Nurse Anesthetists, 1925-1988

Adriani was a long-time friend to nurse anesthetists. He insisted, however, that the nurse anesthetist was not a substitute for an anesthesiologist; rather, he or she was a technician who carried out routine procedures under the physician's direction. In the 1980s, as nurse anesthetists and some physicians argued for a more independent role, he became increasingly hostile toward nurse anesthetists who did not "know their place" and withdrew his earlier support. He wrote extensively on the issue for publications and in private letters, and he received many letters in response. In 1983, he conducted a survey to determine whether the administration of regional anesthesia by nurse anesthetists was widespread. In 1985, he wrote a major editorial in the American Society of Anesthesiologists' Newsletter which drew both positive and negative response.