News & Press https://www.sccrna.org/news/ Fri, 26 Apr 2024 19:02:47 GMT Thu, 4 Jun 2020 18:33:13 GMT Copyright © 2020 South Carolina Association of Nurse Anesthetists Commentary: African Americans should heed this advice to stay safe from COVID-19 https://www.sccrna.org/news/511118/ https://www.sccrna.org/news/511118/  

As an African American nurse anesthetist, I feel uniquely qualified to deliver an important, perhaps even lifesaving, message to South Carolina’s African American community about COVID-19. 

Certified registered nurse anesthetists provide anesthesia for a living, allowing patients to undergo essential health care procedures such as surgery, trauma care, and labor and delivery. However, for many CRNAs, the pandemic has temporarily changed our roles. Because COVID-19 viciously attacks the lungs, and because CRNAs are airway and critical care experts, we have been recruited to the front lines of the pandemic to intubate victims of COVID-19, operate ventilators and manage intensive care units filled with critically ill patients.

My message to African Americans is this: It has been widely reported that we are contracting and dying from COVID-19 in far greater percentages than any other ethnic group. Without question, socio-economic disparities are a major contributor to this discrepancy. But in my view, as a front-line provider caring for patients in a relentless pandemic, those are matters to be dealt with another day, once the spread of COVID-19 is under control.

For the present, there are things that we as African Americans must focus on to remain safe during this pandemic:

  • Don’t believe misinformation on social media and the internet that most African Americans are immune from COVID-19. This could not be further from the truth.
  • African Americans have a higher rate of preexisting conditions such as hypertension and diabetes that increase our risk of dying from COVID-19. If this applies to you, don’t take any chances. Wear a mask, be sure to use appropriate physical distancing, and stay home as much as you can. These precautions really do help.
  • Ours is a social culture. We like to gather in groups. However, social distancing doesn’t apply only to strangers and friends, it also applies to family members who don’t live under your roof. Do not assume that because they are family that they have been responsible about physical distancing.
  • About that mask: Be sure to wear it correctly, which means snugly over your nose and mouth. Exposing your nose but covering your mouth amounts to not wearing a mask at all!
  • Use hand sanitizer when in public (if you can find any in the stores, that is). More importantly, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water regularly, especially after you’ve been out.
  • Keep your children home when going to the store unless it’s absolutely necessary to bring them.
  • If you think you’ve been exposed to the virus, or if you are experiencing any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 (such as a dry cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing, fever, loss of taste or smell), seek a test. (Be sure to find out where you might need to go before you or a family member need to go there.)

Even though some states are starting to relax social distancing guidelines, you must still act responsibly by protecting yourself and your loved ones. Don’t underestimate the threat of COVID-19. Take steps to keep yourself, your family and your friends as safe from the coronavirus as possible. Keep telling yourself: This isn’t going to last forever.

Marcia A. Iszard, DNAP, CRNA

]]> News Thu, 4 Jun 2020 19:33:13 GMT The International Student Journal of Nurse Anesthesia https://www.sccrna.org/news/505440/ https://www.sccrna.org/news/505440/

The International Student Journal of Nurse Anesthesia is published three times a year and produced exclusively for publishing the work of nurse anesthesia students. 

To view the current issue, for which S.C.A.N.A.’s very own president Dr. Jill Mason-Nguyen served as a reviewer, click here.

]]> News Mon, 4 May 2020 19:08:47 GMT The Yale School of Nursing Candidate School for Nurses and Midwives https://www.sccrna.org/news/488618/ https://www.sccrna.org/news/488618/
  • Have you thought about running for elected office? 
  • Do you have a nurse and/or midwive friend/colleague that has?

    • Mark your calendar for  May 27-30, 2020 and be one of the 50 nurses and midwives to attend the Yale Candidate School for Nurses and Midwives!

    Click here for more information.

    ]]>     News Mon, 10 Feb 2020 17:06:22 GMT     October Message from S.C.AN.A. President https://www.sccrna.org/news/481014/ https://www.sccrna.org/news/481014/
    October 31, 2019
    HAPPY HALLOWEEN SCCRNA’s – Your future does not have to be scary!

    Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 S.C.A.N.A. Board of Trustees have only been in operations for six weeks, but our lobbyists sure feel like this has been a lot longer than just a mere six weeks:

    At the beginning of October, Dr. Angie & Dr. Steve Mund, incoming MUSC SRNA Class President Sean Cooney, and two Board members: Dr. Marcia Iszard & Dr. Jill Mason-Nguyen met in Charleston to go to U.S. Senator Tim Scott’s back home barbecue. It is the first event he has had in three years and we were happy to be there and talk with him.

    We discussed the new President’s Executive Order and what that means for CRNA’s and then we took photos of all of us together.

    I actually brought an old photo, that he and I took four years ago (2015) at the AANA Mid- Year Assembly in April, when a thousand CRNAs descend upon Washington D.C. for scheduled appointments with their legislators to advocate for our profession. Every Wednesday, Senator Scott allows SC constituents to come wait in line at his office and take a picture with him. He sends you an 8 X 10 copy of it, and signs it. Mine said “Best Wishes Dr. Mason-Nguyen”. I pulled that photo off our family corkboard and brought it to Charleston and showed it to him and said “NOW, WHO ARE THESE TWO CRAZY KIDS?” Here is his reaction. Thank you to a bystander who took this for us. 

    I gave his assistant a packet that the AANA has us leave with our legislators with pertinent information and I put that old picture in there. Maybe I will get it back, maybe they trashed it. I can get another one at Mid-Year AND YOU CAN TOO, if you join us. Mark the dates -Sat April 18-Wed Apr 22, 2020. Wash D.C., @ The Renaissance Downtown Hotel. Come just for a few days and stand on the Capitol with a thousand other CRNA’s!

    A little over a week ago, Lisa Kirr, our Executive Director, sent out emails to all of SCANA members to donate to Governor McMaster on behalf of S.C.A.N.A. We are very much a non-partisan, non-profit, professional state organization and the organization donates equally across the aisle to both Republicans and Democrats. Henry McMaster is our Governor right now while our current legislation is alive in the SC Statehouse [H4278 & S563] and it is imperative to work with him.

    This is the part you might hate me for saying… but it has to be said. I was a little bit disappointed by the few donations from our members. Thank you to first initial "D" who lives in Charleston, who donated and the nice note of support you typed in the message (I do get them), AND also to the four Board members who donated outside of their regular donation. It might be a side of politics that some of you do not like to acknowledge, but there are two sayings that come to mind in advocacy and lobbying: “If you aren’t at the table, then you are on the menu”; and “If you want to play, then you have to pay”.

    This is how our system works. We did not create it. Our opposition plays this game very well. Nationally, the ASA has $3,562,805 in their PAC versus the AANA with $958,074. The South Carolina Society of Anesthesiologists (SCSA) has $300,000 and S.C.A.N.A. has five times less than that. WE NEED YOU. Go to opensecrets.org and look for our association name or our opposition and you can see who all donates to the cause. It is public record. If you want to donate without being on public record – you CAN!

    We have 100% of every Board member donating to the PAC, paying their dues to be a member of the AANA and S.C.A.N.A. and volunteering to advocate and govern our association. We need 100% of you to do the same.

    Think of it like this: If each SC CRNA gave $100.00/ year  X  the 1,300 members = we would have $130,000 for us to get to the conversations that matter! Giving $100/yr equals $8.33 a month and we are worth more than 8 dollars a month. Today and tomorrow- Oct 31- Nov 1, is the first statewide “SCANA Donation Days” event  to help get our legislation across the finish line. This money gets us to the table and NOT ON THE MENU!

    Guess who got to meet with the Governor? S.C.A.N.A.!

    Before our pictures and private talk with him, the Governor got up and spoke and reminded us all that when other legislators or visitors come to South Carolina, they always say, how the people in our state, are like one big family. I could not agree more. 

    This past Monday, October 28, the Town Hall in Greenville brought passionate CRNAs from Bon Secours, Mary Black, Spartanburg, GHS, Greenwood, private office based CRNAs and a student! We had CRNAs share what their experiences were with calling their legislators just recently in Greenwood when activated by SCANA leadership to make the call!

    I met and shook hands or hugged every CRNA at that meeting. We are a family here in our state and that is something to be proud of! We have not always been united as a whole, but you can feel that we are coming together this year and strategically moving as one unit.

    As the holidays get closer, I am reminded of the 61,000 CRNAs across the country—AANA members and nonmembers alike—and the 1,300 of us here in South Carolina and how we truly are ALL connected… just like one big family.

    I personally cannot wait to meet our Columbia CRNAs next Monday night at Blue Marlin. Don’t forget to register. There is a sign in sheet for Class B credit and one for Talia with Edwards Life Sciences, our sponsor. Please take our board members business cards and put my cell and email in your contact list. Do not hesitate to contact us.

    STAY TUNED there will be more Town Halls across the state. After Columbia, it is time to go to Aiken Nov 14, 2019 at Casa Bella. BRING YOUR QUESTIONS and we will help DISPEL THE MYTHS ABOUT OUR LEGISLATION

    *ACTION ALERT*
    Please check/update your email & cell phone with the AANA to make sure S.C.A.N.A. receives accurate contact information for every one of our 1,300+ members. It is critical to maintain two-way communication with you and the organization during this next year. We are looking at how other state nurse anesthetist associations communicate with their state members. Email is by far the most common, but often an email can go to a member’s spam inadvertently. Many states utilize a cell phone “text tree” to be able to immediately let their members know about critical information.
    To join the S.C.A.N.A. text alerts group
    text "SCCRNA" to 833-634-0273.
    Msg and data rates may apply
    Reply STOP to 833-634-0273 to cancel
     
    10,000 Nurses on Boards by 2020
          Learn more HERE
     
    We want and need more CRNAs on Boards across South Carolina. Are you a leader? Do you want to do more? Of course you do—you are a CRNA!

    SC BOARD OF NURSING VACANCIES:
    There are three vacancies on the South Carolina Board of Nursing

    Congressional District 2, 6 & 7 = all need to be an RN licensed in SC, from any nursing or APRN background, endorsed by the Governor. Send us your resume if you are interested in serving and we will help you with the Governor. We can nominate specific people as an Association and send a written request to the Governor’s Office for consideration and appointment to the SCBON. The term is for four years or until a successor is appointed. Here is the map of the Congressional Districts to see where you live: District 2, 6 and 7 open positions.

    Nursing License Renewal is due in 2020! First eblast is coming out this month from LLR. Second in November. 

    Thank you for your membership and your time,
    Dr. Jill Mason-Nguyen,
    DNAP, MSN, CRNA, COI
    President of South Carolina Association of Nurse Anesthetists (S.C.A.N.A.)
     
    S.C.A.N.A. Calendar of Events

    Nov 7-10, 2019: AANA Leadership Summit
    Naples, Florida

    Jan 9-12, 2020: AANA Region 2 Meeting
    Charleston, SC with Spokesperson Media Training

    Jan 20-24,2020: CRNA Week
    Look for an event in your area 

    Feb 5, 2020: SC CRNA Day at the Capitol/Legislative Lobbying Day
    (wear scrubs and white lab coats)

    Feb 19-22, 2020:Assembly of Didactic and Clinical Educators

    Feb - May: SC Congress is in session
    Hoping for subcommittee hearings where we can testify or have others testify on our behalf.

    April 18-22, 2020:Mid Year Assembly
    Washington D.C.

    Aug 14-18, 2020: AANA Annual Congress
    San Diego, CA

    Sept 25-27,2020: Joint State Meeting with North Carolina and South Carolina
    Renaissance Hotel, Asheville, NC
    ]]>     News Thu, 31 Oct 2019 17:21:59 GMT     September Message from S.C.AN.A. President https://www.sccrna.org/news/473315/ https://www.sccrna.org/news/473315/
     
    Dear S.C.A.N.A. members and all South Carolina CRNAs and SRNAs,

    I am honored to have the opportunity and responsibility to represent the 1,300 members giving anesthesia across South Carolina. As your President, I can attest that your FY2020 Board of Trustees (BOTs) has hit the ground running. This next year has the chance to be an epic year by changing history and the narrative for SC CRNAs. We are making one specific “ask” to our legislators: to remove the word “supervision” from the SC Nurse Practice Act (NPA). Keep in mind it is much harder to change or repeal a law than it is to maintain the status quo. Every CRNA will need to get involved by writing to and talking with their legislators, and also by encouraging family and friends to write/email or call their Senator to request support for Senate Bill 563 and their Representative to support House Bill 4278. The success of our legislation to secure passage of these two bills depends on your participation and your “boots on the ground”.
     
    I believe we can achieve passage for our legislation if we work in concert. We have the talking points that provide a clear message and unified voice. When you talk with your legislators be kind, polite and truthful. Build relationships with them – that is key to our success. You need to reach out now and begin building those relationships with your legislators, not after they start session and have never heard of you before. Your BOTs and your lobbyists are the movement leaders who get the conversation started at a high level, but all of us individually as constituents are the ones who influence the legislators because we have the ability to vote for or against them! This is a numbers game. We need all 1,300 CRNAs and their family members to email a letter/write a letter/call your legislators or make an appointment to meet with them in person and let them know you are one of their constituents. Tell them you are a CRNA. Explain what you do if they do not know what a CRNA does. ASK them to support our bills (H4278, S563).
     
    We will be met with strong, organized medical opposition and negative anecdotal stories. Our PR firm will counteract negative messaging to set the record straight and use data, studies and poll results to provide the media with a better understanding of what we are trying to accomplish. Always take the high road and speak well of your physician colleagues. Do not talk politics at work. Be clear that removing the word supervision does not mean we want to replace physician anesthesiologists, or that CRNAs are opposed to team-based care. We want to practice to the fullest extent of our training and education because WE ARE BOARD CERTIFIED IN ANESTHESIOLOGY!
     
    CRNAs will continue to work in teams if the medical bylaws of the healthcare facility require it for practice. The removal of the word supervision from the NPA does not change a CRNA’s scope of practice at all. What does it do? It allows hospital and surgery center administrators across the state to have an anesthesia business model choice. The current statute in the NPA mandates only the most expensive anesthesia business model can be used at every facility. This is a fight for the smaller healthcare facilities across the state to have a business model choice, if they so desire, to decrease their costs and run as lean and as efficiently as they can in the anesthesia department. Paying two providers for every one anesthetic is not a sustainable business plan in today’s healthcare landscape.
     
    We owe it to our patients and the communities we care for, to do what we can to be as cost-effective and transparent as possible while maintaining our standards that have been proven for more than 150 years. There is no increase in surgeon liability to work alone with a CRNA. Fear from our physician colleagues holds this narrative back. Do not allow fear to paralyze our state and our practice.
     
    We have the education, the evidence and THE ECONOMICS on our side. Rallying support from our legislature is the key to successful passage of these bills. This is not an opt out. A state cannot opt out from the CMS requirement of physician supervision, if there is supervision language in the state’s NPA. Once the supervision language is removed, our SC Governor would be in a position to consider an opt-out for our state. We must change the language in our NPA- that is our goal. Your BOTs constantly receive the following message from state legislators: “I hear from physicians all the time, but I never hear or receive an email from a nurse anesthetist”. Please help us help our professional practice and our future. Now is the time to make your voice heard, let your legislator hear from YOU! Write or call now. Go to www.SCCRNA.org to find your legislators. Click HERE for sample letter to legislators.

    Thank you for your membership and your time,

    Dr. Jill Mason-Nguyen,
    DNAP, MSN, CRNA, COI
    President of South Carolina Association of Nurse Anesthetists (S.C.A.N.A.)
     
    S.C.A.N.A. Calendar of Events
    Oct 19, 2019: Board Retreat
    Columbia,SC

    Nov 7-10, 2019: AANA Leadership Summit
    Naples, Florida

    Jan 9-12, 2020: AANA Region 2 Meeting
    Charleston, SC with Spokesperson Media Training

    Jan 20-24,2020: CRNA Week
    Look for an event in your area 

    Feb 5, 2020: SC CRNA Day at the Capitol/Legislative Lobbying Day
    (wear scrubs and white lab coats)

    Feb 19-22, 2020:Assembly of Didactic and Clinical Educators

    Feb - May: SC Congress is in session
    Hoping for subcommittee hearings where we can testify or have others testify on our behalf.

    April 18-22, 2020:Mid Year Assembly
    Washington D.C.

    Aug 14-18, 2020: AANA Annual Congress
    San Diego, CA

    Sept 25-27,2020: Joint State Meeting with North Carolina and South Carolina
    Renaissance Hotel, Asheville, NC
    ]]>     News Fri, 27 Sep 2019 18:22:40 GMT     Summer 2019 Newsletter https://www.sccrna.org/news/473318/ https://www.sccrna.org/news/473318/

    View Newsletter

    Highlights include:

    President's Report
    Legislative Update
    Public Affairs Team Announcement
    SRNA Report
    AANA Region II Report
    Annual Meeting Information
    AND MUCH MORE!
    ]]>     News Fri, 2 Aug 2019 18:35:33 GMT     Five Things to Know about Who's Providing Your Anesthesia Care https://www.sccrna.org/news/434838/ https://www.sccrna.org/news/434838/

     

    Five Things to Know about Who’s Providing Your Anesthesia Care

    • Jan 18, 2019

    For Immediate Release: January 18, 2019
    For more information, contact: Christopher Bettin, Senior Director, Strategic Communications, cbettin@aana.com, (847) 655-1143.

    Park Ridge, Illinois—For patients undergoing surgery, having a baby, or needing emergency treatment following a traumatic incident, odds are the hands-on anesthesia care essential to their comfort and safety will be provided by a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). In recognition of the 20th annual National CRNA Week Jan. 20-26, 2019, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) wants to let anesthesia patients in on a few lesser known facts about the 53,000 nurse anesthetists who safely deliver more than 45 million anesthetics to patients each year in the United States. 

    History: Nurse anesthetists have been providing anesthesia care to patients in the United States for more than 150 years. The first anesthesia provided by nurses was on the battlefields of the American Civil War. During WWI, nurse anesthetists became the predominant providers of anesthesia care to wounded soldiers on the front lines; today, CRNAs continue to be the primary providers of anesthesia care to U.S. military personnel on front lines, navy ships, and aircraft evacuation teams around the globe.

    Access to Care: CRNAs practice in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered—traditional hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms; critical access hospitals; ambulatory surgical centers; the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, plastic surgeons, and pain management specialists; and U.S. military, Public Health Services, and Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities. They are the primary providers of anesthesia care in rural America, enabling healthcare facilities in these medically underserved areas to offer obstetrical, surgical, pain management and trauma stabilization services. In some states, CRNAs are the sole providers in nearly 100 percent of the rural hospitals.

    Anesthesia Safety: According to a 1999 report from the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine), anesthesia care is nearly 50 times safer than it was in the early 1980s. Numerous outcomes studies have demonstrated that there is no difference in the quality of care provided by CRNAs and anesthesiologists.

    Cost-Efficiency: The cost-efficiency of CRNAs helps control escalating healthcare costs. A landmark 2016 study published in Nursing Economic$ shows that a CRNA working as the sole anesthesia provider is at least 25 percent more cost-effective than any anesthesia delivery model involving an anesthesiologist.

    Education: The minimum education and experience required to become a CRNA equals 7-8 ½ years resulting in a master’s or doctoral degree. Graduates of nurse anesthesia educational programs attain an average of 9,369 hours of clinical experience. There are currently 121 accredited nurse anesthesia educational programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. While a minimum of one year of acute-care nursing experience is required to enter a nurse anesthesia educational program, the average amount of experience prior to entry is 2.9 years.

     
    ]]>     News Thu, 7 Feb 2019 16:28:18 GMT     Surgery During the Holidays https://www.sccrna.org/news/402113/ https://www.sccrna.org/news/402113/ Holiday Hints: Tips for Success

    Although the holiday season is not a time when people are known to practice moderation, those who must undergo surgery at this time should watch how they indulge for more than just the obvious health reasons. According to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), for those undergoing surgery before or after the holidays, it is extremely important to be honest with the nurse anesthetist during the pre-operative interview in order to help ensure a trouble-free anesthesia experience.

    The AANA offers the following tips to those undergoing surgery near the holiday season:

    • If surgery is planned, it is best to practice moderation in food and drink. Follow advice on food and liquid consumption prior to surgery.
    • Patients should be prepared to reveal pertinent facts during their pre-operative conference with their anesthesia provider, if not sooner. Even confidential or personal information should be discussed. For example, “closet” alcoholics or users of recreational drugs who conceal this information may be putting their lives in jeopardy. Anesthesia providers can take steps to lessen the patient’s risk, such as reducing the dose of anesthetic or altering the type of anesthetic administered.
    • Senior citizens should be especially vigilant in sharing information. Many seniors take medications for various age-related health problems and may forget to mention a particular medication simply due to volume.
    • Make a list and check it twice. If you are traveling, carry a list of all prescription and over-the-counter medications, including herbal products, you are taking. Also list any allergies you have. This is critical information in emergency situations.

    Whether a patient is undergoing a planned or emergency surgery, the more information a patient, family member or friend can provide to the nurse anesthetist, the safer the anesthesia experience will be.

    ]]>     News Thu, 15 Nov 2018 16:03:53 GMT     Opioid Crisis Resources https://www.sccrna.org/news/402109/ https://www.sccrna.org/news/402109/ FDA Statement Released November 2, 2018 from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on agency approval of Dsuvia and the FDA's future consideration of new opioids, Click Here.

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 91 people die every day from an opioid overdose. AANA is committed to taking action toward solutions to the opioid epidemic, with CRNAs playing a key role in the process.

    AANA has developed and compiled resources and tools for patients and healthcare providers to support meaningful decision-making regarding acute and chronic pain management, opioid safety, substance use disorder, and more. Follow this link to navigate AANA’s resources: https://www.aana.com/practice/clinical-practice-resources/opioid-crisis-resources

    ]]>     News Thu, 15 Nov 2018 14:24:51 GMT