Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)

Overview and Key Facts

What Do They Do?

A certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) could...

Overview Listen to this section

Pain is something that no one enjoys or wants to remember, especially during surgery. Certified registered nurse anesthetists, who share virtually identical responsibilities with anesthesiologist assistants, are key members of anesthesia healthcare teams. Working independently, or under the supervision of an anesthesiologist (a medical doctor), they prepare patients for anesthesia, administer anesthesia, monitor patients closely during surgery, and monitor patients' progress after surgery. They might also be called upon to help relieve pain in intensive care units, labor and delivery suites, and pain care clinics.

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)?

1. Reading Comprehension: ? Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
2. Critical Thinking: ? Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
3. Active Listening: ? Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
4. Monitoring: ? Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
5. Speaking: ? Talking to others to convey information effectively.

6. Active Learning: ? Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
7. Service Orientation: ? Actively looking for ways to help people.
8. Social Perceptiveness: ? Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
9. Complex Problem Solving: ? Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
10. Judgment and Decision Making: ? Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) might do:

• Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation.
• Select, prepare, or use equipment, monitors, supplies, or drugs for the administration of anesthetics.
• Monitor patients' responses, including skin color, pupil dilation, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, ventilation, or urine output, using invasive and noninvasive techniques.
• Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary.
• Perform pre-anesthetic screenings, including physical evaluations and patient interviews, and document results.
• Develop anesthesia care plans.
• Respond to emergency situations by providing airway management, administering emergency fluids or drugs, or using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques.
• Obtain informed consent from patients for anesthesia procedures.
• Assess patients' medical histories to predict anesthesia response.
• Select, order, or administer pre-anesthetic medications.
• Perform or evaluate the results of diagnostic tests, such as radiographs (x-rays) and electrocardiograms (EKGs).
• Perform or manage regional anesthetic techniques, such as local, spinal, epidural, caudal, nerve blocks and intravenous blocks.
• Prepare prescribed solutions and administer local, intravenous, spinal, or other anesthetics, following specified methods and procedures.
• Administer post-anesthesia medications or fluids to support patients' cardiovascular systems.
• Calibrate and test anesthesia equipment.
• Evaluate patients' post-surgical or post-anesthesia responses, taking appropriate corrective actions or requesting consultation if complications occur.
• Select and prescribe post-anesthesia medications or treatments to patients.
• Insert peripheral or central intravenous catheters.
• Discharge patients from post-anesthesia care.
• Read current literature, talk with colleagues, and participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in nursing.
• Request anesthesia equipment repairs, adjustments, or safety tests.
• Insert arterial catheters or perform arterial punctures to obtain arterial blood samples.
• Instruct nurses, residents, interns, students, or other staff on topics such as anesthetic techniques, pain management and emergency responses.
• Disassemble and clean anesthesia equipment.