From the Operating Room to the Front Lines: Shared Experiences of Nurse Anesthetists During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Marjorie Everson; Bryan A Wilbanks; Anne Marie Hranchook; Maria Hirsch; Beth Ann Clayton; Lorraine M Jordan; Vicki Callan

From the Operating Room to the Front Lines: Shared Experiences of Nurse Anesthetists During the Coronavirus Pandemic

AANA J. 2021 Apr;89(2):109-116.

Authors

Marjorie Everson¹, Bryan A Wilbanks², Anne Marie Hranchook³, Maria Hirsch⁴, Beth Ann Clayton⁵, Lorraine M Jordan⁶, Vicki Callan⁷

Affiliations

¹ is a limited faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University DNP Nurse Anesthesiology track and a per diem CRNA at Benefis Health System in Great Falls, Montana. Email: marjorieeverson@yahoo.com.
² is an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He works as a staff anesthetist at Huntsville Hospital in Huntsville, Alabama. Email: bwilbanks@uab.edu.
³ is an associate professor and director of the Oakland University-Beaumont Graduate Program of Nurse Anesthesia for the School of Nursing at Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan. Email: hranchoo@oakland.edu.
⁴ is director of Anesthesia Services, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Roanoke, Virginia, and clinical assistant professor and Roanoke Campus manager, Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Nurse Anesthesia. Email: mthirsch@carilionclinic.org.
⁵ is a professor of clinical nursing and director, Nurse Anesthesia major, University of Cincinnati College of Nursing, Cincinnati, Ohio. Email: claytoba@ucmail.uc.edu.
⁶ is the AANA Foundation chief executive officer and the AANA chief advocacy officer. Email: ljordan@aana.com.
⁷ is an associate professor at Webster University in St Louis, Missouri, and is the director of clinical education for the university's Department of Nurse Anesthesia. Email: Vickicoopmans20@webster.edu.

PMID: 33832570

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in severe health, economic, social, political, and cultural consequences while thrusting Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) at the forefront of battling an often invisible enemy. A mixed-methods study was conducted to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CRNA practice. The purpose of the qualitative component of the study, a focused ethnography, was to use personal and group interviews to determine the shared experiences of CRNAs who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. Six themes were identified: (1) CRNAs are part of the solution, (2) doing whatever it takes, (3) CRNAs are valued contributors, (4) removal of barriers promotes positive change, (5) trying times, and (6) expertise revealed. The quantitative component of the study will be discussed in a separate article.

Keywords: COVID-19; Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist; expanded roles; innovation.

MeSH terms

Adult
COVID-19 / nursing*
COVID-19 / psychology*
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Nurse Anesthetists / psychology*
Nurse Anesthetists / statistics & numerical data
Nurse's Role / psychology*
Operating Rooms / statistics & numerical data*
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2