The Nurse Anesthesiologist – Advanced Clinical Nursing
There are three educational options for becoming a registered nurse. You can go to college and reach the nursing certification exam with either an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s in nursing. Or, you can go to a technical school and get a diploma upon completion of an accredited program of study, qualifying you for the RN exam.
The profession of nurse anesthesiologist is an example of why, when you are entering the nursing profession, it is best to get a bachelor’s degree. However, some RNs choose to become advanced practice nurses, who often are considered primary health care practitioners and work independently or in collaboration with physicians.
For example, clinical nurse specialists provide direct patient care for any number of afflictions. Nurse anesthetists administer anesthesia, monitor patient’s vital signs during surgery, and provide post-anesthesia care. Nurse midwives provide primary care to women, including gynecological exams, prenatal and neonatal care. Nurse practitioners provide basic preventive health care to patients, and increasingly serve as primary and specialty care providers. All of these advanced nurse specialties require a bachelor’s degree in order to study for them and obtain certification.
Becoming a Nurse Anesthesiologist
In order to qualify for a program of study for nurse anesthesiologist, you must have the aforementioned bachelor’s degree (in nursing of some other “appropriate” field), be licensed as an RN and have at least one year of “acute care” experience during your nursing tenure.
The program will entail two to three years of classroom and clinical study. The classroom curriculum emphasizes anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics and pharmacology as related to anesthesia. The major clinical component provides experience with a variety of anesthesia techniques and procedures for all types of surgery and obstetrics. You will emerge with a master’s degree and an opportunity to take the national certification exam.
The Nurse Anesthesiologist in Medicine Today
There can be little doubt as to the mainstream acceptance of this profession in the medical community today. Sixty five percent of the twenty six million anesthetic applications administered annually today are done by nurse anesthesiologists. It is another example of the nursing profession expanding into the former territory of the M.D. The same is true of the other forms of advanced nursing mentioned above, and in the case of nurse anesthesiologists it appears that they are rendering M.D. anesthesiologists obsolete.
The professional role of the nurse anesthesiologist follows that of their M.D. counterparts exactly. As they are identified by the professional organization for nurse anesthologists, those steps include:
Performing a physical assessment
Participating in preoperative teaching
Preparing for anesthetic management
Administering anesthesia to keep the patient pain free
Maintaining anesthesia intraoperatively
Overseeing recovery from anesthesia
Following the patient’s postoperative course from recovery room to patient care unit.
It is, in virtually every aspect, the practice of medicine. And, the importance of the role played by the nurse anesthesiologist is reflected in their remuneration. The national median salary for an NA is $102,000 – almost two and a half times that of an RN.
