that it has a membership of more than 59,000, includes

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is a type of advanced practice nurse who administers anesthesia in the United States. CRNAs account for approximately half of the anesthesia providers in the United States and are the main providers ...

(CRNA) and student (SRNA) members. The organization represents approximately 90 percent of CRNAs in the United States. The AANA headquarters is currently located in

Park Ridge, Illinois Park Ridge is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a Chicago suburb. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,656. It is located northwest of downtown Chicago. It is close to O'Hare International Airport, major expressways, ...

, a suburb of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. The AANA held its first meeting on June 17, 1931. Agatha Hodgins organized the event, inviting members from the Alumnae Association of the Lakeside Hospital School of Anesthesia and other nurse anesthetists from across the United States. As a new organization, it had two main objectives: establish a national qualifying exam, and establish an accreditation program for nurse anesthesia schools. The first national certification exam was held on June 4, 1945, with 92 candidates sitting for the exam. The AANA has accredited nurse anesthesia programs since January 19, 1952. The organization was recognized as an accrediting body by the U.S. Department of Education in 1955.

Name change

In August 2021, the organization changed its name from ''American Association of Nurse Anesthetists'' to ''American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology'' as part of a rebranding effort. This name change, along with the organization's acknowledgement of the descriptor "nurse anesthesiologist" was subsequently condemned by the ''

American Society of Anesthesiologists The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific association of physicians organized to raise the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and to improve patient care. As of 2021, the organizat ...

'' (ASA).ASA press release
/ref> The ASA represents

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

anesthesiologists who have completed their MD or DO degrees and a residency training program in

Anesthesiology Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...

, whereas the AANA represents CRNAs, a type of Advanced practice nurse.

Journal

''AANA Journal -'' is the association's journal.

References

External links

AANA Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:American_Association_of_Nurse_Anesthesiology Nursing organizations in the United States Advanced practice registered nursing Medical and health organizations based in Illinois Anesthesiology organizations Hospital nursing