Health Careers
Nurse Anesthetist
Professional Activities
Nurse anesthesia is an advanced clinical nursing specialty. (Anesthesia is the use of special drugs that temporarily block sensation in an area of the body or enable a patient to be kept unconcious and free of pain during a surgery.) A nurse anesthetist takes care of a patient’s anesthesia needs before, during, and after surgery or the delivery of a baby. Because nurse anesthetists are licensed as nurses, they provide services in conjunction with a qualified physician, surgeon, dentist, podiatrist, or anesthesiologist.
Nurse anesthetists practice in a variety of settings in the private and public sector and in the US military, including traditional hospital operating rooms, ambulatory surgery centers, pain clinics, and physician’s offices. Some nurse anesthetists practice in conjunction with anesthesiologists, but in many states Nurse Anesthetists are independent practitioners. In most rural communities, they may be the only anesthesia providers. In Alaska, nurse anesthetists typically work in hospitals and surgery centers.
Educational Requirements
- Graduation from high school with coursework in math, science, and English.
- A Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing
- A license as a registered nurse
- A minimum of one year of acute care nursing experience
- A Masters in Nurse Anesthesiology (Programs include 24 to 36 months of graduate course work, including both classroom and clinical experience.)
- Nurses must pass a national certification exam to become a CRNA.
- Recertification is required every two years. The national certification board requires 40 hours of continuing education every 2 years. A few states or facilities require up to 10 hours more per year and some states require a certain number of CE units for prescriptive authority.
Academic Programs
There is no accredited school in Alaska, but there are currently 108 programs nationwide. For a list of these programs and other information about Nurse Anesthetists, go to http://www.aana.com. The nearest programs are in Spokane, Washington and Portland Oregon.
Working in conjunction with the Sacred Heart Medical Center, Gonzaga University has a Master of Anesthesiology Education Program. For more information, contact:
Sacred Heart Medical Center/Gonzaga University
Master of Anesthesiology Education Program
P.O. Box 2555
Spokane, WA 99220
Contacts: Margaret R Meyers, CRNA, MAE, Program Director and
Alan Rietze,, MD, Clinical Coordinator
Phone: (509) 474-4971
Fax: (509) 474-5345
Email: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web site: http://www.gonzaga.edu/soe/grad
OHSU opened its Nurse Anesthesia program opened in 2006 in response to a growing need for high quality Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) in the state of Oregon and Western U.S. This post-baccalaureate 27 month master’s degree program is geared to the RN who has substantial prior experience working in critical care settings, has a record of outstanding academic achievement, is patient care focused, and who desires the challenges found in anesthesia education. For more information, contact:
Oregon Health & Science University
School of Nursing,
Nurse Anesthesia Program
3455 SW US Veteran’s Hospital Road
Portland, OR 97239
Contacts:Stephen J Yermal, CRNA, PhD, Program Director
Phone: (503) 494-4537
Fax: (503) 494-3878
Email: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web site: http://www.ohsu.edu/son/academic/ms-crna.shtml
Contacts
State Contact:
Alaska Association of Nurse Anesthetists
Email: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web site: http://www.alaskaana.com/
National Contact:
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
222 South Prospect Avenue
Park Ridge, IL 60068-4001
Phone: (847) 692-7050
Fax: (847) 692-6968
Email: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Web site: http://www.aana.com
This page was last updated by Janice Troyer on May 28, 2009
