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[quote=Anonymous]CRNA here. I’ve been practicing in the DC area for 15 years. I love my job and can’t imagine doing anything else, but it is a tough road to get here and it’s not for everyone. Yes, it’s lucrative (I made over $300k last year; my base is in the mid-200s and I earn OT/shift differentials for nights & weekends). I went to a state school in a medium COL area 15 years ago, and still took out over $150k in student loans (paid them back already, thankfully) — all CRNA programs are full-time and you absolutely cannot work during the program, especially once clinical rotations start and you’re in the hospital from roughly 5:30 am until whenever cases finish. With the DOE potentially capping federal loans for nurses at $100k, it’s going to make it even harder to afford school.

You obviously need to be a bachelor’s degree prepared RN first, and most CRNA programs require at least two years’ ICU nursing experience. Then it’s an additional 2.5-3 years of school (didactic coursework and clinical rotations) for a Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree so you can take the licensing exam.

To the posters who said CRNAs are “always reporting to an MD,” that’s simply not true. In many states, CRNAs can practice without physician supervision, and in rural areas, CRNAs are often the sole anesthesia providers. In more populated areas of the country, CRNAs work alongside anesthesiologists in a care team model, but we perform the same functions.

CRNAs provide anesthesia in all settings, both hospital and office-based (like dentists’ offices), as well as labor and delivery! It’s an awesome career, but yes, you must like shift work and be willing to be 100% present when you’re at work. [/quote]

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