What is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist?

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetics (CRNA) work closely with doctors in the Operating Room (OR) to administer anesthetics to patients. They are board-certified for the job and enjoy work independence, as opposed to other nurses.

Certified registered nurse anesthetics work on various cases, including major and minor procedures. They can work in a hospital, dentist's office, doctor's private practice, or even in pain management clinics. CRNAs may also perform non-anesthesia related jobs like personnel management and patient care.

Within the OR, these nurses ensure that patients remain under anesthesia and follow up with post-anesthetic care afterward. They are also responsible for keeping the patient's airways clear and free of obstructions.

The path to becoming a CRNA involves graduating from nursing school and registering as a nurse in your state. You will also need to obtain a license from the practicing board.

What Does a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Do

There are certain skills that many certified registered nurse anesthetists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, detail oriented and leadership skills.

Learn more about what a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist does

How To Become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

If you're interested in becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 39.7% of certified registered nurse anesthetists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 39.7% of certified registered nurse anesthetists have master's degrees. Even though most certified registered nurse anesthetists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
Top Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Jobs Near You

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a certified registered nurse anesthetist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as ob/gyn, progress to a title such as office manager and then eventually end up with the title registered nurse case manager.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

Top Careers Before Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

Registered Nurse(646,159 Jobs)
40.0 %
Staff Nurse(699,636 Jobs)
23.4 %
Registered Nurse In The ICU(631,825 Jobs)
4.6 %

Top Careers After Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

Nurse Anesthetist(62,419 Jobs)
20.6 %
Registered Nurse(646,159 Jobs)
19.1 %
Staff Nurse(699,636 Jobs)
9.9 %

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Average Salary for a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in America make an average salary of $152,996 per year or $74 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $292,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $79,000 per year.
Average Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Salary
$152,996 Yearly
$73.56 hourly
$79,000
10%
$152,000
Median
$292,000
90%
See More Salary Information

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How To Become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
How To Become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Career Overview

States With The Most Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active certified registered nurse anesthetist jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where certified registered nurse anesthetists earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1Florida15,260$130,225
2Texas14,526$160,392
3California13,569$175,819
4New York9,934$175,539
5Pennsylvania8,572$169,630
6Ohio7,494$165,277
7Illinois6,861$168,257
8Massachusetts6,376$167,134
9Georgia6,265$157,598
10Indiana6,155$156,613
11Virginia5,890$160,711
12North Carolina5,852$159,502
13New Jersey5,005$164,155
14Michigan4,743$161,123
15Washington4,261$179,076
16Maryland4,121$179,568
17Arizona3,967$170,878
18Tennessee3,877$148,164
19Missouri3,750$162,614
20Colorado3,329$168,858
21Minnesota3,305$181,454
22Louisiana2,934$111,306
23Wisconsin2,850$167,485
24South Carolina2,819$164,008
25Kentucky2,628$154,777
26Oregon2,571$190,139
27Oklahoma2,465$168,279
28Alabama2,441$141,007
29Connecticut2,241$172,272
30Iowa2,095$177,360
31Kansas1,898$155,096
32Arkansas1,718$144,974
33New Hampshire1,597$174,424
34Mississippi1,534$142,427
35New Mexico1,498$167,819
36Nevada1,307$150,704
37Maine1,266$180,983
38Nebraska1,203$163,948
39West Virginia1,178$149,905
40Utah925$153,738
41South Dakota880$130,358
42Montana838$180,820
43Idaho821$178,683
44Delaware797$159,142
45North Dakota754$167,833
46Vermont631$169,775
47Alaska595$189,066
48Rhode Island540$160,761
49Wyoming398$175,303
50Hawaii362$93,162

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Education

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Majors

Nursing
80.8 %
Biology
3.9 %
Business
2.6 %

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Degrees

Masters

39.7 %

Bachelors

39.7 %

Associate

9.0 %

Top Colleges for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists

1. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-State Tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764

3. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

In-State Tuition
$53,430
Enrollment
5,963

4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-State Tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079

5. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition
$54,104
Enrollment
7,089

6. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition
$13,226
Enrollment
31,568

7. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

In-State Tuition
$17,653
Enrollment
16,405

8. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946

9. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216

10. Chamberlain College of Nursing - Arlington

Arlington, VA • Private

In-State Tuition
$19,375
Enrollment
506

Top Skills For a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 21.6% of certified registered nurse anesthetists listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and detail oriented are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume
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Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume
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Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Resume

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Demographics

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Gender Distribution

Female
Female
60%
Male
Male
40%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among certified registered nurse anesthetists, 59.6% of them are women, while 40.4% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among certified registered nurse anesthetists is White, which makes up 85.1% of all certified registered nurse anesthetists.

  • The most common foreign language among certified registered nurse anesthetists is Spanish at 70.6%.

Online Courses For Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist That You May Like

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The Basics of Trauma Surgery
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This course imparts a wide range of basic knowledge and skills in the field of trauma surgical and orthopedic treatment of patients. To facilitate this, the course employs a new concept of information transfer. We follow a scientific approach and a sophisticated combination of modern teaching methods to vividly impart the taught contents. This included case-based learning, comprehensive factual knowledge, and consecutive quizzes, which help to better memorize the learned contents and later...

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Trauma Emergencies and Care
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Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...

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Introduction to Cataract Surgery
coursera

This comprehensive course will give you the fundamental knowledge needed to begin performing cataract surgery by phacoemulsification and extracapsular removal. Each step from preoperative evaluation to postoperative care will be covered to help prepare you for the operating room...

View Details on Coursera
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Best States For a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a certified registered nurse anesthetist. The best states for people in this position are Oregon, Alaska, Minnesota, and Maine. Certified registered nurse anesthetists make the most in Oregon with an average salary of $190,139. Whereas in Alaska and Minnesota, they would average $189,066 and $181,454, respectively. While certified registered nurse anesthetists would only make an average of $180,983 in Maine, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Maine

Total Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Jobs: 1,266
Highest 10% Earn:
$255,000
Location Quotient:
1.45

$180,983

Avg. Salary

View 1,266 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Jobs In ME

2. Montana

Total Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Jobs: 838
Highest 10% Earn:
$264,000
Location Quotient:
1.11

$180,820

Avg. Salary

View 838 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Jobs In MT

3. Alaska

Total Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Jobs: 595
Highest 10% Earn:
$268,000
Location Quotient:
1.09

$189,066

Avg. Salary

View 595 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Jobs In AK
Full List Of Best States For Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists

How Do Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Employers

Most Common Employers For Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Mayo Clinic$267,277$128.5018
2St Joseph's Hospital$242,245$116.469
3Kaiser Permanente$230,859$110.9929
4CarolinaEast$220,860$106.188
5UPMC$214,760$103.2514
6Cleveland Clinic$214,108$102.9411
7Oldcastle Infrastructure$211,021$101.4513
8Atrium Health Floyd$210,127$101.0222
9NorthStar Anesthesia$198,509$95.4463
10American Association of Neurological Surgeons$193,733$93.1416
Show More

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Videos

Day in the life of a SRNA
Short CRNA Video
CRNA Salary

Becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist FAQs

Do Nurse Anesthetists Make A Lot Of Money?

Yes, nurse anesthetists make a lot of money. Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are the highest paid of all nursing specialties. This is because being a nurse anesthetist requires a person to have a high level of skill, experience, knowledge, and judgment as they manage a patient's anesthesia.

How Hard Is Cna School?

CNA school is not very difficult. The requirements for becoming a CNA vary by location, but in general, the requirements are:

  • Being at least 18 years of age

  • Having a high school diploma or GED

  • Taking and passing the CNA certification exam for your state

  • Passing a background check

  • Passing a fingerprinting check

  • Obtaining a license

  • Completing continuing education classes

How Long Does It Take To Become A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist?

It currently takes about eight years to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist. This includes the time it takes to get a bachelor's degree in nursing, as well as the required nursing experience, a master's degree in nursing, and completing an accredited nursing anesthesia program.

Is A Medical Assistant Better Than Cna?

A medical assistant may be a better job than a CNA based on your personality. Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) positions are more limited in the scope of their work; the focus of a CNA is helping with basic care in hospitals or nursing homes.

Is Becoming A Crna Worth It?

Yes, becoming a CRNA is worth it. While this position requires completing rigorous coursework and commitment to many years of education, becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) is worth it.

Is It Hard To Become A Nurse Anesthetist?

Yes, it is hard to become a nurse anesthetist. The combination of rigorous coursework and time commitment means becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) is very hard.

To become licensed to work as a nurse anesthetist, a person must first earn a BSN or other appropriate major and complete a master of science in nursing (MSN) or a doctor of nursing practice and obtain RN licensure by passing the NCLEX-RN.

Have more questions? See all answers to common healthcare practitioner and technical questions.

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Updated September 9, 2022