Nurse Anesthetists

What the job really is

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.

At a glance

• Sector: Healthcare Practitioners
• O*NET-SOC code: 29-1151
• O*NET job zone: 5 — extensive preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• 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.

Tools and technology

Epic Systems, MEDITECH software, Microsoft Word, eClinicalWorks EHR software, AetherPalm InfusiCalc, Allscripts Professional EHR, Amkai AmkaiCharts, Anesthesia masks, Arterial line catheters, Automated external defibrillators AED, Bilevel positive airway pressure BiPAP ventilators, Bispectral index monitors BIS

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Anesthesiologists
• Anesthesiologist Assistants
• Nurse Practitioners
• Registered Nurses
• Critical Care Nurses
• Acute Care Nurses
• Emergency Medicine Physicians
• Nurse Midwives

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 5 (extensive preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Nurse Anesthetists — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.