AANA Resolution #2015-2

WHEREAS, The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA or Association) is the professional association for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and the AANA Board of Directors (Board) is elected by the membership to be the governing body of the Association;

WHEREAS, The Board is responsible for determining the strategic direction and policy making for the association and has a fiduciary duty to make decisions that are in the best interests of the association;

WHEREAS, The Board is responsible for the management of the affairs of the association and delegates these duties, with oversight, to the Executive Director/CEO;

WHEREAS, The Executive Director/CEO is responsible for executing the day-to-day management of the association and implementing the Board’s strategic directives for the benefit of the profession;

WHEREAS, The current AANA Board of Directors, along with several past AANA Boards, have worked countless hours to address the concerns of AANA members regarding the implementation of the NBCRNA’s Continuing Professional Certification (CPC) program;

WHEREAS, in the judgment of the signers of this resolution, the exchange of liaison’s between the AANA Board of Directors and the NBCRNA Board of Directors, the execution and satisfaction of the requirements of Resolution 2014-2, and the inclusion of, and enhanced communication between, the AANA Continuing Education Committee, and the NBCRNA Board and CPC Committee have resulted in substantial modifications of the CPC Program that have addressed the preponderance of expressed AANA Member concerns;

RESOLVED, The AANA Board of Directors will continue to monitor and review the CPC program and its progress on a regular basis as well as continue to address any issues that arise regarding the program, and

RESOLVED, That now is the time for AANA members to come together for the welfare of the profession, and as members, we strongly urge the AANA Board of Directors to move forward to address all the work of the profession including additional current strategic issues such as barriers to practice, reimbursement, quality measures, continuing education and all other strategic issues that the board deems important to the practice of nurse anesthesia, and be it further

RESOLVED, That in a show of unity, the members of the AANA give the AANA Board of Directors and the Executive Director/CEO and executive staff a vote of confidence.

Rationale:

With the introduction of the new recertification program, the Board and staff have worked tirelessly to meet member concerns. Substantial changes have resulted from the efforts of the AANA Board and appropriate plans for and means of communication have been identified in moving forward. However, based upon continuing disagreement with the premise of a new recertification program, a substantial amount of time and resources continue to be spent to address member in-fighting within the profession.

The work that has been performed is important work and the Board has made major strides to listen to the members and negotiate changes in the NBCRNA CPC program. While the Board’s focus has been on this issue, the ASA and the medical community have been increasing barriers to nurse anesthesia full authority scope of practice, increasing roadblocks to reimbursement and developing a data registry that collects CRNA practice data.

This resolution, if adopted by the members, will reflect recognition of the difficult decisions and work of the Board. The AANA will be able to move forward with the work of the association.

Cost Analysis: There is no cost impact of this resolution beyond what are assumed as part of the defined roles and responsibilities of the AANA Board of Directors, Executive Director/CEO and Executive Staff. The actions requested of the Board of Directors and Executive Staff fall within their scope of responsibility.

Sponsors:

Patrick Downey, Linda Williams, Debbie Malina, Terry Wicks, Jim Walker, Dennis Bless, Janice Izlar, Brian Thorson,