How many hours do nurse anesthetists work?

For example, when you work in an office or an outpatient center, your work schedule may consist of shorter, more regular shifts, since procedures are only scheduled during the facility's normal business hours.

Conversely, when you work in hospital departments that handle unscheduled procedures, like labor and delivery wards, trauma units, and cardiac units, your work schedule may be more erratic.

Emergencies occur at all times of day, so facilities that handle these cases need to have nurse anesthetists on staff in the evenings, overnight, on weekends, and holidays. In these facilities, most nurse anesthetists work two 24-hour cycles, but often may be asked to work additional hours if understaffed.

The nurse anesthetists who enjoy the most regular schedules are the ones who work in facilities that aren't open round-the-clock. Dentist offices only accept appointments during certain business hours. Likewise, ambulatory surgery centers that perform procedures on an outpatient basis usually schedule surgeries during regular hours.

Nurse anesthetists in these environments are more likely to work eight-hour shifts. Sometimes these are normal daytime shifts, other times the hours extend into the evenings. Some nurses prefer working fewer days a week for longer hours at a time. Whereas others prefer the normalcy of a nine-to-five job. These factors are important to consider for this job.