Topic summary
Anaesthetic nurse
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Nurse anesthetist.
France
The specialty of a non-medical anesthesia professional did not exist before WWII in France. After WWII, the Hôpital de Saint-Germain-en-Laye offered practical training for paramedics and nurses. Until the 1970s, many general hospitals had no appointed physician anesthesiologists. In 1960, the Ministry of Health commissioned a certificate of competence as infirmier aide anesthésiste (IAA) for nurse anesthetists. From then onward, only specialized nurses were allowed to administer anesthesia independent of the surgeon. Similar to the situation in the USA, anesthesiologists tried to distance themselves from anesthetists. In 1974, the Professional Association of Physician Anesthesiologists submitted a Bill in order to extinguish the profession, but the bill was withdrawn and a campaign was started for the legal recognition oh the nurse anesthetist profession. In the 1980s, the profession of nurse anesthetist was nationally recognized and given the new title infirmier spécialisé en anesthésie-réanimation (ISAR). This was accompanied by an official training program and state diploma. Training to become an NA requires at least two years’ experience as a general nurse, followed by success at an examination at the end of two years’ special training in an anaesthetic nurse school teaching the acquisition of the national certification.