Alice McGaw: “Mother of Anesthesia”

hold backs were the number one professional group to practice anaesthesia services in the United States. This started 125 years ago and little was know active anesthesia back then. One of the most famous make anesthesiologists was Alice McGraw. She was to be given the name Mother of Anesthesia for her expert application of anesthesia during surgery and her many published works regarding the procedure. suck anesthesiologists were pioneers in their case. Surgeons began want them out to help with anesthesia during surgery because they could provide undivided direction to the patient.The earliest records establish the beginning of hold in anesthetists in 1887. Since then, they need been subservient in continuing improve anesthetic techniques and equipment. Although formal education for nurse anesthetists was non made available until 1909, it is the earlier nurse anesthetists who paved the way for safe anesthesia and opened door to this specialty for nurses. Patients repor ted little discomfort and the surgeons reported fewer deaths due to trauma during operations.Currently show Registered control Anesthetists (CRNA) atomic number 18 licensed professional nurses who go through extensive learn after receiving their Registered restrain (RN) degree. This is considered a specialized field and requires nurses to become display panel certified through a state exam before beingnessness able to practice as a CRNA. The purpose of this study was to express and educate about the women in nursing who lead the way in development and application of anesthesia. Alice McGaw is little known to mainstream society and yet she provided close to of the most comprehensive studies to this profession.She also spent her life as a practicing nurse anesthetist and make the title Mother of Anesthesia Alice McGaw is known as the Mother of Anesthesia, a title given her by Dr. Charles mayo. She was born in 1860 and little else can be found regarding her raising or sch ooling prior to 1893. It was in this year that she became the nurse anesthetist to Drs William J. and Charles H. Mayo of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Nursing anesthesia was the first clinical nursing specialty and in the beginning consisted of predominately women.Factors attributing to this were low wages, most nurses were young-bearing(prenominal) and it was considered to be a deferential position with the surgeon in dismantle of it all. Before the inclusion of nurse anesthetists in surgical procedures, most anesthesias had been administered by medical students or physicians with little or no anesthesia provision. During the genteel War (1861-1865) anesthesia was used on the wounded but real little because it was considered too dangerous. It was not until 1878 that the first official nurse anesthetist came into being.The first school of nursing anesthesia was not formed until 1909. Surgeons began seeking nurse anesthetists to try to decrease the mortality numbers a nd because nurses could focus their perfect attention on the patient rather than on the operation. Anesthesia evolved otherwise in Europe and the United States. Chloroform was the preferred choice in Europe and ether the preference in the United States. One of Alice McGaws major accomplishments was her expertise in the open drop inhalation rule of anesthesia using a combination of ether and chloroform.It was this expertise that earned her the title Mother of Anesthesia. She perfected this method while running(a) for Dr. Charles Mayo and it was he who gave her this moniker. McGaw was also very concerned with the patients mental state prior to surgery. She believed that the patient should be alert with comfort words before being anesthetized. She refined a technique that prepared the patient mentally so as to increase the effectiveness of the anesthesia It was this technique that lead to a decrease in mid-operative anesthesia being required.It was in 1899 that Alice McGaw publis hed the first paper ever written by a nurse anesthetist based on her work in nursing anesthesia. The paper was titled Observations in Anesthesia and was published in the Northwestern Lancet. Alice McGaw went on to publish five papers total on the subject of nurse anesthesia. The paper in 1906 published in Surgery, gynaecology and Obstetrics was titled A Review of 14,000 Surgical Anesthetics. It noted that in the 14,000 surgical procedures for which she had been the anesthetist, there had been no complications or deaths attributed to problems with the anesthetic or its application.This was a milestone in the field of nursing anesthesia. . During the time that McGaw was the nurse anesthetist for Drs. William J. and Charles H. Mayo, she and Dr. Charles Mayo set up a instance for surgery and anesthesia. This showcase attracted students from all over the world. This was not formal training but back up many students to implement McGaws technique with anesthesia. St. Marys Hospital, whe re McGaw was the nurse anesthetist for the Mayo brothers later became the world famous Mayo Clinic. McGaw worked for Drs. William J. and Charles H.Mayo from 1893-1908. amid 1912 and 1920, almost 20 post graduate schools for nurse anesthesia opened. The Mayo Clinic was among one of those offering the program. It was McGraws early work that helped to achieve the achiever of the nurse anesthetist and its subsequent training programs. She and other like her pioneered the field of nurse anesthesia. Previously physicians were 95 percent male and nursing was not a specialized field. This changed with the addition of the nurse anesthetist. Nurse Anesthetists today are Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA).These are licensed professional nurses (RNs) who want o specialize in anesthesia. They are required to take extensive training and must be board certified by exam before being able to provide services to patients and surgeons. In 1931 the National link of Nurse Anesthetists (NA NA) was formed. It would later become the American tie-up of Nursing Anesthetists (AANA). It was the first national organization for practicing anesthetists and still exists today. In 1986, the Clinical Anesthesia practician Award was established by the AANA.This loot was to recognize the accomplishments of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists who have made important contributions to the advancement of nurse anesthesia. In 1998 this award became the Alice McGaw Outstanding Clinical Practitioner Award to honor McGaws achievements as a nurse anesthetist and for her publications on her work. Without Alice McGaw, nursing anesthesia would not have moved ahead as quickly. Her dedication to perfecting her craft and the publications that she allowed others to learn from were implemental in the field of nursing anesthesia.Her training and showcasing taught others the importance of anesthesia and its application. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists of today can practice their skills with confidence because of the importance Alice McGaw pose on knowing and perfecting the specialty of anesthesia. She was one of the most important forerunners in her field and her legacy continues to evolve with advancements and achievements based on her work. References 1. American experience of Nurse Anesthetists (2006) muniment of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Retrieved November 30, 2006 from http//www. aana. com/aboutaana. asp viperx? ucNavMenu_TSMenuTargetID=173&ucNavMenu_2. American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (2006) A Brief Timeline of Nurse Anesthesia Retrieved November 30, 2006 from http//www. aana. com/archives/timeline. asp 3. Bankert, M. Watchful Care A History of Americas Nurse Anesthetists. New York Continuum 1989 4. Evans, T. CRNA, MS What is a CRNA? (1998) http//www. anesthesia-nursing. org/wina. html 5. Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists (2006) History of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Retrieved November 30, 2006 from http//www. miana. org/history/history. html 6. Thatcher, V. History of Anesthesia with Emphasis on the Nurse Specialist Philadelphia Lippincott, 1953