Prolific Providers: Nurse anesthesiologists were arguably the first anesthesia providers - the first CRNA delivering an anesthetic more than 159 years ago. CRNAs are anesthesiology professionals who safely administer more than 54 million anesthetics to patients each year in the United States - personally providing more than 80% of the anesthetics delivered annually, and since their inception have personally provided more than 1.4 billion anesthetics.

CRNAs stay with their patients throughout the entirety of the peri-operative surgical  experience or procedure, monitoring the patient's vital signs and making critical adjustments to the anesthetic, 100% of the time and are trained to handle all and every routine and potential complication.

Rural America: CRNAs represent more than 90% of the anesthesia providers in rural counties. Many rural hospitals are critical access hospitals, which often rely on independently practicing CRNAs for anesthesia care. Half of U.S. rural hospitals use a CRNA-only model for obstetric care, and the safe delivery of pain management care, particularly where there are no physician providers available, saving patients long drives of 75 miles or more.

CRNAs work in every setting providing every type of anesthetic on every type of patient in the United States: CRNAs are trained to provide anesthesia independently and in collaboration with surgeons, dentists, podiatrists, and other qualified healthcare professionals - CRNAs are NOT required to work with a physician anesthesiologist. When anesthesia is administered by a nurse anesthesiologist, it is recognized as the practice of nursing; when administered by a physician anesthesiologist, it is recognized as the practice of medicine (Legal Precedent). Regardless of whether their educational background is in nursing or medicine, all anesthesia professionals are educated and trained to give anesthesia the same way and are ultimately bound by the same standard of care as our physician colleagues.

Autonomy and Responsibility: As advanced practice registered nurses, CRNAs are trained to practice with a high degree of autonomy and are subsequently regarded with a high degree of professional respect - personally providing and maintaining the anesthetic from the beginning, during, and until the end of the surgical or procedural peri-operative experience.