Ohio

One of the most exciting career paths for registered nurses today is that of a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. These health care professionals are highly autonomous and play a major role in any surgery by administering anesthesia.

Unlike other nursing specialties in which a nurse has several patients in her care, the nurse anesthetist must focus on one patient at a time. Most of us assume that nurse anesthetists practice only in hospitals, which is simply not true. Any healthcare setting where anesthesia is delivered qualifies as a practice setting for the nurse anesthetist. Aside from a hospital's surgical and obstetrical floors, anesthesia is administered in ambulatory surgical centers, dental, plastic surgeon, podiatric and ophthalmology offices.

Another work setting for nurse anesthetists is in academia. Some Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists choose to practice part time while also functioning as clinical and didactic educators at colleges and universities offering graduate nursing programs. Starting salaries for nurse anesthetists are around $118,000. With experience, the salary of a full-time nurse anesthetist may reach $180,000 annually. The nurse anesthetist field is currently one of the top ten recruited health care specialties.