Certified registered nurse anesthetist isn't easy to say. But for Martha Kral, CRNA, and more than 30,000 of her peers, the challenge and rewards of this nursing speciality more than make up for its tongue-twisting moniker.
Jan. 25–31 marks the fifth annual National Nurse Anesthetist's Week, and nurse anesthetists across the nation and in Georgia will celebrate with special educational forums in hospitals and schools. They'll be celebrating and educating the public about what many call the best-kept secret in nursing — a specialty that offers intellectual and hands-on challenges, independence and good compensation — but isn't well publicized.
As advanced practice nurses, "nurse anesthetists are trained in all anesthesia — from epidurals to blocks, as well as general anesthesia," said Kral, president of Georgia's Association of Nurse Anesthetists. CRNAs administer approximately 65 percent of the 26 million anesthetics given to patients each year in the United States, and practice in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered: traditional hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms; critical access hospitals; ambulatory surgical centers; the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists and plastic surgeons; and U.S. military, public health services and Veterans Administration health care facilities.
"Often, nurse anesthetists are the only [persons] licensed to admister anesthesia in rural areas," Kral said. In fact, CRNAs are the sole anesthesia providers in more than 65 percent of rural hospitals in the United States, enabling these health care facilities to provide obstetrical, surgical and trauma stabilization services.
Kral knew about nurse anesthetists before she became a registered nurse. Her father, a surgeon, and her mom, a nurse, both knew that she might be well suited for the job.
After getting her BSN, Kral worked for a year at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston in surgical intensive care and trauma units, getting the experience that is invaluable (and required) for nurse anesthetist candidates. Then she went there to school to get her CRNA.
After 19 years as a nurse anesthetist, Kral still remembers her first exam week of nurse anesthetist school. "It was harder than any nursing final I had ever had. But when you go [to nurse anesthetist training], you know that's what you want to do, and you study."
People who choose to be nurse anesthetists tend to be "a little more independent-thinking. You like the intense work and critical care. You like a fast pace," said Kral.
CRNAs provide anesthetics to patients in collaboration with surgeons, anesthesiologists, dentists, podiatrists and other qualified health care professionals. CRNAs are authorized by the Georgia Board of Nursing as advanced practice nurses. That means that, in addition to being licensed as professional registered nurses, they are granted advanced status to deliver a higher level of care in the specialty of anesthesia.
CRNAs do not require direct medical supervision, but rather, under Georgia law, may administer anesthesia under the direction of any duly licensed physician.
CRNAs practice with a high degree of autonomy and professional respect. They carry a heavy load of responsibility and are compensated accordingly. The reported median annual income for a CRNA in 2001 was approximately $113,000, and the job opportunities abound.
Forty-five percent of the nation's 30,000 CRNAs are men vs. less than 6 percent in the nursing profession as a whole.
Education and experience required to become a CRNA include:
· Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or other appropriate baccalaureate degree; a current license as a registered nurse; at least one year's experience in an acute-care nursing setting.
· Graduation from an accredited graduate school of nurse anesthesia. There are 88 nurse anesthesia educational programs in the United States. They range from 24 to 36 months, depending upon university requirements, and offer a master's degree. All programs include clinical training in university-based or large community hospitals. There is one Nurse Anesthesia School in Georgia, at the Medical College in Augusta.
· Passing a national certification examination following graduation.
For information about Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, visit www.aana.com or www.gana.org.
- Staff report