Bill Text: NY S00357 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Defines the practice of certified registered nurse anesthetist; requires collaboration with a licensed physician qualified to determine the need for anesthesia services; requires licensing; defines qualifications.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-7)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-03 - PRINT NUMBER 357A [S00357 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S00357-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 357--A 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. COONEY, ADDABBO, BAILEY, BORRELLO, FERNANDEZ, GALLI- VAN, GONZALEZ, HARCKHAM, HELMING, HINCHEY, JACKSON, MURRAY, OBERACKER, PALUMBO, PARKER, RAMOS, RHOADS, RIVERA, C. RYAN, SALAZAR, SANDERS, SKOUFIS, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to creating the profes- sion of nurse anesthetist The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new article 139-A 2 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 139-A 4 CERTIFIED REGISTERED NURSE ANESTHETIST 5 Section 6920. Introduction. 6 6921. Definition of practice of certified registered nurse 7 anesthetist. 8 6922. Practice of certified registered nurse anesthetist and use 9 of the title "certified registered nurse anesthetist" or 10 "nurse anesthetist". 11 6923. State board for nursing. 12 6924. Requirements for a license as a certified registered nurse 13 anesthetist. 14 6925. Limited permits. 15 6926. Exempt persons. 16 6927. Special provisions. 17 § 6920. Introduction. This article applies to the profession of certi- 18 fied registered nurse anesthetist. The general provisions for all EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00477-02-5S. 357--A 2 1 professions contained in article one hundred thirty of this title apply 2 to this article. 3 § 6921. Definition of practice of certified registered nurse anesthe- 4 tist. 1. In addition to the provisions of practice for registered 5 professional nursing outlined in section sixty-nine hundred two of this 6 title, the practice of a certified registered nurse anesthetist further 7 includes, but is not limited to, administration of anesthesia and 8 sedation to a patient; performing and documenting a preanesthetic 9 assessment and evaluation of the patient, including requesting consulta- 10 tions and diagnostic studies; selecting, obtaining, ordering, and admin- 11 istering preanesthetic medications and fluids; obtaining informed 12 consent for anesthesia, developing and implementing an anesthetic plan; 13 initiating the anesthetic technique; monitoring the patient including 14 selecting, applying, and inserting appropriate noninvasive and invasive 15 monitoring modalities for continuous evaluation of the patient's phys- 16 ical status; selecting, obtaining, and administering the anesthetics, 17 adjuvant and accessory drugs, and fluids necessary to manage anesthetics 18 and acute and chronic pain; ordering and evaluating laboratory and diag- 19 nostic tests and performing point-of-care testing; ordering and evaluat- 20 ing radiographic imaging studies; managing a patient's airway and 21 cardiopulmonary status using current practice modalities; facilitating 22 emergence and recovery from anesthesia by selecting, obtaining, ordering 23 and administering medications, fluids, and ventilatory support; 24 discharging the patient from a postanesthesia care area and providing 25 postanesthesia follow-up evaluation and care; implementing acute and 26 chronic pain management modalities; responding to emergency situations 27 by providing airway management, administration of emergency fluids and 28 drugs, and using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques; and 29 prescribe tests, drugs and other treatments necessary to anesthesia care 30 provided by a nurse anesthetist. 31 2. (a) A certified registered nurse anesthetist licensed under this 32 article and practicing for thirty-six hundred hours or less shall do so 33 either under the direction of: (i) a physician who has completed a 34 residency program in anesthesiology that is accredited by an accrediting 35 organization acceptable to the department; (ii) a physician who is board 36 certified in anesthesiology by a certifying organization acceptable to 37 the department; (iii) the operating physician who the governing body of 38 the general hospital or ambulatory surgery center, that is subject to 39 section twenty-eight hundred one-b of the public health law, has deter- 40 mined is qualified to supervise anesthesia services in the general 41 hospital or ambulatory surgery center; or (iv) a dentist or podiatrist 42 qualified to provide anesthesia services pursuant to sections sixty-six 43 hundred five-a and seven thousand one of the education law, respective- 44 ly. For purposes of this section, direction shall mean patient care 45 guidance and advice, coordination and communication from the physician, 46 dentist or podiatrist to the certified registered nurse anesthetist 47 practicing for less than thirty-six hundred hours, as needed for the 48 care of the patient. 49 (b) After practicing for more than thirty-six hundred hours, a certi- 50 fied registered nurse anesthetist shall function in an interdependent 51 role as a member of a patient-centered care team, which shall include a 52 physician, podiatrist, or dentist. 53 3. Prescriptions for drugs, devices, and anesthetic agents, anesthesia 54 related agents, and analgesics may be issued by a certified registered 55 nurse anesthetist under this paragraph and section sixty-nine hundred 56 twenty-four of this article, necessary to anesthesia care provided by aS. 357--A 3 1 nurse anesthetist. The certified registered nurse anesthetist shall 2 obtain a certificate from the department upon successfully completing a 3 program including an appropriate pharmacology component, or its equiv- 4 alent, as established by the commissioner's regulations, prior to 5 prescribing under this subdivision. The license issued under section 6 sixty-nine hundred twenty-four of this article shall state whether the 7 certified registered nurse anesthetist has successfully completed such a 8 program or equivalent and is authorized to prescribe under this subdivi- 9 sion. 10 § 6922. Practice of certified registered nurse anesthetist and use of 11 the title "certified registered nurse anesthetist" or "nurse anesthe- 12 tist". Only a person licensed or otherwise authorized under this article 13 shall practice as a certified registered nurse anesthetist or nurse 14 anesthetist. 15 § 6923. State board for nursing. The state board for nursing as estab- 16 lished in section sixty-nine hundred four of this title shall be the 17 governing state board for certified registered nurse anesthetists. 18 § 6924. Requirements for a license as a certified registered nurse 19 anesthetist. To qualify for a license as a certified registered nurse 20 anesthetist, an applicant shall fulfill the following requirements: 21 1. Application: file an application with the department; 22 2. License: be New York state licensed and currently registered as a 23 registered professional nurse; 24 3. Education: have received a degree in a program of nurse anesthesia 25 from a program registered by the department or determined by the depart- 26 ment to be substantially equivalent or meet the requirements of section 27 sixty-nine hundred twenty-seven of this article; 28 4. Examination: pass an examination satisfactory to the department 29 after consultation with the state board for nursing and in accordance 30 with the commissioner's regulations; 31 5. Character: be of good moral character as determined by the depart- 32 ment; and 33 6. Fees: pay a fee of one hundred fifty dollars to the department for 34 an initial license and a fee of fifty dollars for each triennial regis- 35 tration period. 36 § 6925. Limited permits. 1. The department may issue a limited permit 37 to an applicant who is New York state licensed and registered as a 38 registered nurse and meets all qualifications for licensure, except the 39 examination. 40 2. Limited permits shall be for two years. 41 3. A limited anesthetist permit shall entitle the holder to practice 42 as a nurse anesthetist only in a health care facility under the 43 personal, on-premise supervision of a certified registered nurse anesth- 44 etist with more than thirty-six hundred hours of practice experience or 45 physician who: (a) has completed a residency program in anesthesiology 46 that is accredited by an accrediting organization acceptable to the 47 department; or (b) is board certified in anesthesiology by a certifying 48 organization acceptable to the department; or (c) has medical staff 49 privileges to provide anesthesia services at the health care facility 50 and with the endorsement of the health care facility. 51 4. Fees. The fee for each limited permit shall be thirty-five dollars. 52 § 6926. Exempt persons. This article shall not be construed: 53 1. to limit or diminish the practice of the profession of nursing as a 54 nurse practitioner or registered professional nurse pursuant to article 55 one hundred thirty-nine of this title or any other law, rule, regulation 56 or certification;S. 357--A 4 1 2. as prohibiting the furnishing of nurse anesthesia assistance in 2 case of an emergency; 3 3. as prohibiting such performance of nurse anesthesia service by 4 students enrolled in department registered nurse anesthesia programs or 5 students enrolled in other nurse anesthesia programs that are authorized 6 pursuant to section two hundred twenty-four of this chapter to place 7 such students in clinical rotations in this state under appropriate 8 supervision; or 9 4. as prohibiting or preventing the practice of nurse anesthesia in 10 this state, in obedience to the requirements of the laws of the United 11 States, by any commissioned nurse anesthetist officer in the armed forc- 12 es of the United States or by any nurse anesthetist employed in the 13 United States veterans administration or United States public health 14 service while engaged in the performance of the actual duties prescribed 15 for such nurse anesthetist under the United States statutes, provided 16 such person does not represent or hold themselves out as a certified 17 registered nurse anesthetist registered to practice in this state. 18 § 6927. Special provisions. It shall be lawful for an individual 19 practicing as a certified registered nurse anesthetist in this state as 20 of the effective date of this section that does not meet the educational 21 requirements, but meets the other requirements of section sixty-nine 22 hundred twenty-four of this article, to continue such practice provided 23 that such certified registered nurse anesthetist: 24 1. submits evidence of certification as a certified registered nurse 25 anesthetist by an appropriate national certifying body to the depart- 26 ment; 27 2. has continually maintained active, up-to-date recertification 28 status as a certified registered nurse anesthetist by an appropriate 29 national recertifying body; 30 3. has submitted an application for and obtained licensure as a New 31 York state certified registered nurse anesthetist within three years of 32 the effective date of this article; and 33 4. nothing in this article shall be construed to authorize an individ- 34 ual to continue to practice as or use the title "certified registered 35 nurse anesthetist" or "CRNA" beyond the three-year time frame unless 36 such individual obtains a New York state license under this article. 37 § 2. Section 6903 of the education law, as amended by chapter 323 of 38 the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows: 39 § 6903. Practice of nursing and use of title "registered professional 40 nurse" or "licensed practical nurse". Only a person licensed or other- 41 wise authorized under this article shall practice nursing and only a 42 person licensed under section sixty-nine hundred five of this article 43 shall use the title "registered professional nurse" and only a person 44 licensed under section sixty-nine hundred six of this article shall use 45 the title "licensed practical nurse". No person shall use the title 46 "nurse" or any other title or abbreviation that would represent to the 47 public that the person is authorized to practice nursing unless the 48 person is licensed or otherwise authorized under this article or article 49 one hundred thirty-nine-A of this title. 50 § 3. Section 6904 of the education law, as amended by chapter 994 of 51 the laws of 1971 and as renumbered by chapter 50 of the laws of 1972, is 52 amended to read as follows: 53 § 6904. State board for nursing. A state board for nursing shall be 54 appointed by the board of regents on recommendation of the commissioner 55 for the purpose of assisting the board of regents and the department on 56 matters of professional licensing and professional conduct in accordanceS. 357--A 5 1 with section sixty-five hundred eight of this title. The board shall be 2 composed of not less than [fifteen] seventeen members, eleven of whom 3 shall be registered professional nurses and four of whom shall be 4 licensed practical nurses and two of whom shall be certified registered 5 nurse anesthetists all licensed and practicing in this state for at 6 least five years. An executive secretary to the board shall be 7 appointed by the board of regents on recommendation of the commissioner 8 and shall be a registered professional nurse registered in this state. 9 § 4. This act shall take effect eighteen months after it shall have 10 become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 11 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 12 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 13 on or before such effective date.
