Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)

Administer anesthesia, monitor patient's vital signs, and oversee patient recovery from anesthesia. May assist anesthesiologists, surgeons, other physicians, or dentists. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA); Nurse Anesthetist; Staff Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (Staff CRNA); Staff Nurse Anesthetist

Tasks

• Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation.
• Respond to emergency situations by providing airway management, administering emergency fluids or drugs, or using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques.
• 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.
• Select, prepare, or use equipment, monitors, supplies, or drugs for the administration of anesthetics.
• Assess patients' medical histories to predict anesthesia response.
• Perform or manage regional anesthetic techniques, such as local, spinal, epidural, caudal, nerve blocks and intravenous blocks.
• Develop anesthesia care plans.
• Obtain informed consent from patients for anesthesia procedures.
• Prepare prescribed solutions and administer local, intravenous, spinal, or other anesthetics, following specified methods and procedures.
• Perform pre-anesthetic screenings, including physical evaluations and patient interviews, and document results.
• Calibrate and test anesthesia equipment.
• Evaluate patients' post-surgical or post-anesthesia responses, taking appropriate corrective actions or requesting consultation if complications occur.
• Administer post-anesthesia medications or fluids to support patients' cardiovascular systems.
• Select and prescribe post-anesthesia medications or treatments to patients.

Knowledge

• Medicine and Dentistry
• Customer and Personal Service
• Biology
• Mathematics
• Chemistry
• Education and Training
• English Language
• Physics
• Psychology
• Computers and Electronics
• Administration and Management
• Law and Government
• Personnel and Human Resources
• Engineering and Technology
• Public Safety and Security
• Therapy and Counseling

Skills

• Reading Comprehension
• Critical Thinking
• Active Listening
• Speaking
• Active Learning
• Monitoring
• Science
• Writing
• Learning Strategies
• Mathematics

Abilities

• Problem Sensitivity
• Oral Comprehension
• Written Comprehension
• Information Ordering
• Oral Expression
• Written Expression
• Deductive Reasoning
• Inductive Reasoning
• Near Vision
• Speech Clarity
• Speech Recognition
• Selective Attention
• Fluency of Ideas
• Category Flexibility
• Perceptual Speed
• Speed of Closure
• Flexibility of Closure
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
• Originality
• Mathematical Reasoning
• Number Facility
• Visualization
• Time Sharing
• Manual Dexterity
• Finger Dexterity
• Memorization
• Control Precision
• Far Vision
• Visual Color Discrimination