Nurse anesthetists were the first professionals to administer anesthesia. Nurse anesthetists have been providing anesthesia since around the time period of the Civil War. During the Civil War, nurses had their first break to fulfill their duties as anesthetists. The first record of a civilian nurse to administer anesthetics was in the 1870s. Before World War 1, nitrous oxide was reintroduced, and the first anesthesia machines came with it. Nurses who knew how to work the machines were sought by many hospitals (Nagelhout 2;4). Since WWI, CRNAs have been the primary providers to the front line personnel of the U.S. Military (“Certified Fact”). For the first time, education was now available for nurses pursuing an interest in anesthetics. “Four
