Nurse Anesthetists
Administer anesthesia, monitor patient's vital signs, and oversee patient recovery from anesthesia. May assist anesthesiologists, surgeons, other physicians, or dentists. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.
Also called: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) · Nurse Anesthetist · Staff Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (Staff CRNA) · Staff Nurse Anesthetist
Median pay (national)
$223,210
$137,230–$239,200+ (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
50,350
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+8.6%
~2,700 openings/yr
Typical entry
Master's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for nurse anesthetists shows a relatively narrow range: the top 10% earn $239,200+ versus $137,230 at the bottom 10% — 1.7x. The median of $223,210 leaves roughly 7% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +8.6% from 2024 to 2034 — much faster than the 3% average for all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 2,700 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 48 states with released data, Minnesota pays the most for this role (median $239,200, +7% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $61,170 — a 291% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Active Listening as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Epic Systems, Patient management software as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
- Science
- Writing
- Learning Strategies
- Mathematics
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation.
- Monitor patients' responses, including skin color, pupil dilation, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, ventilation, or urine output, using invasive and noninvasive techniques.
- Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary.
- Select, prepare, or use equipment, monitors, supplies, or drugs for the administration of anesthetics.
- Perform or manage regional anesthetic techniques, such as local, spinal, epidural, caudal, nerve blocks and intravenous blocks.
- Develop anesthesia care plans.
- Obtain informed consent from patients for anesthesia procedures.
- Prepare prescribed solutions and administer local, intravenous, spinal, or other anesthetics, following specified methods and procedures.
- Perform pre-anesthetic screenings, including physical evaluations and patient interviews, and document results.
- Calibrate and test anesthesia equipment.
Tools & technology
- Epic Systems
- Patient management software
- eClinicalWorks EHR software
- MEDITECH software
- AetherPalm InfusiCalc
- Allscripts Professional EHR
- Amkai AmkaiCharts
- Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
- Cerner Millennium
- ChartWare EMR
- Drug database software
- e-MDs software
- EDImis Anesthesia Manager
- GE Healthcare Centricity EMR
- Medscribbler Enterprise
- MicroFour PracticeStudio.NET EMR
Knowledge areas
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Mathematics
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Psychology