Career Path to Become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

My mom has worked in hospitals since before I was born. From being a nurse to becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, she spent a lot of time in hospitals, which meant her family did too. After spending many nights and even holidays at them, hospitals became like a second home to me; and the staff, a family. I learned to love everything about hospitals: the smell, cleanliness, layout, and even the chaos. I saw how controlled yet sincere everything was. I saw and learned things wandering around hospitals that many others will never understand.

My first encounter with a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesia (CRNA) was during my undergraduate nursing OB/GYN rotation. I was impressed with the CRNA when she placed the epidural to the patient in labor. I remembered patient had difficulty staying still due to the contraction, but the CRNA took her time to explain the procedure while comforting the distressed patient. Once the epidural was in placed and the medication started working, I could tell the relief the patient experienced. I realized then that a CRNA goes beyond the delivery of anesthesia, pain management and monitoring of patients. Thus, obtaining this degree will prepare me to ease the patient’s mind through education, pain management, monitoring, experience and compassion.

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

Certified registered nurse anesthetists are advanced practice nurses who are certified and specialized in the administration of anesthesia (“Position description,” 2014). CRNAs make their own independent decisions and judgments regarding the application of anesthesia, and, in most states, physician supervision of CRNAs is not required (“Legal issues,” 2010). The profession was introduced to the United States during the

The Arizona State Board of Nursing held a board meeting on Friday, September 27, 2013. The portion attended via live video stream began at 10:30am with the committee reports and lasted through the dialogue with current nursing students. Several board members were in attendance including Board President Randy Quinn, RN, MSN, CRNA and Executive Director Joey Ridenour. Board Secretary Terri Berrigan, LPN, C-AL, and Board Member Patricia Johnson, LPN also attended the meeting. The Board President, Randy Quinn, is currently employed as a Registered Nurse Anesthetist. He practices at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix. Mr. Quinn is a member of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists and the Arizona Association of Nurse Anesthetists (Arizona State Board of Nursing, 2012).

The history of the Nurse Anesthetist dates back prior to the Civil War and were considered by many as the pioneers of the practice of anesthesia. As the complexity of administering anesthesia increased, physicians deemed the practice of anesthesia to be equivalent to the practice of medicine. As time progressed, some physicians attempted to have the practice of anesthesia banned from the nursing scope of practice. It was not until a case was brought in front of the California Supreme Court where they ultimately established the legal precedent granting nurse anesthesia its legality. Specifying that nurses can administer anesthesia and that they would be operating under their scope of practice as long as it was done under the guidance of a supervising physician (Hamric, Tracy, & O 'Grady, 2014). That law was federally mandated until 2001, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid changed the federal supervision rule of Anesthesiologist and Nurse Anesthetists in order for facility to receive reimbursement of care ("Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Fact Sheet", 2016). This offered states an “opt-out” rule allowing the unsupervised practice of nurse anesthetists. This change led to conflict in the anesthesia community between physicians and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) as the debate of a CRNA’s ability to practice autonomously was now the center of attention. With the costs of healthcare rising and the

The US News ranked a Nurse Anesthetist number 4 in the top 100 best jobs of 2016. Although satisfying, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is a highly stressful nursing specialty (Phillips, 2010). According to Gouveia (2016), a registered nurse is ranked top 5 in most stressful jobs. Some of the brightest and best CRNAs, even past presidents of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) have taken their own life because of addiction (Quinlan, 2009). Substance abuse and addiction is a well-known topic unfortunately, it continues to be an issue and struggle everyday for some anesthesia providers. CRNAS are well-educated individuals; however, the prevalence, and relapse rates for substance abuse are alarming. The

| Assist anesthesiologists in administering pain and numbing medications to patients during operations. A certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) must go through extensive schooling to understand the risks and uses for common anesthesia in the medical field.

Some of the dilemmas associated with today’s nursing force are: Many are under-educated and task-oriented, unaware of their patient’s plan of care, medical histories, or pertinent results. Too many rely on clinical coordinators and team leaders, when it comes to critical thinking, therefore, miss out on the vital fundamentals, which make nursing such an honorable profession (Grietens, 2007, p. 10). In order to create a stronger, more knowledgeable nursing workforce, entry-level requirements for RNs, as well as APRNs, need to be uniform. In addition, research shows bachelors and masters prepared nurses, result in better patient outcomes. An example of a proposed solution includes:

Firstly the income for being a nurse anesthetist ranges from $94,249-$183,233. The average amount is 138,568, along with the bonus which ranges from $1,004-$15,116. This job makes very good pay but you need a lot of requirements to get to that spot. Secondly, if you want to go in this path for a career there are a lot of similar careers like this one. For example health technologist, registered nurse, nurse assistant, home health aid, or a certified medical assistant. This job is ideally the career for me. It fits me because I fit the qualities of having good judgement, listening skills, communication ability, remaining calm and work well independently and with others. It is necessary to plan for this career to know the potential income, related jobs and why this career is a job for

A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is an advanced practice nurse specialist who administers anesthesia to patients and monitors vital signs during and after surgeries.

With all of the different specialties in healthcare, some get overlooked or may be under the radar. An uncommon and often disregarded career choice in healthcare is that of a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist or a Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice. Although not many people know about these healthcare careers, they play a vital role within the healthcare team. This field is growing rapidly and the likelihood of coming into contact with a nurse anesthetist during a hospital stay is on the rise. Knowing the history, education, responsibilities, and career outlook for a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist or a Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice can aide in understanding their very specific role in the care of patients.

Increasing acuity and rising complexity of acute-care patient populations, lack of a standard national nurse residency program, low job satisfaction scores of graduate nurses, and a high turnover rate of graduate nurses are a few of the important factors that led to the creation of the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) national nurse residency program (NRP).

I definitely fantasize what my life will be like when i’m out of school and have my own money, house, and car just because to me having more leisure time sounds so relaxing and I know how materialistic that sounds but I also think of how I could use my money to travel and thats what I find myself thinking about the most. However, I know very well that you have to work for the things you want and so I do still dream of all those things above but it does drive me to finish school to become a nurse anesthetist even more everyday. In my opinion I am hard on myself now about focusing on school and making that a priority over everything else but with some leeway occasionally. Although the future is never certain I still try to live my life to the

The nursing profession encompasses the largest employment in a hospital setting as well as providing most of the long-term care. Registered nurses are the primary providers of patient care and are one of the largest occupations in the United States with an average salary of $66,700 annually. The National Advisory on Nursing Education has recommended that two-thirds of the nurses receive at least a bachelor degree in nursing. (N.d. ), Nursing Fact Sheet, http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/fact-sheets/nursing-fact-sheet