Fostering the next generation of CRNAs

Choosing a career path is not always easy for students. But sometimes a person or an event can help influence a student. For three CRNAs who graduated from South Fayette High School, the career inspiration started with an anatomy and physiology course.

As a young man, Aaron Ostrowski knew he wanted to help people, and to him that meant helping through the medical field. Though he quickly discovered that pre-med track in college was not for him, he did learn about the benefits of pursuing a career in nursing. After graduating he realized he could help others interested in the field navigate the professional options available through a nursing career.

“Kent Nichols was my high school anatomy and physiology teacher. He was my early inspiration to move in this career direction. I wanted to recognize his efforts and expose his students to the options available in nursing. In the earliest years as an ICU nurse, I visited his classes to speak about nursing, the educational pathway, and the career options,” Ostrowski said.

The interaction with the class and students has evolved since those initial speaking engagements. After Ostrowski completed nurse anesthesia school in 2001, he brought the learning experience into the hospital. The students now have the opportunity to visit the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and UPMC-Presbyterian to learn about CRNAs, participate in hands-on activities, and visit the operating room to shadow CRNAs.

One of Pennsylvania’s newest CRNAs, Leigh Ann Clark, was one of the students who attended the field trip. Her class was given the chance to observe a procedure with a group of University of Pittsburgh student nurse anesthetists. It was the first time Clark had an in-depth look at healthcare careers and shadowing nurses, nurse anesthetists and physicians in a surgical setting left an impression on her.

“I really had not given a great deal of consideration about going to nursing school, but this day changed my thinking. I made the decision to apply to nursing school with the end goal of becoming a CRNA always in the back of my mind,” Clark said.

Clark, who received her certification on January 4, commented that being a CRNA places you in a stimulating work environment in virtually every surgical care setting.

“The blending of the physiologic and emotional aspects of patient care by the CRNA is something that has always appealed to me,” Clark said. “The concept that a nurse anesthetist cares for a patient before, during and through the end of a procedure completes the full circle of care, which is something I identify with personally and professionally.”

Another young CRNA also had the opportunity to participate in the field trip through South Fayette High School. Chelsea Hyre (Cord) was born with a medical condition that required numerous surgeries, and as she grew up and learned more about her diagnosis, she knew that she wanted to pursue a career in nursing. But she did not identify nurse anesthesiology until her high school anatomy and physiology trip to the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC-Presbyterian.

“Aaron was very influential [about my] decision on that day because he helped me understand how intricate, exciting and rewarding anesthesia is,” Hyre (Cord) said.

She received her certification in January 2016 and started at Geisinger Medical Center shortly thereafter. She loves that her career brings a variety of experiences and the ability to do something different every day.

Ostrowski found a way to pay forward his love of nurse anesthesia, and through his involvement with his high school, he has been able to share his passion with others. While a number of South Fayette High School students have gone on to pursue careers in nursing, Leigh Ann Clark and Chelsea Hyre (Cord) are two graduates who went on to become CRNAs.

Are you a CARVED CRNA?

If you have attended a business meeting or heard me speak on some occasion since 2012, you probably have heard the question: Are you a CARVED CRNA? CARVED is an acronym I use to describe the consummate, professional CRNA. It goes beyond the characteristics that describe the Pennsylvania CRNA who delivers expert anesthesia care on a daily basis to our commonwealth’s patients. At the end of the day, you drive to a home in a car to a life that you would not have achieved without the opportunities availed to you by the professional activism outlined in this message. You may think of this as a checklist to determine if you are doing your part for the profession.

C is for Communicate: We communicate with each other and operating room professionals to exchange information about anesthesia techniques, employment opportunities, and family life. The CARVED CRNA turns the conversation outward to meet with hospital administrators, legislators, and the community to describe who we are and what we do. Communication fosters relationships that pay dividends when important decisions are made in the boardrooms and voting chambers across the state.

A is for Attend: We all need to attend in-services and meetings to maintain our certifications. Meetings at vacation locations are appealing, but those meetings will not give you specific information about state and national professional issues. The CARVED CRNA attends professional meetings such as the AANA Midyear Assembly and Leadership Academy, the PANA Spring or Fall Symposia and PANA’s Lobby Day. Can you consider alternating your meeting years to attend a quality, substantive, state meeting on even years and vacation meetings on odd years? The “meatier” meetings grant Continuing Education credits, and they equip you to reach out to those beyond the operating room.

R is for Read: Most CRNAs are familiar with reading. We all had to do it to get through training. It can’t stop there! The CARVED CRNA goes deeper to get familiar with practice issues and policy in your facility and on the state and national levels. Reading the newsletter, e-mails from AANA and PANA, and related social media posts give you information on current professional events.

V is for Vote: Hopefully, many CRNAs vote in the U.S. presidential elections. The CARVED CRNA votes in AANA’s and PANA’s annual elections, too. Unlike the U.S. voting system, AANA and PANA do not have an Electoral College. EVERY vote counts! PANA pledges to have full ballots with competitive candidates for each officer and trustee position.

E is for Educate: Many CRNAs educate SRNAs in the operating room. The CARVED CRNA, prepared with readings and information from attending quality professional meetings, will be able to educate others about our practice. State policies pertinent to CRNA practice in Pennsylvania that you can find on the web through any search engine include: “PA Code Chapter 21,” “PA Code Chapter 123,” and “PA Code Chapter 555.” PA Code Chapter 21 describes our scope of practice, and is part of the State Board of Nursing Regulations. PA Code Chapter 123 is part of the Department of Health’s hospital regulations that describes CRNA practice in our state’s hospitals. PA Code Chapter 555 describes practice in our state’s surgicenters. These are great places to start educating yourself.

Finally, D is for Donate: Most CRNAs probably donate to charity. In addition to charity, the CARVED CRNA donates to PANA and AANA political action committees, or PACs. Relationships are important in politics, but money helps to support the election of candidates who share our issues, and PACs are the way to achieve that. If each of Pennsylvania’s CRNAs donated $10 per month to PANA-PAC through an automatic monthly payment, we would be doing our part to empower PANA to influence legislative activity in Harrisburg.

In the coming months, there will be more information from PANA to participate in ballot nominations, to visit your legislator in your local legislative district, and to vote in the annual PANA elections. The new year promises to deliver new and exciting challenges and opportunities for our profession. Can you resolve to get involved? PANA is prepared to help you become the consummate professional, the CARVED CRNA.

Meet Your PANA Board Members - Aaron Ostrowski

Aaron Ostrowski is an officer in the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA), which represents more than 3,000 certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and students across the commonwealth, and he will become the PANA President this fall.

We took some time to get to know Aaron and learned that he is deeply passionate about his profession – including the time he spends educating future CRNAs and the time he dedicates to pursuing PANA’s interests. But he is much more than a CRNA, MSN and future DNP. Aaron is a family man who enjoys travelling, driving sports cars and doting on his family’s misbehaved cat.

Take some time to get to know Aaron Ostrowski, your President-elect…

Q: What is your position on the board?

A: I am currently the President-elect on the PANA Board of Trustees and serve as the Chair of the Government Relations Committee (GRC). I have been the GRC Chair for two years, and I have been on the PANA Board since the fall of 2012.

Q: Why did you choose to serve as a PANA Trustee?

A: I realized that serving on the PANA Board was going to be the best way for me to help effect change for CRNAs and our profession.

Q: Where do you currently work?

A: I work at UPMC-Presbyterian in Pittsburgh where I am a Trauma-Transplant CRNA, and I also serve as the hospital’s SRNA Clinical Coordinator for Anesthesia Specialties. About half of my position is clinical, and the other half (and more) of my time is spent in education as an instructor in the University of Pittsburgh Nurse Anesthesia Program where I have been a member of the adjunct faculty since 2008.

Q: How long have you been practicing?

A: I’ve been a nurse for 23 years, and I’ve been a CRNA for almost 15 years. At the end of this year, I will earn my Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree.

Q: Where did you go to school?

A: I had the dream of attending a major college as a young man. I am an alumnus of the Washington Hospital School of Nursing (1992) and the California University of Pennsylvania (1996), and after taking the sensible path to my nursing education, I wanted to make the jump to major graduate school. I felt that Pitt was the school for me, and I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2001. Even after all of these years, I do not regret my decision because the nurse anesthesia program remains among the best programs in the country.

Q: What made you choose being a CRNA as a profession?

A: As a young man, I knew I had interests in anatomy and physiology, working with people, and having an active job. I thought that meant being a doctor, but I found out during my freshman year of school that there was another option – nursing. As a young nurse, I knew that my future was going to develop into more than a career in the ICU. While looking into the different options available to me, I attended an open house for graduate programs and met Laura Palmer, who has since retired from her position as the Assistant Director of the University of Pittsburgh Nurse Anesthesia Program. In about 15 minutes, I realized we grew up in the same area and that she knew my family. At that time, I had no idea what a nurse anesthetist was, but I learned. And the rest is history.

Q: What do you feel are the most important issues currently affecting the field?

A: I feel that identity is a key issue. If CRNAs were readily identifiable as a healthcare solution by our health care system, there would be no discussion about scope of practice, reimbursement, credential recognition or title protection with legislators, administrators and the public.

The other aspect of identity is how we feel about ourselves, our profession. I work with a great group of CRNAs who are capable of resurrecting very ill patients, but they struggle with the reality of our profession requiring an entry-level doctoral degree, which I can understand. I am pursuing my DNP, and once a skeptic, I now see the value in assessing needs at work, being able to look at the evidence, and developing interventions to improve the workplace. I characterize doctoral education as personalizing your profession to fit your career aspirations. You can cut your own road. The challenge with the DNP will be finding suitable and relevant projects for young, relatively inexperienced nurses to finish in a short, three-year timeframe.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your career?

A: On the clinical side, I enjoy the everyday rewards of a smooth emergence, a comfortable patient, and the ability to walk away from the job at the end of the day. On the education side, the job may never complete, but the interaction with the students is priceless. They tend to teach me as much or more than I teach them.

Q: Do you have any advice for CRNAs in the field or SRNAs studying the profession?

A: Of course! For CRNAs in the workplace, know your value. There are opportunities to hear this information from time to time at various AANA meetings. Also, don’t forget how well this profession has treated you. Where would you be without it? What has it afforded you? You can give back to your profession by remembering “CARVED.” Communicate new things, information and ideas with each other, your hospital, your legislator, your family and your friends. Attend state and national professional meetings and legislative fundraisers. Read emails and literature from AANA and PANA. Vote in your professional, state and national elections. Educate yourself on your scope of practice, your rights as an employee, billing, etc. Finally, Donate your fair share, $10 to PANA-PAC and $10 to the AANA’s CRNA-PAC. Link it to your credit card, and rest assured that you are doing all that you need to promote your profession.

Q: What do you do in your free time (when not working)?

A: I am a car guy. I like to drive a six-speed, and I just test-drove the new Camaro SS with the 6.2L V8. I also like to travel with my family, and we have been blessed to do a fair amount of travelling as a family of five. Our family trips have created a lot of great memories!

Q: Give us one interesting fact about you that no one would guess in a million years?

A: Our pet, TC – or Top Cat, has ruined a leather chair, scratched a newly refinished heirloom

desk, and tracked sky blue paint around the house, but in spite of all my grumbling about our cat, I do enjoy petting him. He even spent the past hour with me, soaking up the sun as I worked on my PANA profile.