Dr. Lisa Lucas, the Chief Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesiologist (CRNA) at the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center (MVAMC), has devoted her career to providing compassionate, high-quality anesthesia care to military veterans.
On Aug. 3, during the Annual Congress of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiologists (AANA), Lisa’s exceptional dedication, leadership, and caregiving earned her the AANA’s 2024 recipient of the Alice Magaw Outstanding Clinical Anesthesia Practitioner Award. Lucas is the 38th recipient of the award, which recognizes the accomplishments of a CRNA who is directly involved in patient care and has made important contributions to the advancement of nurse anesthesia practice.
Magaw is widely considered to be the most famous nurse anesthetist of the 19th century, earning international respect for perfecting and teaching the open drop ether technique for inducing anesthesia. Dr. Charles Mayo of Mayo Clinic fame dubbed her the “Mother of Anesthesia.”
“I am humbled to receive this prestigious award that honors a nurse anesthetist who was revered for her innovations in safe anesthesia care,” Lucas said. “My personal philosophy as a nurse leader is to set high but realistic expectations. These include always prioritizing the patient and treating them the way you would want your family members to be treated.”
Her most significant career achievement, Lucas said, has been keeping her “compass pointed north toward patient-centric care,” an ongoing process possible only through exceptional teamwork. “My ‘superpower’ has always been identifying others’ strengths and helping find ways they can be used to advance patient care,” she said. “I was given the opportunity to hand-select a dream team of VA CRNAs, each one bringing something special to the group. When such an amazing group of providers is united, you truly develop a work family, and anything can be accomplished.”
Lucas is a strong believer that working with veterans is truly a calling. Reflecting on her days as a nurse anesthesia resident on clinical rotation in a VA facility, she said, “Within a week I knew I had found my professional home.”
But as a self-described “people person,” Lucas was concerned that a career in anesthesia might not afford the same opportunities to develop relationships with her patients that she had experienced in her first nursing position on a transplant team, especially since the majority of the care CRNAs provide is to sedated/sleeping patients. As it turned out, the VA allowed her to work both in the pre-operative clinic with veterans while they’re awake and preparing for surgery, and one on one with them when they are sedated in the OR. She calls it “having the best of both worlds.”
In addition to her leadership role at MVAMC, Lucas is also the Chief CRNA Consultant for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) VISN 9 and works as the area clinical coordinator for the Arkansas State University Nurse Anesthesia program. She is an active member of the Tennessee Association of Nurse Anesthetists (TANA) and the Veteran Affairs Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AVANA).
Among the countless highlights of her 16 years at MVAMC, two quality-improvement initiatives stand out in particular. Lucas developed the hospital’s CRNA Airway Team, which reduced intubation-associated morbidity and mortality to zero. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lucas created the CRNA COVID Team consisting of two-person teams that responded to COVID patients’ medical emergencies and managed both intubation and line placement around the clock.
Caring for veterans and ensuring their wellbeing is as satisfying today for Lucas as it has always been. “I have been so fortunate to care for the same patients multiple times and am thrilled when they come in and request that I be involved in their case,” she said. “The trust between an anesthetized patient and their CRNA is hard to comprehend because it is built on ultimate respect and the assurance that their every need will be met during their most vulnerable state.”
Lucas earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from the University of Memphis in 2002, her Master of Science in Nursing-Nurse Anesthesia (MSN) from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AR, in 2008, and her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, AL, in 2013.
TANA congratulations Dr. Lisa Lucas for the well-deserved honor of being named the AANA’s 2024 Alice Magaw Award winner!
