Jan Pasnak loved nurse anesthesia, and by all accounts nurse anesthesia loved her back.

“She had a love of life and a level of engagement that I have rarely seen paralleled,” said Mary Ford, Ph.D., CRNA, chief anesthetist at VCU Health, who noted that Pasnak’s passion and talents reached far beyond her own team, earning the admiration of surgeons, pharmacists, nurses and technicians across VCU Health.

“She wanted to do anesthesia. She wanted to do the toughest anesthesia. She wanted to take care of the sickest patient. She wanted to do the most complex specialties. And she did everything she did with gusto.”

Ford, eyes welling, recalled her dear friend and longtime colleague, whom she trained and worked alongside at VCU Health before Pasnak’s passing in 2020. And she was determined to honor her in a way fitting for a beloved caregiver and VCU alum.

Her work led to the Jan Y. Pasnak Nurse Anesthesia Scholarship, which supports students in the College of Health Professions’ Department of Nurse Anesthesia. Beginning this academic year, it will be awarded annually to a second- or third-year student who embodies Pasnak’s “courageous spirit, positivity, zest for life, and commitment to health and fitness in pursuit of becoming a compassionate CRNA.”

Ford remembers sharing the idea with Pasnak directly shortly before her passing following a courageous fight with ovarian cancer. “She loved the idea of a scholarship being left in her memory, or in her honor, to go to somebody who was athletic, who was engaged, who was interested in academic medicine,” Ford said, “and I loved the idea of looking at a student who shared her energy and her presence, and to remember her in that way.”

At VCU Health, Pasnak is also remembered as a member of the liver transplant team and an early leader in clinical informatics. “She did every specialty and she was good with computers, and very technical in that way, and very energetic,” Ford said. “She was able to do data extraction and did a lot of really cool stuff to make our lives easier. It really impacted the entire department.”

Things like designing and implementing portions of the electronic health record, which resulted in a custom digital recording system for nurse anesthesia recordkeeping. From that foundation, nurse anesthetists across VCU Health could use the data to better inform patient care.  

Beyond her technical expertise, colleagues saw the same relentless drive in her personal life. Pasnak was a marathon runner, a dedicated CrossFitter and an adventurer who summited Mount Kilimanjaro with a stress fracture. “She was always looking forward,” Ford said. “She was not somebody who dwelled on the problems of now. She was always looking for the opportunity and the potential of the future.”

As a graduate and later adjunct faculty member in the Department of Nurse Anesthesia, Pasnak also served as a preceptor to students and residents with the same energy she gave to patients. That impact is why the scholarship resonates so deeply across the department today.

“She was just this embrace-life-and-live-it-to-the-fullest kind of person,” said Nickie Damico, Ph.D., CRNA, associate professor and the Herbert T. Watson Endowed Chair of the department. “This award is a really great way to honor her and her spirit.”

Ford agreed, noting the award’s deeper meaning for students who will carry Pasnak’s spirit into their own practice. “She always pushed the envelope in everything she did,” Ford said. “And I think it’s important to embody that spirit for the next generation of clinicians. That’s the impact that this scholarship will have.”

To honor Pasnak’s legacy and help the next generation of nurse anesthetists, consider contributing to the Jan Y. Pasnak Nurse Anesthesia Scholarship today.