AANA / American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology

08/22/2026

You answer patients’ anesthesia questions every day. Now there’s a ready-to-share resource that can help continue those conversations beyond the procedure room.

AANA has launched Anesthesia Answers, a patient education website created by CRNAs to explain what patients and families can expect before, during, and after anesthesia care. The site offers clear, evidence-based information without unnecessary medical jargon, helping patients feel more prepared for conversations about surgery, childbirth, and other procedures.

Explore Anesthesia Answers, then consider sharing it with patients and families who may benefit from a trustworthy place to start.

Visit AnesthesiaAnswers: https://anesthesiaanswers.aana.com/

08/22/2026

Wicked good start, Boston. See you for Day 2!

08/19/2026

ICYMI: There’s a new issue of AANA Journal waiting for you! 📖

Catch up on the latest research and clinical insights, then let us know which article made it onto your reading list.

Explore the August issue:

08/18/2026

For patients in rural and underserved communities, access to anesthesia care can be the difference between receiving care a few minutes from home or having to travel hours to get it.

In his latest op-ed for Becker’s Healthcare, AANA CEO Bill Bruce discusses how CRNAs help keep essential healthcare services available in communities across the country and why removing unnecessary barriers to care matters.

Read more:

Anesthesia access outcomes measures highlight how CRNAs and opt-outs support rural hospitals amid workforce shortages and service closures.

08/18/2026

Help us congratulate two of our own! 🎉👏

AANA members Derrick Glymph, PhD, DNAP, CRNA, and Dan Lovinaria, DNP, MBA, APRN, CRNA, have been selected for the National League for Nursing's 2026 class of Academy of Nursing Education Fellows (ANEF)!

We love seeing CRNAs recognized not only for the care they provide, but for their leadership in the classroom and their commitment to the future of nurse anesthesiology. 💙

Congratulations, Derrick and Dan, on this well-deserved recognition!

08/14/2026

AANA member Zafar Anwar, DNP, APRN, CRNA, spent the National Black Nurses Association, Inc.’s Annual Institute and Conference doing a little bit of everything: presenting, answering questions, sharing his experience, and introducing attendees to the nurse anesthesiology profession.

At the AANA booth, he met high school students who had never heard of nurse anesthesiology, nursing students curious about what they could do now to prepare, and ICU nurses already thinking seriously about CRNA school.

It made his presentation on mentorship especially timely: Zafar shared how mentors helped shape his own journey from student to CRNA and eventually faculty member and then spent the conference offering that same guidance to others. 💙

08/13/2026

There's a lot changing in healthcare and nurses are right in the middle of it.

In this podcast, Dr. Beverly Malone, CEO of the National League for Nursing, talks about everything from workforce shortages and nursing education to AI, access to care, and what she's excited about for the future of nursing.

We were especially glad to hear CRNAs included in the conversation about the role advanced practice nurses play in expanding access to care. As Dr. Malone points out, there are communities where a CRNA may be the only anesthesia provider available.

It's just one part of a much bigger conversation about the value nurses bring to healthcare and where the profession goes next.

🎥 Give it a watch:

Nursing leadership, workforce shortages, nurse education, COVID’s impact, pay equity, licensure, prevention, and AI- Dr. Beverly Malone and Roy Bejarano unpack the future of nursing and its central role in U.S. healthcare.

08/12/2026

Court finds nursing degree exclusion from professional degree definition likely contrary to law.

A federal judge in Massachusetts this week found that the Department of Education’s exclusion of nursing degrees from its definition of a professional degree is likely contrary to law, agreeing with an earlier analysis by the D.C. court. While the court did not grant a temporary injunction in the lawsuit brought by AANA, American Nurses Association and allied organizations, it found that the department improperly added requirements beyond what the law allows and that MSN, DNP and DNAP degrees should be eligible for consideration as professional degrees.

Under current Department of Education guidance, MSN, DNP and DNAP students continue to receive the higher federal student loan limits while the legal process continues.

AANA remains committed to ensuring that federal student loan policies do not discourage qualified future CRNAs from entering the profession. We will continue working with our partners toward a lasting solution that supports students, strengthens the anesthesia workforce and helps ensure patients have access to high-quality anesthesia care wherever they live.

https://www.aana.com/update-on-department-of-education-student-loan-cap-issue/

08/12/2026

Former AANA President Mary Jeanette Mannino, CRNA, JD recently sat down with the Talk2Lucia: Medical Careers Podcast to share stories and lessons from her many years in nurse anesthesiology.

From anesthesia practice to law, business, advocacy, and leadership, she's had a front-row seat to some pretty significant moments in the profession's history and played a role in quite a few of them herself.

There's a whole lot of AANA history packed into this podcast! If you enjoy hearing from the CRNAs who helped shape the profession we know today, add this one to your listening list.

🎙️Listen here:

Join me on Talk2Lucia: Medical Careers Podcast as I sit down with Ms. Mary Jeanette Mannino, a retired nurse anesthetist whose extraordinary career has spanned clinical practice, education, healthcare leadership, business ownership, consulting, authorship, advocacy, and law.After earning her Bachelo...

08/10/2026

When RRNA Erin Newberry traveled to Guatemala for a medical mission, she thought she'd be learning how anesthesia is practiced differently.

Instead, she came home with a new appreciation for how much connects providers across borders and for the value of saying "yes" to opportunities that challenge your perspective.

Thank you, Tennessee Association of Nurse Anesthetists, for sharing Erin's story 💙

🔗 https://www.tncrna.com/erin-newberry-center-stage/