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Nurse Anesthetists

  • Bright Outlook
  • Rapid Growth

Administer anesthesia, monitor patient's vital signs, and oversee patient recovery from anesthesia. May assist anesthesiologists, surgeons, other physicians, or dentists. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.

What you’d do

  • Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation.
  • Respond to emergency situations by providing airway management, administering emergency fluids or drugs, or using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques.
  • Monitor patients' responses, including skin color, pupil dilation, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, ventilation, or urine output, using invasive and noninvasive techniques.
  • Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary.
  • Select, prepare, or use equipment, monitors, supplies, or drugs for the administration of anesthetics.
  • Assess patients' medical histories to predict anesthesia response.
  • Perform or manage regional anesthetic techniques, such as local, spinal, epidural, caudal, nerve blocks and intravenous blocks.
  • Develop anesthesia care plans.

Skills that matter

  • Critical Thinking
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Active Learning
  • Active Listening
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Judgment and Decision Making

How to get there

Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

Also called

  • Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
  • Nurse Anesthetist
  • Staff Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (Staff CRNA)
  • Staff Nurse Anesthetist

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