The Work of a Nurse Anesthetist
A nurse anesthetist is a registered nurse (RN) who specializes in the administration and care of anesthesia. A nurse who works in this capacity provides care to her patients pre-op, as well as during and following surgery. It is her job as well to ensure that the patient is safe and comfortable when they are in the recovery room.
Nurse anesthetists have been providing anesthesia care to patients across the nation for almost 150 years. The first reported American nurses to administer anesthesia were those that did so during the American Civil War. This war lasted from 1861 until 1865. According to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists this area of nursing comprises the oldest nurse specialty group in the United States.
Job Description of a Nurse Anesthetist
Nurse anesthetists work closely with their patients in surgical settings. To be more specific these highly skilled specialty nurses do preoperative teaching, physical assessments and preparation for surgical procedures. They are also the ones that administer and maintain anesthesia. While the patient is anesthetized it is their responsibility to constantly monitor every function that is going on with the patient’s body such as heart rate and blood pressure. The nurse anesthetist must also stay close by her patient once the procedure has been done. Follow-up monitoring during the postoperative stage is another significant aspect of a nurse anesthetist’s job.
Nurse anesthetists work very closely with a team of other health care professionals including surgeons, anesthesiologists and dentists. According to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists , certified registered nurse anesthetists administer an estimated 65 percent of the 26 million anesthetics that are given to patients in the United States on an annual basis.
Nurse anesthetists can find work in a variety of medical settings. They can work at either public or private facilities. They can find employment in the operating rooms (OR) of hospitals, pain clinics, labor and delivery, doctor’s offices and ambulatory surgery centers. The military is always looking to hire nurse anesthetists. They can also be found working in university medical centers, private practices and public health services.
To be successful in this job the professional in question must possess pharmacologic knowledge, refined skills in assessing, interviewing and teaching and be comfortable with new technologies. She also must be flexible and committed to her work and be able to manage stress effectively as this job can be extremely demanding and stressful. A nurse anesthetist must also possess psychomotor skills.
Educational Requirements for a Nurse Anesthetist
As previously mentioned an aspiring nurse anesthetist must first get the proper education and training to become a registered nurse (RN). She must go to university and earn a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN). Upon graduation she can then take the required examination through the state board of nursing to obtain a license to work as a registered nurse.
After at least a year or two of general nursing experience the nurse must then pursue a master’s degree in nursing with a concentration in nurse anesthesia. Nurses who have graduated with a master’s degree are then eligible to write the national certification examination that is given by the National Board on Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists. Those nurses who pass the examination will then earn the title of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). These nurses must apply for recertification every two years. They can do this by completing approximately 40 hours of continuing education as well as providing documentation of anesthesia practice.
There are some drawbacks to becoming a nurse anesthetist. Besides stress and plenty of pressure there are potential health hazards, contract issues and competition, irregular hours, legal liability and many on-call responsibilities. The salary for a nurse anesthetist is very lucrative. A certified nurse anesthetist (CRNA) earns in the area of $135,388 a year as reported by Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow (NHT) in 2009. This is one of the highest paying of all the nursing specialties.
