President's Message
The year is off to a very fast start. The NBCRNA Executive Board had a productive meeting with the AANA Executive Board, followed by a meeting of the full NBCRNA Board to address our 2013 agenda. As an organization, the NBCRNA must stay abreast of the rapidly changing environment in which nurse anesthetists work, and move forward with due diligence to maintain the value of the credential within that environment. Those of us who have been in this profession for many years know that the requirements we face in keeping up with a rapidly expanding universe of knowledge grow ever more stringent, and that to be successful, we have to continually learn more and work smarter.
As a credentialing body, the NBCRNA has one very clear mission—promoting patient safety. For us, the primary tools we have for promoting patient safety lie in our credentialing responsibility. We have to be steadfast and unrelenting in our commitment to ensuring that employers and patients who use our services are confident that the CRNA credential is a reflection of a commitment to excellence. We have and will continue to work hard to help nurse anesthetists understand how to acquire the knowledge that is fundamental to ensuring that our capability increases in line with the demands of the marketplace. The Continued Professional Certification (CPC) program embodies this commitment to ensuring that nurse anesthetists build upon their initial certification knowledge, and commit to lifelong learning and a mastery of best practices.
I think it is important to note that in prioritizing patient safety, as a health care credentialing body must, we are also mindful of the needs of the nurse anesthetist profession. We have provided financial support to both the AANA and COA through specially funded projects because we understand the important roles they play in the protection and advancement of the profession of nurse anesthesia. We look to the future of the profession by assessing opportunities to provide sponsorships and grants for affiliated organizations, individual anesthetists and students, always asking how each such opportunity can help all nurse anesthetists.
We also ask ourselves and our colleagues what we can do, without compromising our commitment to promoting patient safety, to make life a little easier for practitioners as well as others who have a stake in the anesthesia profession. We look at our tools and practices, solicit feedback, and work to make progressive changes that can incrementally improve life for the individuals and groups with whom we work. In this regard, we are interested in hearing from people who are equally vested in the future of the profession. In the months ahead, we will seek to engage more and more people in a forward-looking conversation. But no one needs to wait to hear from us. If you have thoughts to share, we encourage you to send them to
recertification@nbcrna.com.
On behalf of the NBCRNA Board of Directors and staff, I extend the sincere hope that 2013 is a prosperous and productive year for each and every one of you.
Sincerely,
Charles Vacchiano, PhD, CRNA, NBCRNA President