CRNA Salary

A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, abbreviated as CRNA, performs the role of administering anesthesia to patients in the operation room, and before and after the major surgery (if required). Considering the level of responsibility, you can rightly guess the pay scale of certified registered nurse anesthetists to be relatively high. In fact, CRNA salary scale is amongst the highest of all of nursing specialties. In order to help you decide whether this profession suits your personal likings and career goal, first understand the work profile and annual package of CRNAs along with further career opportunities.

CRNA Job Description

The duty of a certified registered nurse anesthetist is to examine the anesthesia requirements of a patient before undergoing a surgical procedure. Based on the candidate's medical history and current condition, the nurse anesthetist determines the sedation type, concentration, and other factors to ensure a safe surgery. In most cases, these staffs operate under the strict guidance of anesthesiologists. However, they have the authority to give anesthesia, even in the absence of an anesthesiologist physician.

Nurse anesthetist is an interesting career path for both men and women, and about 55 percent of the CRNAs are females. Majority of the CRNAs prefer to work in public hospitals. However, instead of hiring anesthesiologist physicians, most private hospitals consider taking the help of CRNAs for an operation. With their help, more surgical procedures can be conducted on a daily basis. After becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist, one can think of working in private clinics or other health care settings.

Average CRNA Salary

The job profile of nurse anesthetists is quite challenging; they should be very good in decision-making under stressful situations. The satisfactory point for this medical job is the high salary package. As with any profession, the CRNA earning information varies according to the location, level of education, years of experience, and size of the hiring organization. It is reported that CRNAs employed in acute care hospitals are paid higher than those working in general hospitals.

About 6 years ago, the average salary of a CRNA was USD 160,000 yearly, while freshers without experience were paid somewhere around USD 110,000 to USD 130,000 per annum. In the latest 2009 review about salary ranges for jobs, the CRNA average salary was estimated to be USD 189,000 per year. Immediately after passing out, a certified registered nurse anesthetist can start his/her career from the lower scale, which comes to about USD 110,000. After gaining experience in the respective field, the pay scale can be increased to about USD 200,000 per year.

Speaking more about the earning potential of certified registered nurse anesthetists, those work in cities get a higher salary package than people employed in rural areas. The same salary variation exists according to state. For example; CRNA salary in California comes within USD 150,000 to USD 200,000, while the average salary of a CRNA in Texas falls between USD 140,000 to USD 170,000. In the present scenario, there is shortage for CRNAs in almost all states. Hence, a qualified nurse anesthetist can ask for a higher pay scale at the time of hiring.

As you now have a brief idea about the CRNA salary range, you will be able to calculate how much money you can expect to make out of this profession. What's more, nurse anesthetist salary is higher, while working independently as a contractor. Or, you can also start an organization for providing CRNA staffs to private clinics and hospitals. That way, you can increase your earning potential to a large extent. Overall, the career outlook for a certified registered nurse anesthetist is very bright for the coming years.