Nurse Anesthetists
What Nurse Anesthetists 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.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 3.9%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 5 of 5Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
- Job training
- Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Medicine and Dentistryimportance 4.8/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.6/5
- Biologyimportance 4.6/5
- Chemistryimportance 4.3/5
- Mathematicsimportance 4.3/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 4.3/5
- English Languageimportance 4.2/5
- Psychologyimportance 4.0/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams5.0/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled5.0/5
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.8/5
- Exposed to Disease or Infections4.8/5
- Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets4.8/5
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.8/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Audiologists96% skill match
- Respiratory Therapists95% skill match
- Veterinary Technologists and Technicians93% skill match
- Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary92% skill match
- Upholsterers92% skill match
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers92% skill match
- Carpet Installers92% skill match
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons92% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 4.0/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 4.0/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.9/5
- Service Orientationimportance 3.9/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.4/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.4/5
- Instructingimportance 3.3/5
- Operations Monitoringimportance 3.3/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
In-Demand Technologies
Other Software Used
- AetherPalm InfusiCalc
- Allscripts Professional EHR
- Amkai AmkaiCharts
- Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
- Cerner Millennium
- ChartWare EMR
- Drug database software
- EDImis Anesthesia Manager
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Attention to Detail
- Stress Tolerance
- Dependability
- Cautiousness
- Self-Control
- Integrity
- Cooperation
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- SocialHigh
- InvestigativeHigh
- RealisticMedium
- ConventionalMedium
- EnterprisingLow
- ArtisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where nurse anesthetists make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Rochester, MN10.71× national avg
- 2Morgantown, WV8.82× national avg
- 3Charleston, WV6.52× national avg
- 4Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC5.13× national avg
- 5Winston-Salem, NC4.91× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Oral and Maxillofacial SurgeonsLateral Move
- Respiratory TherapistsLateral Move
- AudiologistsLateral Move
- Surgical TechnologistsLateral Move
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Clinical Nurse Leader
- Western Governors University (Salt Lake City, UT)grads earn ~$97,114
- Chamberlain University-Illinois (Addison, IL)grads earn ~$96,132
- Capella University (Minneapolis, MN)grads earn ~$97,211
- Walden University (Minneapolis, MN)grads earn ~$122,823
- Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, AZ)grads earn ~$103,884