I had my three days off interrupted because I was scheduled to attend the nurse anesthetist lecture program.
At the onset, there is no nurse anethetist in the country but being in the team during the operation and being a bedside nurse to a patient who has undergone an operation, it is imperative for us nurses to have an idea on the after effects of anesthesia. It also gives us an overview of what is to expect in the pre-, inter- and post operative phases.
What is nurse anesthetist?

a registered nurse qualified by advanced study in an accredited program in the specialty of nurse anesthesia to manage patient care during the administration of anesthesia in selected surgical situations. Educational requirements include a baccalaureate degree in nursing and a minimum of 1 year of acute care nursing experience, plus a 2-year or longer master’s program in anesthesia. Nurse anesthetists are primarily involved in the direct administration of anesthesia to a single patient but often have other duties such as airway management in emergency situations. They practice under the supervision of an anesthesiologist.

Mosby’s Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.
Our speaker was a nurse who has served as nurse anesthetist in Washington USA for over 25 years.
I learned that not just temporary memory loss would occur while the general anesthesia but also a patient may experience depression as it targets the central nervous system to block the pain sensation of the patient.
This has shed light on my questions as I have handled patients who have experienced post operative depression.
There are different types of anesthersia discussed ubt what I found interesting is the explanation on the difference between the spinal and epidural anethesia. The is the common question we receive from the patient although the anethesiologists are the ones who should discuss this with the patients, most of our patients do not raise question during the anesthesilogist’s rounds. They shoot the question at nurses right after the doctor has left their room.

Spinal Anesthesia: This is medicine put into your back through a shot while lying on your side or sitting up. You are awake during surgery but may be given medicine in your IV so that you are sleepy. You are numb from about the nipple line to the waist and down. How high the numbness goes depends on where your surgery will be. You are not able to move your legs when the medicine starts to work. You can move your legs in 1 to 4 hours when the medicine wears off. Spinal anesthesia is best for surgeries below the waist.
Epidural Anesthesia: This is medicine used to numb you from about the nipple line to the waist and down. While lying on your side or sitting up, a catheter (tiny tube) is put into your back through a needle. The needle is then taken out but the catheter is left in place to give you more medicine if needed. You are awake during surgery but may be given medicine in your IV so that you are sleepy. Your lower body is numb and you may be able to move your legs but should not feel pain. Feeling returns to your legs when caregivers stop putting medicine in the catheter and when the medicine wears off. Epidural anesthesia is good for procedures below the waist. Epidural anesthesia can give longer lasting pain relief than spinal anesthesia.

Source: http://www.drugs.com
The lecture has given me information that is very useful in handling patient and their concerns.