Katherine M. Grosner receives the 2021 Goldie Brangman Award

Katherine Marina Grosner, DNP, CRNA

Every year at the Annual Fall Meeting the Goldie Brangman Award is given to a deserving SRNA. Goldie Brangman, CRNA, MEd, MBA was an accomplished CRNA and exceptional mentor. She served as the first and only African American President of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology and President of NYSANA from 1960 - 1961. Goldie famously treated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., after a near-fatal assassination attempt in 1958.  

This year's Goldie Brangman Award recipient is Katherine M. Grosner (University of Buffalo Nurse Anesthesia Program), Evaluating the Barriers to Opioid-Free Anesthesia for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in Diverse Practice Settings through the Creation of a Survey Tool. Read below to learn more about Katherine, her research into opioid alternatives, what it means to her to be awarded the Goldie Brangman Award and why being a member of NYSANA is important

Why is it important to you to be a NYSANA member?
I learned the importance of being a NYSANA member as an SRNA, where I valued the opportunities to attend association meetings, such as the fall meetings in New York and Syracuse, and Advocacy day in Albany. I plan to continue my active membership as a CRNA and hope to attend more meetings in the future.  The future of healthcare is tenuous, especially in these current times, and I believe more than ever that we must stay involved and be vocal about protecting our practice, which includes staying a NYSANA member. 

Why does Evaluating the Barriers to Opioid-Free Anesthesia for CRNAs in Diverse Practice Settings through the Creation of a Survey tool excite you?
I began my interest in opioid alternatives in anesthesia through my experience as a surgical ICU nurse and then as an SRNA, where I wanted to investigate other options to treat surgical pain without opioids.  Once I began my clinical rotations, I noticed that many of the CRNAs that I worked with faced numerous barriers to decreasing their use of opioids.  This is where the idea for my DNP project titled, “Evaluating the Barriers to Opioid-Free Anesthesia for CRNAs in Diverse Practice Settings through the Creation of a Survey Tool” began, and continued to be the focus of my studies as an SRNA all three years. 

I am honored to have received the Goldie Brangman Award from the board, as they have been gracious and welcoming to me as a student and I hope to continue this wonderful professional relationship with NYSANA.  Goldie Brangman is an inspiration and I hope to be a fraction as accomplished as she was in my own career.  I would like to thank the board for believing my project worthy of such an amazing award. 

As a newly practicing CRNA, I already recognize the importance of having our state association to advocate for us, as well as provide numerous resources such as education and conference opportunities.  I plan to stay involved as a CRNA and hope to take full advantage of what NYSANA has to offer.