If you’re interested in a high-paying, high-growth nursing position, then you might consider a career as a nurse anesthetist. Typically employed in various healthcare environments, such as hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and private practice offices, nurse anesthetists work alongside nurses, surgeons, and physicians to ensure their patients receive the best care possible.
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are the highest-paid nursing job, and for good reason. Though all nurses provide compassionate care to their patients, being a nurse anesthetist and managing patients’ anesthesia needs requires a high level of judgment, skill, experience, and knowledge. The average salary for a nurse anesthetist is $203,090, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Who is a nurse anesthetist?
Nurse anesthetists are sometimes called certified registered nurse anesthetists, or CRNAs. They administer anesthesia to patients, monitor their vital signs, and help them manage their pain and post-surgery recovery. As registered nurses (RNs) with advanced training in administering anesthesia, nurse anesthetists must possess either a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or a Doctor of Nursing Anesthetics Practice (DNAP) alongside certification from the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetics (NBCRNA).
As a result, nurse anesthetists are highly skilled medical professionals tasked with many important responsibilities, command a significantly higher than average salary, and are much sought after within the medical field.
Nurse anesthetists perform their duties in three stages: preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative. Before surgery, you’ll need to assess the patient’s medical history and current condition to determine if any factors may pose complications with the anesthesia. Throughout the surgical process and after, you’ll also be responsible for:
- Undertaking a physical assessment
- Taking part in preoperative teaching
- Choosing the correct type of anesthesia for each patient
- Determining the proper amount of anesthesia
- Monitoring the patient’s vital signs and adjusting the amount of anesthesia as necessary
- Delivering anesthesia via gas and intravenously to keep the patient pain-free
- Maintaining anesthesia intraoperatively
- Administering medications that help block pain
- Preparing for anesthetic management
- Responding appropriately if complications arise
- Supervising recovery from anesthesia
- Proving post-surgical pain management to help ensure a controlled recovery
What does a nurse anesthetist do?
Nurse anesthetists give medicine called anesthesia to keep you from feeling pain or anxiety during a medical procedure. The anesthesia will depend on the type and length of the procedure and your needs:
- General anesthesia keeps you asleep during surgery so you don’t feel anything. Some of the medicines are breathed in through a tube or mask, while some are given by IV (a small needle inserted into a vein that delivers liquids to your body through a tube).
- Regional anesthesia blocks feeling in a certain part of the body so you can’t feel anything in that area during a procedure. You may get a single shot, or a thin, flexible tube called a catheter may be placed in a vein to deliver anesthesia medicine throughout the procedure.
- Sedation is a type of anesthesia usually administered through an IV. Mild sedation makes you feel relaxed and drowsy, while moderate sedation helps you doze off, but you can awaken easily if needed. Deep sedation puts you to sleep so you have no awareness of the procedure.
Before a medical procedure, your nurse anesthetist will tell you which type of anesthesia they plan to use and explain its risks and any side effects. They may do a physical exam and ask about your medical history.
Right before the procedure, the nurse anesthetist will start the anesthesia and monitor your vital signs (such as heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, and breathing). They will stay with you throughout the procedure, continuing to watch your vital signs and adjusting the amount of anesthesia as needed to make sure you stay comfortable and safe.
After the procedure, your nurse anesthetist will stop the anesthesia and keep an eye on your vital signs and comfort level as you recover.
Nurse anesthetist education and training
The education of a nurse anesthetist takes a minimum of 7 years and requires:
- A bachelor’s degree in nursing (4 years) or other 4-year undergraduate degree plus nursing school
- The National Council Licensure Exam (nursing exam) and state licensure as a registered nurse
- At least 1 year of nursing experience in an intensive care unit (ICU)
- A master’s degree or doctorate from a nurse anesthesia program (2 to 4 years)
- The National Certification Examination
By the time they graduate from a nurse anesthesia program, CRNAs have an average of over 9,000 hours of experience. Throughout their career, they keep up their certification with continuing education courses, professional activities such as teaching or research, and performance assessments.
Nurse anesthetist salary
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nurse anesthetists earn an average salary of $205,770 per year ($98.93 per hour). The estimate will vary depending on where you work and the state where you are employed. The demand in your geographical area can heavily influence the average pay.
Currently, the average hourly salary for a nurse anesthetist in the United States is $66.68 an hour according to ZipRecruiter. While there are hourly wages as high as $107.69 and as low as $25.48, the majority of nurse anesthetist salaries currently range between $44.23 (25th percentile) to $81.49 (75th percentile) across the United States. The average salary range for a nurse anesthetist varies greatly (by as much as $37.26), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
Nurse anesthetist salary by state
| Average salary | Median salary | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Per hour | Per year | Per hour | Per year |
| Alabama | $91.92 | $191,200 | $85.29 | $177,400 |
| Arizona | $86.41 | $179,730 | $94.88 | $197,360 |
| California | $118.52 | $246,510 | $113.04 | $235,120 |
| Colorado | $89.36 | $185,860 | $88.69 | $184,460 |
| Connecticut | $115.66 | $240,580 | $104.69 | $217,760 |
| Delaware | $95.23 | $198,070 | $107.90 | $224,430 |
| Florida | $83.84 | $174,390 | $79.70 | $165,770 |
| Georgia | $91.73 | $190,800 | $86.03 | $178,950 |
| Idaho | $87.07 | $181,110 | $85.60 | $178,040 |
| Illinois | $114.64 | $238,440 | $110.77 | $230,410 |
| Indiana | $105.78 | $220,020 | $97.38 | $202,550 |
| Iowa | $101.45 | $211,010 | $100.07 | $208,140 |
| Kansas | $81.45 | $169,410 | $80.09 | $166,590 |
| Louisiana | $86.12 | $179,140 | $88.36 | $183,780 |
| Maine | $103.33 | $214,930 | $99.82 | $207,620 |
| Maryland | $87.84 | $182,710 | $97.26 | $202,310 |
| Massachusetts | $98.41 | $204,690 | $103.00 | $214,240 |
| Michigan | $96.00 | $199,690 | $94.15 | $195,840 |
| Minnesota | $106.99 | $222,540 | $106.92 | $222,400 |
| Mississippi | $88.65 | $184,390 | $86.76 | $180,450 |
| Missouri | $98.65 | $205,190 | $87.09 | $181,140 |
| Montana | $97.81 | $203,430 | $104.28 | $216,910 |
| Nebraska | $108.46 | $225,590 | $103.92 | $216,150 |
| New Hampshire | $103.83 | $215,970 | $102.27 | $212,710 |
| New Jersey | $111.84 | $232,630 | $100.16 | $208,330 |
| New Mexico | $103.48 | $215,240 | $99.67 | $207,310 |
| New York | $114.77 | $238,710 | $108.82 | $226,340 |
| North Carolina | $103.24 | $214,740 | $99.40 | $206,750 |
| Ohio | $95.01 | $197,630 | $85.82 | $178,500 |
| Oklahoma | $80.99 | $168,470 | $86.49 | $179,900 |
| Oregon | $99.00 | $205,920 | $104.98 | $218,370 |
| Pennsylvania | $97.89 | $203,620 | $91.59 | $190,510 |
| South Carolina | $94.15 | $195,840 | $92.35 | $192,080 |
| South Dakota | $107.31 | $223,200 | $95.18 | $197,970 |
| Tennessee | $83.74 | $174,170 | $85.26 | $177,340 |
| Texas | $100.45 | $208,940 | $107.01 | $222,580 |
| Vermont | $109.96 | $228,710 | $98.63 | $205,150 |
| Virginia | $103.62 | $215,530 | $87.35 | $181,690 |
| Washington | $107.03 | $222,610 | $103.27 | $214,800 |
| West Virginia | $110.30 | $229,430 | $103.06 | $214,360 |
| Wisconsin | $110.71 | $230,270 | $108.94 | $226,580 |
| Wyoming | $98.69 | $205,270 | $110.78 | $230,420 |
| Puerto Rico | $30.56 | $63,570 | $30.06 | $62,530 |
| All data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. | ||||
Nurse anesthetist skills
As a nurse anesthetist, you must be professional, think critically, communicate well, and possess technical nursing skills. During both your schooling and career, you’ll develop an advanced skill set to use specialized equipment and make complex decisions that have a critical impact on a patient’s health outcome. Here are some of the core competencies you’ll need as a nurse anesthetist:
- Nursing skills: To offer safe, high-quality care as a nurse anesthetist, you must have excellent clinical skills like administering anesthesia and monitoring vital signs. You also need to keep up-to-date with best practices in the field of anesthesia and new developments in pain management. However, what sets CRNAs apart from RNs is the specialized responsibilities, such as spinals, epidurals, tracheal intubations, and arterial line placements. Nurse anesthetists often need proficiency in:
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
- Pain management
- Surgery
- Airway management
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
- Postoperative care
- Critical thinking: You need to be able to make quick decisions based on patient observations and test results.
- Attention to detail: You need to interpret data, such as a patient’s vital signs, and adjust accordingly. You also need good technical knowledge when administering precise doses of anesthesia and other medicines.
- Communication skills: You need to be able to explain what you’re doing as you administer anesthesia and provide updates about your patient’s condition after surgery.
How to become a nurse anesthetist
To become a nurse anesthetist, you need to have experience in acute medical or surgical settings, earn the right qualifications, become licensed, and then maintain your license with continuing education and relicensing efforts. Here’s what you can expect on the path to becoming a nurse anesthetist:
Obtain the right credentials
To become a nurse anesthetist, you must obtain a doctoral degree and certification. The landscape in the profession has changed, as CRNAs were previously only required to have a master’s degree. Starting in 2025, new nurse anesthetists will be required to have earned a doctoral degree. Institutions currently offering programs in nursing anesthesia have had to adjust their curricula.
As a nurse anesthetist, you are an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN). After becoming a registered nurse and working in the profession, you will complete a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program or a Doctor of Nursing Anesthesia Practice (DNAP), the two doctoral qualifications approved by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA). You’ll typically spend three years completing your doctoral degree.
Usually, you’ll also need a bachelor’s degree in nursing before going to higher levels of education in nursing. Some doctoral nurse anesthetist programs will accept you if you have completed a graduate degree in another discipline or an associate degree in nursing, as long as you have the required clinical experience. Most doctoral programs require you to have at least one year of critical-care experience to gain admittance to a program.
Get certified
After graduation, you will take the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA) to become licensed as a registered nurse anesthetist. After passing and getting certified for the first time, you must take the Continued Professional Certification Exam every four years. All states require certification to become a nurse anesthetist.
Gain work experience
After meeting the education and certification requirements, you can gain hands-on experience as a nurse under the supervision of a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA). During this training period, you will learn to perform various anesthesia procedures. You should also become familiar with respiratory care equipment, drug effects, and patient monitoring techniques.
Since nurse anesthetist careers require considerable education and training, it can take six to seven years to qualify and a minimum of one year of clinical experience.
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