Nurse Anesthetists are also known as CRNA, which means Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists. Being a CRNA, one has big shoes to fill when it comes to their job. CRNA’s work with anesthesiologist surgeons and other physicians and medical professionals to give anesthesia to patients undergoing medical and surgical procedures.
CRNA’s care for patients before, during and after a medical or surgery by doing a patient assessment , preparing the patient for anesthesia, they must maintain the anesthesia throughout the whole procedure to secure the proper sedation, and pain management, and as a CRNA they must make sure the patient recovers from the anesthesia properly. CRNA’s usually overshadow anesthesiologists. They perform much of the work that anesthesiologists perform as well. But being a CRNA you must be ready to work with many different types of patients, there is a lot of variety throughout the job.
To become a CRNA it takes at least seven years of education and training. You must have graduated high school, and must graduate college with a bachelor degree in nursing, such as BSN (bachelor‘s of science in nursing), or another field, that must be approved by the program. Once someone has a BSN, you must get licensed as a Registered Nurse (RN). To do so, you must pass the NCLEX-RN, the national licensing exam. When licensed as an RN, one must have at least one year of nursing experience, which can include surgical, respiratory and/or intensive car units.
You must work in an emergency room or with patients recovering from anesthesia. So before you can be eligible to gain admission into a graduate nurse anesthetist graduate program, you must do the mandatory requirements in the one year or more as a RN. Most nurse anesthetist graduate programs take between two to three years to complete. Once the program is complete, one must pass the national certification exam in order to practice legally as CRNA. A CRNA has very hectic hours. A normal work week will consist of forty hours. But sometimes they work 8 hours or longer a day just to finish an operation/procedure requiring anesthesia.
Also, CRNA’s will be working very late night shifts or very early shifts because patients need around the clock care. Also, they may have to work weekends and holidays as well. CRNA’s are always on the clock which means, since emergency surgery may be required at any point of the day/night, CRNA’s will be on call for certain shifts. But with all these big responsibilities, comes a big pay check. CRNA’s can make from $150,000-$220,000 a year depending on your employer, your experience, job duties, and location. CRNA’s are one of the most highly paying nursing professions.
The future jobs of a CRNA looks bright. As people are continuously reproducing, our population is rapidly growing. People are beginning to live longer, which would show the need of health care services, especially for anesthesiologists for surgeries. But, whenever a anesthesiologist is needed, a CRNA is needed as well. Also, with people living longer, they become elderly. Which, when getting older, one requires much medical attention. Another reason, is with everything being so expensive, people can’t afford anesthesiologists, so they look for a alternative.
CRNA’s are trusted, non expensive ways to have service to them. Also as a CRNA, you can work anywhere. Throughout the United States, there are more than 39,000 CRNA’s employed. Wherever anesthesia is used, a CRNA is needed. Such as, surgical suites, delivery rooms, critical access hospitals, ambulatory surgical settings, and outpatient surgical centers. They can also work in dentist offices, podiatrist settings, plastic surgeons, and pain management specialists. They can also work in government agencies such as the U. S. Public Health Service, the U.
S. Department of Veteran Affairs, or the Armed Forces in clinical, research, educational, and administrative roles. You can also have an independent contracting with hospitals, physicians, dentists, etc. So technically this job is available all of the United States. You could work from a small physicians office, to working for the government! The possibilities are endless, so in the future this career will still be going strong! But being a CRNA has its ups and downs. The good thing about this job is that the money is great.
They can make between $150,000-$220,000 a year. The job growth outlook is looking great for future candidates for this job. But some bad things about being a CRNA is that it can be an extremely stressful job, and the hours can be very affecting to your social, and family life. Being a CRNA is very interesting to me, so I think I would consider getting into the field as a nurse anesthetist. When I get older, I would like a stable job, with benefits, and a good paycheck, because I would like to have a family and live life some what worriless.
The money is great. CRNA’s can earn more than many primary care physicians, with less of the education and training required. That is also important because I don’t want to spend twelve years in college just to become something great, when I can go to school for seven. Schooling isn’t a big issue, but if I could make very decent money for almost half the time of going to college, I think that is a great deal. Also, the job growth outlook is excellent. Whenever an anesthesiologist is needed, a CRNA is as well.
Therefore, the demand for CRNA’s is only going to increase, because anesthesiologist jobs are increasing. Also, as a CRNA one must have many strengths. You must be able to be a clear thinker and not make rational decisions. I am very good at working under pressure, I stay calm. Also, I have great communication skills with people, and I listen very well. I also know how to be a leader and give orders when they are needed to be given. But, why I may have doubts about pursuing a career as a CRNA is because the job is extremely stressful. Sometimes you have peoples lives, resting in your hands.
Maybe it’s because I’m young that I find that extremely terrifying, but I don’t know how I would be able to cope with the scariness of that thought on a daily basis at my job. Also, depending on the size of the anesthesiology staff, the on-call schedule can affect my quality of life. I want to be able to have a family, and spend time with them, but as a CRNA, patients need around the clock care, which means if you’re on call, there is always a chance you will be called in for work, and no matter what you are doing, you must always be able to be dependable.
I think being a CRNA would be an overall great fit for me because I match the needed strengths in the job, I am willing to do all the requirements for the job and education/training, and the money and future job outlook meets by expectations. Also, even the bad things I find throughout this career, I can change. Even though peoples lives will be resting in my hands, I will work ten times harder knowing that. And lastly, even though the schedule is hectic it would be worth it, because I would have a stable job, and stable paycheck, and in today’s economy that’s all anyone can ask for.