Ira P. Gunn Award for Outstanding Professional Advocacy
2023 Ira P. Gunn Award for Outstanding Professional Advocacy
Michael MacKinnon, DNP, FNP-C, CRNA, FAANA
The Ira P. Gunn Award for Outstanding Professional Advocacy was established in 2000 by the AANA membership. It is presented to an individual who, through leadership and/or personal effort, has made a highly significant contribution to the preservation and advancement of the nurse anesthesia profession through legislative, legal and/or regulatory efforts.
The Award was established to honor Ira P. Gunn, CRNA, MLN, FAAN, who had a 21 year Army career, where she excelled as a practitioner, educator, researcher, consultant, and prolific writer. She untiringly devoted her time, knowledge, expertise and energies to the AANA, various State ANAs and individual CRNAs confronted with challenges of a legal, legislative or regulatory nature. Her contributions to this profession and its members, through these and other efforts have significantly contributed to the preservation and advancement of the nurse anesthesia profession.
Throughout his career, Michael has been a passionate champion for CRNA protection and advancement. From 2013 to 2015, he served as the president of the Arizona Association of Nurse Anesthesiology where he shaped measurable goals and a strategic plan that would ultimately lead to Arizona opting out of physician supervision in 2020.
Michael has contributed to AANA and the profession of nurse anesthesiology with several committee appointments including as chair of the Student Voting Rights Task Force, AANA Nominating Committee and the AANA AA Task Force. He was inducted as a Fellow of AANA in 2021 and received the honor of being named Arizona CRNA of the Year for 2021. This year Michael was also elected to the AANA Board of Directors.
Michael is an independent CRNA practitioner, instructor and lecturer, adjunct faculty for the Midwestern University CRNA Program and the Middle Tennessee CRNA Program, and associate professor/assistant director of the National University CRNA Program.
His nominators said, “Ira P. Gunn was not one to conform to the wishes of the ‘status quo’ and was always willing to consider another argument if it was equally supported with factual and verifiable information. I see many similarities between these two individuals.”
Michael, in recognition of your tireless advocacy for our profession, we congratulate you.