Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners

How to become a Nurse Anesthetist

Official title: Nurse Anesthetists

Also called: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), Nurse Anesthetist, Staff Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (Staff CRNA), Staff Nurse Anesthetist

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.

Main 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.

How to become one

Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners must earn at least a master's degree in one of the APRN roles. They must also be licensed in their state and pass a national certification exam.

Typical education to start: Master's degree

Read the full guide from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ways in

College: Nursing & Midwifery degrees, Offered by 15 universities in the US
Licence: A licence is required in 44 states.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: $236,590 a year The middle half earn $206,730 to $294,350.
About 54,500 people work in this job now, and about 59,800 are projected by 2035. (+9.7%)
People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Nurse Anesthetist?

How much does a Nurse Anesthetist earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $236,590 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $206,730 to $294,350.

Is a Nurse Anesthetist a growing career in the US?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 10% by 2035, from about 54,500 to about 59,800 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Nurse Anesthetist?

Usually. 98% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a Nurse Anesthetist?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025-35 edition (published 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS); photographs excluded, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.