Student nurse anesthetists now make up 13 percent of the AANA’s membership, said AANA President James Walker, CRNA, DNP, at the Student Luncheon Monday afternoon. From the reaction of the students present, they are an enthusiastic and vocal group.
Fiscal year 2011 student representative to the Education Committee Amy Young, RN, is congratulated by her predecessor, Christopher Leger, RN, BSN, CCRN. Photo courtesy of Wheeler Commercial Photography.
Walker spoke personally about his first Student Luncheon in 1992, saying he had never been involved in any professional association before he encountered the nurse anesthesia profession. He urged the students present to become involved, saying “Celebrate the fact you are here. Make sure the fire in your belly gets lit. It has to be you. You have to be engaged.”
Walker said “This profession will give you more than you can imagine.” He spoke of being the calming voice to nervous patients, comforting them and taking them through the surgical experience safely. “Never lose sight of the fact that it is always about the patient.”
Chris Leger, RN, BSN, CCRN, student representative to the Education Committee, spoke about the growth that a student experiences, from learning to balance studies with parenthood to growth in income, financial debt, waist sizes, or learning, just like a duck, to remain calm on the surface while “paddling furiously under the water.”
Leger also cautioned his fellow students about substance abuse, and challenged them to “make addiction a thing of the past.”
AANA Foundation Chair Nancy Gondringer, CRNA, MA, encouraged students to give back to the profession when they are able. She announced that $390,000 was raised from 3,100 donors. Sixty-two student scholarships were awarded, six Program Director’s Outstanding Student Researcher grants, and 100 general research grants, awards, and posters. “Five dollars from each of a lot of people adds up. There is never too small an amount to donate,” Gondringer said.
Francis Gerbasi, CRNA, PhD, executive director of the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, gave the Student Writing Contest Award to Erin Siebens, RN, from the University of Michigan-Flint/Hurley Medical Center Master of Science in Anesthesia Program. Ten manuscripts were submitted, blinded, and judged by the AANA Journal Committee.
John Preston, CRNA, DNSc, AANA senior director, Education and Professional Development, awarded the Student Excellence in Education Award to Jennifer Hancock, RN, from Wolford College. The Student Excellence in Education Award is presented to the student who creates the most innovative method of promoting nurse anesthesia. Jennifer’s entry, one of five, was a documentary entitled “A Day in the Life of a Nurse Anesthesia Educator.”
Chris Leger announced the new Student Representative to the Education Committee, Amy Young, RN, from Winston-Salem, N.C.