Start Earning More As A Nurse Anesthetist!
Many civilians may not realize this, but the highest paid person in a surgical arena may not be the one wielding the scalpel. It could be the person off in the corner keeping an eye on the anesthetic machinery. For the record, the official title of that person is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. Seeing this person, one could be looking at one of the few times a nurse is making more money that a doctor. It goes a long way towards explaining why nurse anesthetists are considered among the elite of their profession and why nursing school is only the beginning of their education.
Actually, anesthesiology is nearly 150 years old. The first nurse anesthetist was Catherine S. Lawrence, who began providing relief during the Civil War. The first college in the field opened in Oregon. The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, their professional society, was formed in 1931. They created the first nationally recognized certification process in 1952, which they administer today. If you are interested in getting more information about nursing colleges research the internet.
The field was almost a purely female one until the 1960s. At that time, the drugs used became so dangerous it was felt it should be handled by specialized doctors of medicine, nowadays called anesthesiologists. At the same time, the Association accredited nurse anesthetists started making so much money they began to out earn doctors. Thus many MD’s decided to move into the anesthesiology field.
The truth is anesthesiology is a life and death field. Different patients need different mixes of drugs for a number of reasons ranging from existing health conditions to the type of surgery being performed. Put together the wrong mixture and it could cause serious trauma or even death. A nurse anesthetist often is directly involved in the preparation of the drug, but also how much and where it’s trafficked into the patient’s body. For any additional information about nursing college check the internet.
Becoming a nurse anesthetist isn’t a walk in the park, either. A student must first take a full four year course and graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She must also become a certified Registered Nurse (RN) and have at least one year’s experience in acute nursing. From there, the real education begins.
The program involves an additional 24 to 36 months of further education, then accreditation by the Association. Most candidates gain much of their continued education through online colleges, usually walking out with an online Masters of Science degree. It should be noted that Doctorates in Nursing Anesthetics are also available with further study. For an abundance of information about government grants check out the web.
After all this education, the payoff is considerable. Unlike registered nurses, who usually only get state certification, a nurse anesthetist is certified nationally. This means he or she can work anywhere in the U.S. without having to retake certification if they cross state borders. The average salary of a nurse anesthetist is considerable, averaging $150,000. Work shifts usually are made of three 12-hour shifts per week, with the other four days off. The benefits package can also be quite handsome, depending on a professional’s bargaining ability.
This is definitely a dangerous profession, requiring one not only attending nursing school, but progress through specialized degrees and course work. For those who are interested, knowing there are online college grant and scholarship possibilities may make the decision to enter this elite field a little easier.
