Dunlop Jennifer, Boschma Geertje, Jefferson Rosella
British Columbia's Children's Hospital.
Can Oper Room Nurs J. 2009 Jun;27(2):16-20, 23-7.
There is little historical knowledge available about nurses' role in anaesthesia in Canada. It appears, from the few sources available, that nurses did administer anaesthesia in the early 20th century in Canada. The limited historiography reveals that nurses who worked in small rural hospitals across Canada were, due to the lack of physician specialty and coverage, involved in the administration of anaesthesia. To learn more about nurses' role in this area the authors explored the oral history collection from the British Columbia's History of Nursing group at the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia Library. Several stories indicated that between 1917 and 1953 there were opportunities for Canadian nurses to administer anaesthesia. The oral histories identified that there was a need for the administration of anaesthesia, that nurses had the skill to provide it, and that flexibility in their nursing practice enabled them to fulfill this role. There was an increasing need for anaesthesia service that was not being filled by physicians. To further explore nurses' role the authors also examined nursing and medical journals from that time period. There is limited understanding of how this role ceased to exist in Canada while it became well established in the United States. Various legal cases from that time period, and the substantially different results between Canadian and America cases, provide some insight into the reasons why nurse anaesthetists were excluded from anaesthesia practice in Canada. As the Canadian healthcare environment continues to change, and the need for anaesthesia services increases, new questions have begun to arise about the potential for an advanced practice role in anaesthesia for Canadian nurses. The demand for anaesthesia services is increasing in-line with the aging Canadian population and the shortage of available services is most dramatic in small, rural hospitals. This article provides important historical background on the development of the role of nurse anaesthetists in Canada.
关于加拿大护士在麻醉领域的作用，几乎没有可获取的历史资料。从现有的少量资料来看，20世纪初加拿大的护士似乎确实实施过麻醉。有限的历史文献表明，由于缺乏专科医生以及医疗覆盖不足，加拿大农村小医院的护士参与了麻醉管理工作。为了更多地了解护士在这一领域的作用，作者们查阅了不列颠哥伦比亚省注册护士学院图书馆中不列颠哥伦比亚护理史小组的口述历史资料集。几个故事表明，1917年至1953年间，加拿大护士有机会实施麻醉。口述历史资料显示，存在麻醉管理的需求，护士具备提供麻醉的技能，并且她们护理工作的灵活性使她们能够履行这一职责。对麻醉服务的需求日益增长，而医生无法满足这一需求。为了进一步探究护士的角色，作者们还查阅了那个时期的护理和医学期刊。对于这一角色在加拿大不再存在而在美国却得以确立的情况，人们了解有限。那个时期的各种法律案例以及加拿大和美国案例截然不同的结果，为加拿大护士麻醉师被排除在麻醉实践之外的原因提供了一些线索。随着加拿大医疗环境不断变化，对麻醉服务的需求增加，关于加拿大护士在麻醉领域担任高级执业角色的可能性开始出现新的问题。随着加拿大人口老龄化，对麻醉服务的需求在增加，而小型农村医院可用服务的短缺最为严重。本文提供了加拿大护士麻醉师角色发展的重要历史背景。
