¶ … Nurse Anesthetist Job Description

Nurse anesthetists provide anesthesia to patients, relieving the pain of childbirth and of surgeries for over a century in America. It's a job which requires anesthesia to be given before, during and/or after surgery. Nurse anesthetists have to be ready and competent to handle a wide range of intense situations, making this particular career path more intensive than other fields in nursing. These professionals offer anesthesia in conjunction with surgeons, anesthesiologists and other healthcare professions.

The scope of their practice is heavily nuanced and includes the following: engaging in the preanesthetic assessment along with all consultation and diagnostic studies (aana.com, 2010). Being responsible for obtaining all preanesthetic medications, and getting all informed consent for anesthesia (aana.com, 2010). The nurse anesthetist is the one who needs to create the entire anesthetic plan, while initiate the anesthetic technique, while engaging in all noninvasive and invasive monitoring techniques for the anesthesia, while managing the patient's airway and pulmonary status, while facilitating the recovery from anesthesia by facilitating all medications and ventilator support (aana.com, 2010). The nurse anesthetist also discharges the patient from post anesthesia recovery and also implements all chronic pain management modalities (aana.com, 2010). The nurse anesthetist also has to be well-versed in responding to all potential emergencies with immediate and relevant support and concentrated action (aana.com, 2010).

In a similar fashion, the code of ethics for this rigorous profession is just as involved. One of the foremost responsibilities of a nurse anesthetist is the rigorous responsibility that needs to be extended to patients, as they must be an ally to patients first and foremost (aana.com, 2013). The CRNA has to offer quality anesthesia regardless of the patient's gender, religion, age, sex or economic status (aana.com, 2013). The CRNA has to protect the patient from harm and act as an advocate for the patient's...

The CRNA must ensure that valid anesthesia informed consent has been rendered, and must also avoid all conflicts between his personal integrity and patient rights (aana.com, 2013). The CRNA must also protect patients from all incompetent healthcare providers or anyone else who would otherwise cause them harm. Finally the CRNA is under the obligation of maintaining the strictest level of patient confidentiality. The CRNA also has a responsibility to society, and to the research that is conducted in the field (aana.com, 2013).
Education/Registration/Certification

In order to become a certified nurse anesthetist, one must complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or a comparable baccalaureate degree. In addition to this fundamental requirement, one needs to have a current license as a registered nurse, and one year of professional work as a registered nurse in an acute care setting. Once all those requirements are fulfilled one needs to graduate from an official accredited nurse anesthesia educational program, a type of program which ranges from 24 to 36 months. Finally, a graduate of the program needs to then pass the national certification examination which follows graduation. If recertification ever needs to be achieved, the CRNAs "must obtain a minimum of 40 hours of approved continuing education every two years, document substantial anesthesia practice, maintain current state licensure, and certify that they have not developed any conditions that could adversely affect their ability to practice anesthesia" (Aana.com, 2014). The New Britain School of Nurse Anesthesia and The University of Texas at Houston are two schools that have programs for nurse anesthetists. Their programs cost $28,125 and $29,546 (crnaschools, 2014). The degree earned is a masters and the certification is known as a CRNA, certified registered nurse anesthetist.

Employment

Potential employment available for nurse anesthetists looks tremendous. "According to the U.S. Department of Labor's 2006-07 Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the Bureau…