How to be a Certified Nurse Anesthetist?
Some friends want to be a nurse and then a Certified Nurse Anesthetist, and ask me some questions like these:
I wanted to know how long need to attend school to become a nurse anesthetist?
What is the education required to become one? Is it difficult to do?
And how much money does one make? Also, direct me to any programs for this in San Francisco if you can.
Here is the simple guide to be a Certified Nurse Anesthetist:
You need to become a RN before becoming a CRNA. You need a masters degree to become a CRNA. First you would need to get a BSN (4 year nursing degree). Mostgraduate programs require some type of experience working as a nurse before you can apply to the graduate program. So you would need to work as a RN for a few years, and then apply to a CRNA program. So you are looking at 4 or 5 years to get your BSN, 2 or 3 years of clinical experience, and then another 2 years to become a CRNA. You are looking at a minimum of 8 years, and that is if you complete everything on time and are choosing to go to school full time.
You might find that it is difficult to be working towards a goal for this long, but it can be rewarding in the end. Becoming a CRNA is very stressful, as many see it as you are basically responsible for your patient’s life. If it is something you strive to do, then the time will not matter. CRNA’s make very good money. Any nurse with an advanced degree will make at least 70,000 and easily 80,000 or 90,000 with experience.
Look at colleges around your area with a BSN program first. You may decide that you want to go to graduate school somewhere else so it’s not necessary to find one at this point. Start off with getting into the college, finishing your prerequisites with good grades, and then apply to the nursing program of your choice. Keep in mind that nursing programs and becoming increasingly competitive and some even have mile long waiting lists, so it’s in your best interest to take your prerequisite courses seriously and do well in them.
