How to become a
nurse anesthetist (CRNA)

Demand for nurse anesthetists continues to grow across the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.* Once you become a licensed CRNA, you’ll be needed in many different healthcare environments:

• Medical and surgical hospitals
• Outpatient care enters
• Offices of dentists, plastic surgeons, pain management specialists, and other medical professionals
• U.S. military facilities

Whether you end up working in an intensive care unit (ICU) of a busy urban hospital or a walk-in clinic in small town America, your day as a nurse anesthetist will be varied and interesting. Typically, you’ll work in collaboration with anesthesiologists, anesthesiologist assistants, physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

There are numerous tasks you’ll be responsible for, including caring for patients under anesthesia, intubating patients who may require it, monitoring their vital signs, administering medications, managing ventilators or simply talking with them and calming their nerves. As a nurse anesthetist you will:

• Provide patient care before, during and after surgery.
• Tend to expectant mothers before, during and after labor and delivery.
• Participate in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
• Provide trauma stabilization and critical care interventions.
• Diagnose and deliver acute and chronic pain management.

When you’re not actually tending to your patients, you’ll spend time reviewing their histories, setting up the room where procedures are conducted and organizing the meds that will be required. At the end of the day, you’ll go home knowing you played a vital role in the advocacy and care of the patients for whom you were responsible.

Loving what you do for a living is important. Being acknowledged and paid well for your specialized knowledge and training is an added bonus.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary for nurse anesthetists is $202,470 per year ($97.34 per hour).* Of course, your pay will depend on what state you work in and the type of facility where you are employed, but no matter where you live, becoming a CRNA can be a very lucrative career choice. Learn everything you need to know about how much a nurse anesthetist makes.

There are many different kinds of nurses and anesthesiology represents one of the higher paying specialties in the nursing profession. The cost of a graduate-level education can be a deterrent for some students, but in the case of CRNAs the return on your investment can be substantial.

To help meet the growing and consistent need for safe and effective anesthesia care, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) strongly encourages high school and college students to consider this highly rewarding career path. Advanced practice RNs like nurse anesthetists are being increasingly counted on to provide care to patients in a broad range of settings and environments, particularly in medically underserved areas such as inner cities and rural areas.

Here's how great the need has become for these master’s-educated nursing professionals: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects overall employment for nurse anesthetists to grow 9% from 2022-2032, faster than the national average for all other occupations.

If you’re looking for a nursing career that comes with a high level of autonomy, professional respect, increasing opportunity and an excellent average salary, you’ll want to consider becoming a CRNA.