Agatha Hodgins earned notoriety as the founder of the AANA but a person right behind her often gets overlooked. That’s Gertrude Fife, the second president of the AANA, and she’s the next focus of our historical series. We look back on how she helped shape the organization and set the standards of education for CRNAs with the help of Nancy Bruton-Maree, CRNA, and Sandy Ouellette, CRNA.

Read more and get additional financial resources here: https://beyondthemaskpodcast.com/ep-123-gertrude-fifes-lasting-impact-on-education-and-the-aana/2880/ 

Get the CE certificate here: https://beyondthemaskpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Beyond-the-Mask-CE-Cert-FILLABLE.pdf

What we discuss on this episode: 

2:10 – Welcome Sandy and Nancy

5:22 – Early part of her life

6:49 – Contributions to clinical anesthesia

13:39 – Contributions to AANA

24:38 – Elected NANA president

27:52 – Real proponent of an accreditation program

34:15 – An organizer and promoter

36:27 – Membership categories

39:02 – What annual dues would be today based on inflation

40:55 – Settings standards for education

45:37 – Woman of many talents

47:46 – Dagmar Nelson Trial

45:37 – Disagreement between Hodgins and Fife

51:59 – First qualifying exam

54:54 – Other awards

56:45 – Her life’s work and its relevance today