Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Job Description, Important Duties and Responsibilities

This post provides detailed information on the certified registered nurse anesthetist job description, including the important duties, tasks, and responsibilities they commonly perform.

It also highlights the major requirements you may be asked to fulfill to be hired for the certified registered nurse anesthetist role.

What Does a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Do?

The Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is an advanced practiced registered nurse with specialization in the administration of anesthesia.

They are recognized licensed independent practitioners and are responsible for administering anesthesia independent of anesthesiologists.

CRNAs work in a variety of settings, including medical and surgical hospitals, critical access hospitals, and mobile surgery centers.

They also function in outpatient care centers, offices of plastic surgeons, and dentists; ophthalmologists, pain management specialists, and other medical professionals, as well as in the U.S. military medical facilities and ambulatory service centers, etc.

Certified registered nurse anesthetists play a crucial role in the success of a variety of medical procedures working in collaboration with surgeons, anesthesiologists, dentists, podiatrists, and other professionals to ensure the safe administration of anesthesia.

The certified registered nurse anesthetist job description entails providing pain management, assisting with stabilization services, and overseeing patient recovery.

These services are essential through all phases of surgery and may also be used for diagnostic, obstetrical, and therapeutic procedures as well.

Their duties also involve administering anesthesia during surgical, therapeutic, diagnostic, and obstetric procedures; and also providing care before, during, and after anesthesia.

They examine patients’ medical histories for allergies or illnesses to ensure safe provision of pain management, and discuss any contraindications or side effects of anesthesia with patients.

Nurse anesthetists are responsible for conducting assessment of, and consultation for patients to prepare them for anesthesia – provision of anesthesia such as amnesia, unconsciousness, and insensibility to pain during surgical, therapeutic, and diagnostic procedures and the management of patients so affected.

They are responsible for monitoring, maintaining, and restoring homeostasis during the perioperative period, as well as homeostasis in the critically ill, injured, or otherwise seriously ill patient.

The certified registered nurse anesthetist work description also involves evaluating respiratory functions and applying respiratory therapy in all its forms; and assisting with clinical management and teaching of cardiac and pulmonary resuscitation.

To work as a CRNA requires a minimum of a Master’s degree from an accredited nurse anesthesia program.

Interested individuals who want to become certified registered nurse anesthetist must also possess some soft skills and personality traits to be successful in the career.

They must be compassionate and detail oriented, and should also possess great communication, leadership, and collaborative skills; and critical thinking ability, etc.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Job Description Example/Sample/Template

Certified registered nurse practitioners are professionals who perform clinical and non clinical functions, including administration of anesthesia and related services.

The major tasks, duties, and responsibilities that form the CRNA job description are presented below:

• Responsible for monitoring vital signs during medical procedures
• Perform epidural, spinal, or nerve blocks before surgery
• Conduct care with empathy
• Handle all patients’ health records with strict confidentiality
• Responsible for accurately documenting anesthetic assessments
• Responsible for developing and implementing anesthesia plans
• Oversee patients recovery from anesthesia
• Conduct pre-anesthesia assessment
• Request for laboratory/diagnostic reports
• Administer preanesthetic medication and general anesthesia and adjuvant drugs
• Apply sedation techniques where applicable
• Participate in recruitment, resource management, and clinical practice management in the functional area of employment
• Actively participate and provide leadership in the educational programs within the anesthesia section as well as other clinical staff
• Participate in monitoring the quality, appropriateness, and safety of patient care services in the health center
• Demonstrate ethical conduct and serve as a positive role model to others at all levels of the organization
• Participate in chart reviews and quality assurance programs
• Conduct pre-anesthetic patient history and physical exam, which include collecting pre-operative consults and data
• Formulate an anesthetic plan and educate the patient on the anesthetic risks, benefits, and options
• Administer inhalation, regional, intravenous, local, and topical anesthetics procedures
• Evaluate patients’ physical status to detect unfavorable reactions.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Requirements – Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities for a Successful Career

If you are seeking to work as a certified registered nurse anesthetist, CRNA, it is important to know that recruiters will expect you to meet a set of requirements before you can be invited to an interview.

This is necessary for them to be convinced that you will be able to carry out the work description for the CRNA role that will be given you, as well as being able to meet the obligations, purpose, and objectives of the position.

Now, here are major CRNA job requirements employers may ask you to fulfill to be able to access the role:

• Education: Nurse Anesthetists are advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs); they require a minimum of Master’s degree from an accredited nurse anesthesia program to get into the career
• License and certification: They must obtain a registered nurse (RN) license; and at least 1 year of experience as an RN in an acute care setting (e.g., ICU or ER). They must also be certified by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists or National Board of Certification & Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists
• Communication skills: They require the ability to speak informatively and persuasively (and with appropriate sensitivity) to patients, families, and significant others before surgery or other medical procedures begins
• Critical thinking abilities: it is essential that they are able to monitor changes in vital signs and suggest (or provide) appropriate responses
• Attention to detail: It is crucial that CRNA is detail-oriented, paying attention to even minor and the most subtle changes in patient condition
• Collaborative skills: They must be able to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment for improvement of services for patient care. It is also important that they can practice nurse anesthesia with colleagues and peers, utilizing a collaborative team concept of anesthesia care
• Leadership skills: Their job description requires them to provide leadership in the educational programs within the anesthesia section as well as other clinical staff. Hence they must be able to function as a mentor, preceptor, or nurse educator providing didactic and clinical instruction for graduate-level nurse anesthesia students and/or other anesthesia care providers, as well as prepare others for positions of leadership and ethical practices which impact patient care
• Physical dexterity: Certified registered nurse anesthetists must be capable of performing a full range of physical activity, including lifting and carrying, pulling, pushing, reaching at and above the shoulders, use of both hands and fingers, standing, walking, kneeling, sitting, repeated bending, and ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously
• Abilities: The ability to conduct and manage anesthesia for a broad range of complex surgical procedures may be required
• The ability to participate in the development of anesthesia patient care audit processes involving in depth review and analysis of anesthesia records may be required. The ability to provide airway management, administration of emergency fluids and drugs and by the use of basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques in order to perform necessary resuscitation procedures may be required
• The ability to provide patient care that is abreast of changing concepts and advancements in the profession, applying new developments and theories to solve various complex anesthesia situations may be required.

Conclusion

If you are an employer needing to write a good description for the role of a certified registered nurse anesthetist, to be able to recruit the best persons for the job, the sample job description provided in this post will be helpful to you.

This post is equally useful to individuals who are interested in becoming a CRNA and succeeding in their careers.

They will be able to learn about what certified registered nurse anesthetists do and the qualities and qualifications they need to have to be effective and succeed on the job.