Nurse Anesthetist vs. Anesthesiologist

The main differences between nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologists are:

• Education. It typically takes 12 years of education, including undergraduate school, medical school, and time in a residency program, to become an anesthesiologist, while it takes between 6-8 years to become a nurse anesthetist.

• Job duties. An anesthesiologist has much more authority in directing the administration of anesthesia to a patient and making decisions about a patient’s treatment plan, while nurse anesthetists’ job duties are more patient- and task-focused.

• Salary. Anesthesiologists earn a much higher average salary than nurse anesthetists.

If you’ve thought about entering the medical field and find anesthesia fascinating, there are a couple of different professions you can pursue. Two professional options that play a big role in this area of medicine are nurse anesthetist and anesthesiologist.

It’s easy to get these two professions confused initially because their job titles sound similar. Once you understand each position a bit better, it’s easier to see that the jobs are quite different.

What Is a Nurse Anesthetist?

A certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) administers anesthesia to patients, or they work with doctors, dentists, surgeons, and other medical professionals to administer anesthesia to patients. In some situations, they are responsible for anesthesia, and in others, they are there to help.

Certification and licensing for CRNAs are done on a state-by-state basis. There is a push to nationalize nursing licensure, but that has not happened yet. This means that the duties a CRNA performs can vary from state to state, but some of their tasks could include:

• Provide pain management

• Assist with anesthesia administration

• Administer anesthesia

• Monitor patient’s vitals during anesthesia

• Monitor patient recovery

• Perform epidurals and spinal blocks

• Discuss anesthesia with patients and answer their questions

The job is a high-paying nursing job, and there is great demand for nurse anesthetists. There is also a lot of responsibility with this job as the CRNA is the main provider of anesthesia in many states.

Where Can a Nurse Anesthetist Work?

Obviously, a nurse anesthetist can work in a hospital where surgeries are happening on a regular basis, but it doesn’t have to be such a high-pressure environment. There are a lot of options for qualified CRNAs; the following are a few of the places where they can be found:

• Hospitals

• Surgical centers

• Doctor’s offices

• A dentist’s office

• Plastic surgery centers

• Military medical facilities

• Ambulatory surgical centers

• Outpatient care centers

Anywhere that anesthesia or even pain medications are needed is an opportunity for a CRNA to work. Some of those environments will be very fast-paced and high-stress; others will be more relaxed. The best part is you can select an environment that suits your personality.

What Certifications/Requirements Are Required to Become a Nurse Anesthetist

Nurse anesthetists have an important job that requires a lot of education, so the path to becoming a CRNA takes a while, and there is a lot of schooling involved. These are the traditional steps to becoming a nurse anesthetist.

• Earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. This is the first step and will give you a broad base understanding of the nursing profession. You’ll also want to take some classes that specialize in anesthesiology.

• Pass the NCLEX-RN. This is the National Council Licensure Examination for nurses, and it is proof that you’re ready to begin working as an entry-level nurse. This is an essential step in the process for any nurse who wants to use her educational background to practice nursing.

• Acute Care experience. Working in an emergency room or ICU can help prepare future CRNAs for emergencies and dealing with life and death situations. It’s a hands-on experience that is very useful.

• Earn a Master of Science in Nursing. It is possible to skip the bachelor’s and go directly into an MSN program or go into the MSN program with a bachelor’s in another area of study. This is called an accelerated nursing master’s, but it is very difficult.

• Earn a Doctorate in Nursing. If you are already a CRNA, you do not need to earn a doctorate, but there has been a change in CRNA certification that states that by 2025, all candidates will need a doctoral degree.

• National Certification Examination (NCE). This is offered by the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists and is essential for getting your CRNA, and it is required every four years to recertify.

What Is an Anesthesiologist?

An anesthesiologist is sometimes called a physician anesthesiologist, and they are medical doctors. They specialize in anesthesia, pain management, and critical care. They have earned a medical degree and are qualified to treat a patient in many ways that extend beyond anesthesiology, even if that’s what they’ve chosen to focus on.

Before becoming an anesthesiologist, candidates can plan on spending 12 to 14 years earning a degree along with 12,000 to 16,000 of clinical training. But once they’ve completed their education and training, they can expect to do the following:

• Provide general anesthesia

• Perform IV sedation or monitor anesthesia

• Numb large areas with regional anesthesia

• Numb small regions with local anesthesia for “awake” procedures

• Prep patients for surgery by discussing anesthesiology options

• Monitor patients throughout surgery and administer anesthesia as needed

• Supervise others who administer anesthesia

• Monitor patient recovery post-anesthesia

• Develop pain control methods for patients

It’s important to note that an anesthesiologist does much more than “put people to sleep” during surgery, although that is the understanding that most people have. Their skills and expertise are referred to as perioperative, which means they are involved before, during, and after surgery. It should also be noted that pain management is becoming a bigger part of health care and the anesthesiologist’s practice.

What Certifications/Requirements Are Required to Become an Anesthesiologist

Becoming an anesthesiologist requires as much school and training as any other physician needs. The steps toward this profession include:

• Earn a Bachelor’s Degree. What field you specialize in for your bachelor’s doesn’t really matter, but many people find that science, math, humanities, and social sciences can help them prepare for med school.

• Pass the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT): Your next step is medical school, but you’ll need to pass the MCAT before you can get into that school.

• Earn a Medical Degree. Medical school will take another four years of school, but you’ll be laser-focused on your medical degree, unlike your bachelor’s degree.

• Residency. All doctors need to complete a four-year anesthesiology residency program before they can specialize in anesthesiology. It’s a grueling experience, and the work schedule includes long hours and additional educational activities.

• Apply for and obtain a medical license. Each state has its own review board that will look over your application, ensure you’ve fulfilled all of the requirements, and issue your license to practice medicine.

• Pass the national board exam. This is not required, but most anesthesiologists take the American Board of Anesthesiology exam and become board certified.

There is a lot of work and education involved in becoming an anesthesiologist, but there is a lot on the line as patients’ lives are put in the hands of these professionals on a regular basis. Of course, with all of that education and responsibility, there is usually a high salary involved also.

Differences Between a Nurse Anesthetist and an Anesthesiologist

As you can see, most of the job responsibilities are similar for the nurse anesthetist and the anesthesiologist. There is also a long educational process for both professions, but there are some differences.

• Education. The biggest difference is the education level. With an anesthesiologist achieving the level of a physician, while nurse anesthetists will be required to have their doctorate degrees in the near future, they still don’t have to meet all of the requirements that a physician does.

• Time. While being a physician requires four years of undergraduate school, four years of medical school, and then a four-year residency which is at least 12 years before they can focus on getting their license in anesthesiology.

  A nurse anesthetist will spend four years to earn a bachelor’s, earn their nursing master’s or doctorate in two to three years, and then spend a year working in a critical care facility. This puts them in line for their CRNA and working in the real world years before an anesthesiologist.

• Cost of education. One area that can’t be overlooked is the expense involved in these educations; both require a lot of schooling, which is very expensive. Becoming a medical doctor requires more, and it’s considerably more expensive.

• Salary. While schooling will cost more for a doctor/anesthesiologist, they can also expect to make more than a nurse anesthetist because their education is more broad-reaching and, at the same time, more in-depth.

• Licensing. The extra hurdle for anesthesiologists is becoming licensed medical doctors in any state in which they practice.

When it comes down to what duties are performed by the nurse anesthetist and the anesthesiologist, they’re roughly the same. The anesthesiologist is more likely to be employed by a larger facility where they will have supervisory duties. A nurse anesthetist will likely be working on their own in a small facility. If they work in a large medical practice, they will work under a supervising anesthesiologist.

Author

Kristin Kizer

Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.