What did the 1941 AANA bulletin advise nurse anesthetists to do regarding deployment?

• A. Enlist in Army units
• B. Remain at civilian hospitals
• C. Retire from practice
• D. Join civilian University center units

Answer: (D)

During that period, the group’s guidance was to deploy nurse anesthetists within civilian university-affiliated center units. The idea was to place skilled practitioners in university teaching hospitals where there was strong supervision, standardized practice, and a robust training and credentialing environment. This setup supported large-volume surgical services and the education of new nurse anesthetists, while still contributing to the war effort through well-organized civilian medical centers.

Choosing Army units would pull this specialized workforce away from teaching hospitals and the formal training pipeline. Staying only at civilian hospitals misses the structured university-centered deployment the bulletin endorsed, and retiring would remove needed anesthesia expertise from the system.