#BlackHistoryMonth February 2022
On this first day of Black History Month, TANA recognizes our Black CRNA and SRNA members for the safe, high-quality anesthesia care you provide to thousands of Tennesseans each year, and especially for your courage and dedication on the front lines of the ongoing fight against COVID-19. Thank you!
TANA also honors the heroic Black nurses and nurse anesthetists who down through the years have made an indelible impression on the U.S. healthcare system, especially:
Mary Eliza Mahoney (1845-1926), the first African American to graduate from a school of nursing and work as a professional nurse in the United States. Mary helped pave the way for Black people to become nurses and, ultimately, nurse anesthetists.
In 1944, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) welcomed African American nurse anesthetists into membership. Three decades later, AANA members elected legendary nurse anesthetist Goldie Brangman (1920-2020), CRNA, MEd, MBA, to serve as the association’s first, and still only, Black president in 1973-74. Earlier in her career, Goldie had helped save the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. after he was nearly assassinated in 1958. Read more about her experience at https://www.aana.com/docs/default-source/aana-journal-web-documents-1/imagining-1215-p385-387.pdf?sfvrsn=59d448b1_8.
Today, 12 percent of the AANA membership—approximately 7,200 CRNAs and SRNAs—are people of color, and 3 percent (about 2,000) are African Americans. To help promote career opportunities in nurse anesthesia for Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, and other nurses of color, Walena Gould, EdD, CRNA, FAAN, founded the Diversity in Nurse Anesthesia Mentorship Program. Learn more at https://diversitycrna.org/. Thank you for all you do, Walena! #BlackHistoryMonth