In 1917 when William Stewart Halstead was establishing modern surgery, Margaret Boise, a nurse working closely with him was training nurses to give anesthesia and started the Johns Hopkins School of Nurse Anesthesia. As Alfred Blalock was performing the first Blalock-Taussig shunts on "Blue Babies" in 1944, it was Olive Berger the "Nurse in Charge" who gave the anesthesia and trained other nurses in the art of anesthesia. The Johns Hopkins School of Nurse Anesthesia closed in 1985 but nurse anesthetists have been administering anesthesia at Hopkins continuously for the past ninety-one years.

Olive Berger, Nurse Anesthetist, standing at the head of the
operating table, assists Dr. Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas
during ground-breaking "blue baby" cardiac surgery in 1945

Our Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists work collaboratively with a dynamic group of attending anesthesiologists many of whom are experts in various aspects of anesthesia. Hopkins surgeons bring interesting cases in every specialty from around the world. Our academic environment is stimulating and challenging.

We are now proudly serving as a clinical site for several schools of Nurse Anesthesia. Once again, nurse anesthetists are learning the art and science of their speciality under the historic dome at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Our Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) staff is growing, and the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine welcomes qualified anesthetists interested in joining a large and vibrant academic department.