Conference Schedule

2017 Fall Conference Speakers

Bernadette Henrichs, PhD, CRNA, CCRN is Director of CRNA Education and Research in the Department of Anesthesiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.  She is also Professor and Director of the Nurse Anesthesia Program at the Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College. 

Dr. Henrichs received her anesthesia training in 1994 from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.  She received her MSN in 1993 and a PhD in 1999 from St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri.  Her doctoral research was on the use of simulation for education and she has published several articles on this topic. She conducts weekly simulation sessions with her students, incorporating hands-on simulation with the weekly anesthesia lectures.

Dr. Henrichs is a member of the AANA, MoANA, the AACN, Sigma Theta Tau, and the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. She is Chair of the Faculty Organization and is past president of Tao Iota Chapter of STT. She has served in a variety of roles for the Missouri Association of Nurse Anesthetists, including: Treasurer, Region Director, Vice-President, and Chair of the Continuing Education Committee.  She has served at the national level on the AANA Board of Directors as Region 4 Director and as a member of the AANA Resolutions Committee.  Bernadette also served on the Board of Trustees for the AANA Foundation for nine years.  She served on the Editorial Board and is a reviewer for the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. She also served as a reviewer for the Society for Simulation in Health Care Journal.  She has published several articles, has written book chapters on anesthesia-related topics and is co-editor of “A Resource for Nurse Anesthesia Educators”.  

Garry Brydges, DNP, MBA, ACNP-BC, CRNA

•Transformational Leadership – high employee retention with turnover rates less than 1.4% and cultivating peak administrative and employee performance through increased doctoral prepared nurses. Over 10 years experience building large clinical and administrative teams. Leader in national care coordination initiative for the American Nurses Association – Congress of Nursing Practice & Economics.

• Leadership Team Development – a highly organized director, coach, and mentor; able to quickly assess needs and provide tools to empower employees and managers to resolve departmental difficulties, enhance learning, and improve performance. Quarterly employee and manager review seeking growth & development opportunities and optimize transparency throughout the department.

Bruce Weiner, MS CRNA

Dr. Weiner received his bachelor’s of nursing degree from the University of Delaware, his Master’s degree in Nurse Anesthesia from the Medical College of Virginia, and
recently graduated with a DNP from the University of South Florida. Serving 23 years in various positions on the state and national levels, a two - term state president of the Florida Association of Nurse Anesthetists, AANA Region 7 Director, Treasurer and Vice - President, Dr. Weiner is currently President - Elect of the AANA. Dr. Weiner’s leadership focus on both a national and state level is increasing membership value, member engagement, and returning AANA to its foundation as a member - driven, member-responsive, service-oriented association. Having practiced both independently and as part of a care team practice model, Dr. Weiner currently provides clinical anesthesia services for Envision Healthcare in hospital and ambulatory care facilities in the Tampa Bay area. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Weiner is a frequent lecturer for the University of South Florida nurse anesthesia program and lectures nationally on a variety of clinical and advocacy topics.

Joe Pellegrini, Ph.D., CRNA, FAAN

Joseph Pellegrini, PhD, CRNA has been a member of the University of Maryland School of Nursing faculty since 2008, and currently serves as an associate professor and Director of the Nurse Anesthesia Specialty.   Dr Pellegrini retired from the USN in 2008 after achieving the rank of CAPT where he was the Director of Research for the Nurse Anesthesia Program and chair of the Investigational Review Board (IRB) for the National Naval Medical Center.  Dr Pellegrini was selected as the researcher of the year by the AANA in 2002.  In addition to his duties as Director of the Nurse Anesthesia program at the University of MD he also serves as the IRB Vice-chair for the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Medical Center.  His other duties include Chair of the Peer Advisory Council for the Maryland Board of Nursing, Member of the AANA Practice committee and the AANA representative to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) Patient Safety Committee. Dr. Pellegrini is widely published in multiple nursing, medical and professional journals and is regarded as an expert in obstetrical anesthesia and Evidenced-based Nurse Anesthesia Practice. 

Dr Pellegrini holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing Science, a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and a Master’s of Science (MS) from Rush University as well as a Bachelor’s of Science in Nurse Anesthesia from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Montana State University.  Dr. Pellegrini was recently inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing.