Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

Hello, my name is Keith. I've been giving anesthesia for over 40 years. If you intend to be a certified registered nurse anesthetist, it requires a four-year degree in nursing, followed by a couple of years in a critical area like ICU, and then getting accepted into a nurse anesthesia program lasting two to three years. Programs are now offering doctorate degrees, and the most important thing is get started.

This is advice on how to get started as a certified registered nurse anesthetist. The first thing you need to do is attend an accredited school of nursing receiving a bachelor's degree. Once you've done this, you need to have a minimum of 12 months of experience in critical care nursing. After this has been completed, you can apply for anesthesia school. There are many around the country, but one thing I would suggest is that you find a CRNA and ask to shadow them for a day or two. That way you can know whether this is the type of career path you would want to go through.

The biggest thing about a new CRNA is understanding that it is okay to ask for help, period. You go through school, it's been all these hours learning how to be independent, how to make your own decisions, and there are times that even after you're doing this for over a decade, it's always nice to have a second set of hands or a second thought. And it was hard at first, but I've learned to be okay asking for that help. Asking for help is not a bad thing, it is actually a good thing. It shows that you are humble enough to do what is best for the patient and not what is best for your ego.

One of the pieces of advice I received about how to become a nurse anesthetist while I was working in the intensive care unit was to become an ACLS instructor, PALS instructor, or a TNCC instructor and to get those certifications. Learning that material, those drugs will be very beneficial for you as a future nurse anesthetist.