NATCHITOCHES – Brad Koss, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and 1993 graduate of Northwestern State University, was recently named the 2020-21 president-elect of the Tennessee Association of Nurse Anesthetists (TANA). Koss, who is the CRNA Manager of Education at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, will take office as the TANA president in October 2021.
“It is both humbling and an honor to have been elected by my peers to represent them as a leader in our profession and to help carry forth the tradition of serving to protect our practice and be a voice for more than 2,000 CRNAs across our great state,” said Koss, a native of Many and resident of Franklin, Tennessee. “My hope as we make the turn to 2021 is that the new year will bring about renewed promise for us as a nation and as providers of anesthesia.”
CRNAs are highly educated, advanced practice registered nurses who safely deliver anesthesia care to patients of all ages and in every type of healthcare setting where anesthesia is required for surgery, labor and delivery, trauma stabilization and pain management. Across the United States, CRNAs administer more than 49 million anesthetics to patients each year.
As anesthesia and airway experts, during the ongoing pandemic CRNAs on the front lines are managing Covid-19 ICUs and providing one-to-one care to critically ill patients.
“CRNAs have demonstrated their dedication and compassion by caring for the sickest of patients during this extreme time,” said Koss. “Serving in operating rooms, on airway teams, and in critical care settings, CRNAs humbly demonstrate their ability to safely and effectively serve their patients and communities through all facets of healthcare.”
Last August, Koss took on the role of CRNA Manager of Education at Vanderbilt, but 20 years ago he was utilizing his Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from NSU as a manager of an IT Helpdesk team and data center. After nearly a decade in IT, Koss knew he wanted to pursue a different career path. Taking a sharp detour, he began his nursing education at Belmont University in Nashville, then went on to earn both his Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia (2009) and Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice degree (2020) from the Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia (MTSA) in Madison, Tennessee.
Koss’s career highlights include being inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing in 2005 and being honored with MTSA’s Mary Elizabeth “Ikey” DeVasher Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 2016.
Reflecting on his 11 years in the profession, Koss said, “I truly value and appreciate the work that I do on a daily basis. Being a CRNA is a great profession where one’s value is put to the test every single day. The greatest part of being a CRNA is that no patient is ever the same and we are constantly required to be our best.”
The Tennessee Association of Nurse Anesthetists (TANA) is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to advance the profession of nurse anesthesia, to advocate Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists as high-quality anesthesia providers, to enhance the art and science of nurse anesthesia, and to facilitate the provision of safe, accessible, affordable, high quality anesthesia care. Learn more at www.tncrna.com.
