More than 1,000 CRNAs work with the Veterans Health Administration and they can’t operate with full practice authority like their counterparts serving in every branch of the military. The Association of Veterans Affairs Nurse Anesthetists is working to change that despite significant pushback, and former president Diane Boettger, CRNA, joins the show to talk about her time on the board and the work the organization is doing to push CRNAs forward. About the AVANA: https://www.vacrna.com/ Read more: http://beyondthemaskpodcast.com Get the CE certificate here: https://beyondthemaskpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Beyond-the-Mask-CE-Cert-FILLABLE.pdf Today's Key Topics: 2:17 – Background on this topic 3:18 – Why this is important 4:25 – How AVANA is structured 8:59 – Establishing full practice authority 13:33 – Different standards while serving 16:20 – How veterans have been affected 20:15 – What changed during COVID 22:57 – Why the huge pushback 25:55 – What can CRNAs do to help? 29:41 – Opioid crisis 31:37 – How to help AVANA 31:57 – Closing message

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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