National CRNA Week comes around January 17–23, 2027. It honors the nurse anesthetists who put patients to sleep for surgery and watch over them until they wake.
Mid-January, Every Year
Every year in January, starting on the third Sunday and running through Saturday. The 2026 week ran January 18 to 24, and AANA has set January 17 to 23, 2027.
The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology started it. The first official CRNA Week was held in January 2000, and the group still runs it.
Lawmakers often add their voices. In 2026, a House resolution recognizing the week was introduced on January 23, with Representative Jan Schakowsky as lead sponsor.
Nurses Came First
Nurses gave anesthesia long before it became a medical specialty. In 1877, Sister Mary Bernard of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, became the first nurse to specialize in it.
Alice Magaw followed in 1893, working for Dr. Charles Mayo in Rochester, Minnesota. Mayo later called her the “Mother of Anesthesia.”
Agatha Hodgins built the profession’s structure. She opened a school of anesthesia at Cleveland’s Lakeside Hospital in 1915.
On June 17, 1931, she founded the National Association of Nurse Anesthetists. AANA calls it the first national group for anesthesia providers in the country.
Growth came quickly. The group’s first annual meeting, held in Milwaukee in 1933, drew 120 people.
Membership widened over the next decade. It opened to African-American nurse anesthetists in 1944 and to men in 1947.
Credentials followed. The first certification exam in 1945 drew 90 women from 39 hospitals, and the CRNA title was adopted in 1956.
Why the Week Matters
Scale is a big part of the message. AANA’s CRNA Week page celebrates more than 79,000 nurse anesthetists and residents in training.
Their workload is huge. The 2026 House resolution says CRNAs give more than 58,500,000 anesthetics each year.
Rural hospitals lean on them most. That resolution calls CRNAs the primary providers of anesthesia care in rural America.
They also serve in military and VA hospitals. In 1986, Congress gave CRNAs direct Medicare Part B payment, the first nursing specialty with that right.
Policy is never far away. Since Iowa opted out of a federal physician supervision rule in 2001, other states have followed, and Arkansas became the 22nd in 2021.
Leadership has changed with the field. John Garde became AANA’s first male president in 1972, and Goldie Brangman its first African-American president a year later.
Numbers vary by source. The House resolution cites 69,000 CRNAs and students, lower than AANA’s current figure.
Ways to Join In
AANA gives each day of the week a social media theme. The 2026 lineup ran from Spotlight Sunday and Mentor Monday to Throwback Thursday and State Pride Saturday.
Its toolkit also offers a social media profile frame, and a photo form lets hospitals send in pictures of their celebrations for possible features.
- Thank the nurse anesthetist who cared for you or a family member during surgery.
- Share a post for each daily theme, such as a mentor shout-out on Monday.
- Hang AANA’s posters on rural care, OB-GYN care or military care in a clinic break room.
- Use AANA’s template to ask your state lawmakers for a CRNA Week resolution.
- Pitch a local op-ed with the group’s ready-made draft.
- Ask AANA to design a billboard, which it does for free if you cover placement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is National CRNA Week a federal holiday?
No. A professional association runs it, and hospitals stay fully staffed.
What does CRNA stand for?
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.
Who is the week’s tagline about?
“Heart of Anesthesia” refers to nurse anesthetists themselves.