If you go into surgery, the highest paid person in the room might not be the doctor. It's more likely to be the person to the side keeping a very careful eye on the anesthetic being dripped into your vein. Called a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, nurse anesthetist for short, this specialty is one of the elite of the health profession and one more highly specialized in nursing school.
It's not exactly a new profession. The first nurse anesthetist was Catherine S. Lawrence, who pretty much created the field during the Civil War. In 1909, the first school offering classes in the profession was opened in Oregon. Then in 1931, the profession formally organized as the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. Among their accomplishments was the first nationally recognized certification process, which they started in 1952 and still do today.
The field was almost a purely female one until the 1960s. At that time, the drugs used became so dangerous it was felt it should be handled by specialized doctors of medicine, nowadays called anesthesiologists. At the same time, the Association accredited nurse anesthetists started making so much money they began to out earn doctors. Thus many MD's decided to move into the anesthesiology field. If work like this fascinates you and you would like to enter this field, go online for more information about online college grant to learn about your options.
Anesthesiology is a dangerous field. One of the responsibilities of an anesthetics expert is to mix the right drug cocktail and administer the proper dose. If done right, the surgery is painless. Done wrong and the consequences could at worst be death or a long-lasting and irreversible trauma. A nurse anesthetist not only is hands on as to what medication is prepared, but where it's injected into the patient's body and how much is used throughout the course of the operation.
Becoming a nurse anesthetist isn't easy or quick. A student must first take a full four year curriculum in nursing and graduate with a Bachelor of Science. From there, one must also take courses and become a certified Registered Nurse. After becoming an RN, one must have at least one year's experience in acute nursing. These, believe it or not, are only the preliminaries. Further education is a must.
The program involves an additional 24 to 36 months of further education, then accreditation by the Association. Most candidates gain much of their continued education through online colleges, usually walking out with an online Masters of Science degree. It should be noted that Doctorates in Nursing Anesthetics are also available with further study. Devoting a small amount of time online reviewing nursing university can add up to big savings on your tuition.
After all this education, the payoff is considerable. Unlike registered nurses, who usually only get state certification, a nurse anesthetist is certified nationally. This means he or she can work anywhere in the U.S. without having to retake certification if they cross state borders. The average salary of a nurse anesthetist is considerable, averaging $150,000. Work shifts usually are made of three 12-hour shifts per week, with the other four days off. The benefits package can also be quite handsome, depending on a professional's bargaining ability.
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