Our History
The anaesthesia as an independent profession grew out of the surgical profession in Hungary. The Hungarian Surgical Society was founded in 1958, included a separate anaesthesiologist section. In 1966 the Hungarian Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy was founded, and by 1984 an Anaesthesiologist Assistants’ Section was formed within this society.
The Section worked very actively from the beginning, various committees were organised to solve the problems affecting the assistants. The main goal was to connect the medical staff, doctors and assistants to unify their actions within the Society, and to unite their efforts on presence on scientific meetings.
Special assistants’ training has been started in 1962 in Budapest and from 1977 it was available at several university centres. Also refresher courses were obligatory to attend in every 5 years.
In this early period only a few anaesthesiologists were trained, therefore in many (mainly countryside) hospitals have only the assistants to anesthetise under surgical supervision. Though the working conditions were difficult sometimes, the assistants loved and respected their profession and their mentor doctors.
To the 1990’s the financial conditions of the health care were increasingly difficult, and that meant hard days to the anaesthesiology assistants, too. More tasks remained to the assistants’ without the opportunity to employ more people or to further educate the remaining ones. Also the medical education itself was a subject to change. Finally in 1995 the Section’s board resigned, the new board re-organised the body of the Section, created several committees and regional liaisons. They have joint their forces with 13 other health care societies and formed the Healthcare Professionals Cooperation Forum to represent and support their professional goals as a political advocacy force.
As the Assistants’ Section has over 1000 active members by this time, arose the question to found an independent society for anaesthesiology assistants. This came true on 28 February, 1998, when the Hungarian Association of Nurse Anaesthetists (HANA) was founded.
Of course, HANA is still a supporting member of the Hungarian Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy. We are also a member of the European Federation of Critical Care Nurses Associations (EFCCNA) and the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists (IFNA). From 2002, HANA is represented on the list of national of advocacy and social organisations.
For our 20th anniversary we would be delighted to welcome WCNA in 2018 in Budapest.
Board
President
Katalin Meixner / Semmelweis University – Transplantation and Surgery Clinic, Budapest
Vice-presidents
Zsuzsanna Oroszi / Jávorszky Ödön Hospital, Vác
Judit Jakab / Kenézy Gyula Hospital, Debrecen
Secretary General
Julianna Fritsch / St. Imre Teaching Hospital, Budapest
Secretaries
Klára Dakó / Military Hospital – State Health Centre, Budapest
Tímea Tálas / Military Hospital – State Health Centre, Budapest
Treasurer
Tünde Gubó / National Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, Budapest
Contact
AITSZME / HANA
c/o Katalin Meixner, Dept.Transplantation and Surgery, Semmelweis University
Baross u. 23-25.
1082 Budapest, Hungary