In olden days, surgical patients had to bite the bullet to endure pain. Now, nurse anesthetists can prevent patients from feeling discomfort, and then wake them up when surgery is all over. Nurse anesthetists administer anesthesia to numb parts of the body or put patients in a sleep-like state during operations, diagnostic procedures, or therapeutic procedures. Nurse anesthetists know that everyone is different, so they talk with patients about their allergies and current medications… and evaluate other factors like height and weight… to determine the correct dosage for their patient. They choose and prepare appropriate anesthetics, and administer them by various methods, including IVs and inhaled gases. Throughout a procedure and during recovery, they carefully monitor their patient’s vital signs from their pupil dilation to their heart rate, and adjust anesthesia accordingly. They may work in dental or doctor’s office, keeping standard business hours. Those who work at hospitals often work some nights, weekends, and holidays. Depending on state regulations and the environment in which they work, nurse anesthetists may work independently or on a team under the direction of an anesthesiologist. To enter the field, they must have a master’s degree in nursing and a nurse anesthetist certification. Whatever the work setting, these professionals share the goal of making a patient’s trip to the doctor quick and painless.
What they do:
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.
On the job, you would:
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.
Health
medicine and dentistry
therapy and counseling
Business
customer service
management
Math and Science
biology
chemistry
Education and Training
teaching and course design
Basic Skills
reading work related information
thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
Problem Solving
noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
Verbal
listen and understand what people say
read and understand what is written
Ideas and Logic
notice when problems happen
order or arrange things
Attention
pay attention to something without being distracted
do two or more things at the same time
Visual Understanding
quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things
People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Stress Tolerance
Integrity
Concern for Others
Adaptability/Flexibility
You might use software like this on the job:
Medical software
eClinicalWorks EHR software
MEDITECH software
Word processing software
Microsoft Word
doctoral degree or master's degree usually needed
Get started on your career:
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
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