Congratulations to Charles A. Hoyt, SRNA, for being chosen as the 2022 recipient of the Patty Cornwell Stewardship and Advocacy Scholarship! An SRNA at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Nursing Nurse Anesthesia Option and the student representative to UTHSC for the Tennessee Association of Student Nurse Anesthetists (TASNA), Charles is the second recipient of the scholarship. He will be honored on August 15 during the 2022 AANA Annual Congress in Chicago.
The $3,000 scholarship was established jointly by the Tennessee Association of Nurse Anesthetists and the AANA Foundation in recognition of legendary TANA member Patty Cornwell, CRNA, who devoted a lifetime of service to her profession, TANA, and the AANA. Patty passed away in 2021.
Charles, who will graduate from UTHSC in May 2023, decided to go into healthcare after his mother became ill. “None of my family works in healthcare—my mom’s a sign language interpreter and dad an accountant—but I became interested in healthcare and nursing when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer,” he said. “The comprehensive care from nurses and nurse anesthetists alike sparked a passion in me to pursue nursing to give others the same comfort and reassurance granted to my family during a time of unease.”
Inspired, Charles earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla., in 2017. While attaining the required critical care nursing experience for entry into a nurse anesthesia educational program, he also obtained his Certified Critical Care Nurse (CCRN) credential. He said he isn’t focused on working in any particular area of nurse anesthesia after graduation, but he looks forward to learning more about pediatric anesthesia in the future.
As the UTHSC student rep for TASNA, Charles personifies the attributes that made Patty Cornwell special. “In representing the TASNA, I strive to educate my fellow classmates on the importance of our state and national organizations and advocating for our profession,” he explained. “I have been involved in advocacy at the local and state levels, and particularly enjoyed meeting with my Tennessee state representatives at Day on the Hill in Nashville. Additionally, I attended this year’s AANA Mid-Year Assembly in Washington, D.C., where my CRNA and SRNA colleagues and I met with our Tennessee senators to educate them on the CRNA profession.”
Looking ahead, Charles expressed his desire to stay involved in TANA leadership and become more involved in AANA leadership. He is also interested in exploring formal education to inspire other nurse anesthetists to embrace promoting and protecting their profession. “I have always been eager to involve myself in education in the hospital and academic settings,” Charles said. “Through these and other education channels, I hope to encourage others to become advocates for and stewards of our profession.”
Charles has high hopes for the future of nurse anesthesia, and said he plans to do his part to help move the profession forward. “I would love to see continued efforts to improve patient access to anesthesia care result in additional states joining the 20 that have already opted out of physician supervision requirements for CRNAs,” he said. “I also hope CRNAs and SRNAs will continue to build strong interprofessional relationships with other members of the perioperative and surgical team. During my education and training to become a CRNA, I have enjoyed learning from the different providers I work closely with while caring for our patients—anesthesiologists, perfusionists, surgeons, nurses, and many others. I think the best care happens when we are all learning from one another.”
The Patty Cornwell Stewardship and Advocacy Scholarship is awarded annually to an SRNA enrolled in one of Tennessee’s nurse anesthesia educational programs. Patty devoted her professional career to providing exceptional anesthesia care to patients for surgery, labor and delivery, and other healthcare needs, and devoted her spare time to serving the nurse anesthesia profession she loved. After graduating from the Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia, she joined the AANA in 1972 and TANA in 1976. Throughout her decades of membership, she served as TANA president three times, on dozens of committees, and as the organization’s executive director, lobbyist, and federal political director at various points in her career. She was passionate about advocating for her profession at the local, state and national levels.
Please join TANA in congratulating Charles for being honored with the Patty Cornwell Stewardship and Advocacy Scholarship.
You may make a donation to the AANA Foundation Scholarship in Patty Cornwell’s name by:
- Clicking this link
- Texting “PATTY” to 41444