Introduction
A nurse anesthetist (CRNA) is an Advanced Practice Nurse who is specially trained to administer anesthetics to those patients who are undergoing dental, medical or obstetrical procedures (McIntosh, 1995). The specialty of nurse anesthetics was created to respond to surgeons’ requests for a solution to the alarmingly high rates of mortality and morbidity caused by anesthesia during that time. The surgeons visualized nurse anesthetists as professionals who would devote themselves to patient care in the course of surgical procedures. With time, nurse anesthetists became part of the whole range of specialized surgical procedures, refinement in anesthetic equipment and techniques.
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