Cool Careers: Nurse Anesthesiology
February 25th, 2007
Reader Dominic writes in to share his thoughts on nurse anesthesiology. Six figures to work six months out of the year? Not bad.Great job on the blog! Since it sounds like you've transitioned from advising mainly law and business school applicants to the broader role of career counselor, I thought I'd share with you some career information that might be of interest to your clients and blog readers.
I was wondering if you've looked at or advised clients to consider nursing, particularly nurse anesthesiology. Several family members of mine are in the healthcare field, and they're always nagging me, my siblings, and cousins to pursue nursing so I thought I'd pass along the information. I know I don't want (and can't handle) a job in the healthcare field, but for someone looking for a combination of job security, ease of entry, flexible work hours, the opportunity to help others, and money (although the base salary is modest, if willing, a nurse can more than make up for it in overtime hours) I can't think of a job out there that can match nursing.
With regards to nurse anesthesiology, it's the highest paid nursing specialty. According to a 2005 study by the American Medical Group Association, the average mid-level salary for a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is $140,396.
I know it's only anecdotal evidence, but for what's it worth I have an uncle who's a nurse anesthetist in McAllen, TX and his base salary is $200,000 a year. The payscale can get this high if you're willing to relocate to more remote areas or to non-major cities.
The best part about it in my opinion is that he only works the equivalent of 6 months out of the year. He has a lot of flexibility over his schedule. For instance, he might work 7 days straight for 12 hours a day and then take the entire next week off, or he'll work 3 days a week for 12 hours and schedule some on-call duties during another day.
With all the time my uncle has, he spends it running a CRNA staffing agency, traveling, and dabbling in other businesses like real estate and retail. For him though, the best part about nursing is that the demand is so great he knows he can get a job pretty much anywhere there are hospitals.
Of course, like any job there are some drawbacks: 1) it lacks prestige (there's still some stigma against male nurses) and 2) you need to have thick skin when doctors are yellling at you.
Overall, I think it's a great career for the right person though.Thanks Dominic!
It takes about seven years to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). The certification requires (among other things) a bachelor of science degree in nursing (BSN) as well as a masters in nurse anesthesia. Here is a list of schools that offer Nurse Anesthetist programs. For more information, see the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.
re: Cool Careers: Nurse Anesthesiology
This is a great post! My mom is a Cardiac Anesthesiologist and always raves about the great hours/lifestyle her CRNAs enjoy. I think it is important to note that the current demand for CRNAs is implicitly linked to the current anesthesia shortage facing the nation. In the past ten to fifteen years, anesthesia residencies have shut down due to an overabundance of anesthesiologists in the 80s and they are just now starting to come back online. Moreover, the demand for anesthesiologists has increased as hospitals try to grow the more profitable surgical specialties (particularly heart rooms/cardiac cath labs). As a result of these forces, hospitals essentially grow the supply of anesthesia services by relying more heavily on CRNAs. In fact depending on the state, one anesthesiologist may oversee 2 to 3 CRNAs as they conduct cases.
My instinct tells me that the demand for anesthesia services will continue to grow as the baby boomer population ages and hospitals struggle to subsidize their less profitable medical specialties with their more profitable surgical counterparts. However, as with most things in medicine it is impossible to predict the hot new field. Perhaps innovations in pharmaceuticals will render certain surgical procedures obsolete leading to a decline in the anesthesia workload. Perhaps there will be an even greater explosion of surgery centers that concentrate on particular service lines (plastics, bariatric et cetra) resulting in the need for more anesthesiologists rather than CRNAs. This is because surgery centers generally conduct many short quick cases that occur sequentially instead of concurrent complex cases typical of hospital settings. As a result, one or two anesthesiologists are sufficient in a surgery center environment. In other posts, Anna has correctly pointed out that medicine, like law, is a cartel. Anesthesiologists and MDs in general guard their cartel fiercely erecting stiff barriers to entry. Through the AMA and the American Society of Anesthesiologists, doctors ensure that Anesthesiologist oversight remains a necessary condition for dispensing CRNA services.
In my opinion, medicine is a team sport and I know my mom could not deliver the same level of care to her patients without her CRNA counterparts. I think nursing is essential to improving access to and reducing costs in healthcare. Perhaps we can reduce the impact of the Anesthesia shortage in America’s hospitals if more young people would consider becoming CRNAs.
re: Cool Careers: Nurse Anesthesiology
Healthcare providers have to cope today with retaining quality doctors. Why is that? The demand of MD is the highest as it ever has been, and the compensation for their studies and their dedication to keeping people alive seems no longer sufficient or motivating for them. Whatever they are being offered in return for their services is not enough to keep them happy. In some of the regions, recruiting medical personnel is quite troublesome, even if the salaries are attractive. If you are seeking a well paid job as a medical practitioner, and are also considering re-locating, finding a good job may not be hard.