Nick Stalnaker, CRNA, has been named associate chief of the Nurse Anesthesia Program for the UNMC Department of Anesthesiology.
In this role, Stalnaker will work closely with his predecessor and current director of the Nurse Anesthesia program, Tiffany Olson, CRNA, providing leadership, workforce management and strategic planning for the program. Stalnaker will also support CRNA recruitment, retention and clinical operations.
“Nick is a passionate leader, educator and skillful clinician,” said Mohanad Shukry, MD, executive vice chair of the UNMC Department of Anesthesiology. “We are excited to work with him in his new role. His dedication to the department is evident in his commitment to his colleagues and to mentoring the next generation of nurse leaders here at UNMC.”
Throughout his UNMC nursing career, Stalnaker has continuously sought to improve the already high level of care for a diverse patient population and quality education for students and colleagues.
He received the “2021 Extraordinary Nurse” honor for his role in the inception of a CRNA simulation program at the Davis Global Center and for his leadership and mentorship efforts throughout the pandemic, especially at the beginning.
Stalnaker was the first CRNA to provide care in the ICU during the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and then shared protocols with his colleagues which helped ease the transition into a new workflow.