What to Expect as a Nurse Anesthetist Just as it is in any single profession, nursing has quite a few different specializations. From being an ER nurse to being a Nurse Anesthetist, the fields are different and encompass a wide range of obligations which may not have a lot in common. With this in mind, we are going to focus on the nurse anesthetist, their line of work, and the challenges that are waiting in store. So, a nurse anesthetist is basically entitled to do almost everything that an anesthesiologist is capable of doing. As a regular nurse, you would have to undergo a special course of training and education and upon completing it you would receive a certification. However, it’s also worth noting that the work of a nurse anesthetist is amongst the most challenging in the entire medical profession with certain exceptions of course. This is also why they are amongst the highest paid professionals in the entire healthcare industry. However, there are quite a lot of things that need to be taken into consideration and you’d need to be properly aware of that prior to deciding to go for this particular specialization. So, without wasting any more time and without any further ado, let’s take a look at what you might want to expect from the field of a nurse anesthetist. Related: Top 10 Tips to Start Your Semester Off Right 1. Night as well as weekend calls Be prepared for an abundance of these. This is one of the fields in which you would have to work through at least 90% of your night shift unlike other fields where there may not be a rush because of lack of patients. Keep in mind that the majority of obstetrics are required to have a nurse anesthetist 24 hours 365 days a week. Guess what happens when your fellow colleague needs a day off and there’s no one else to replace him – you’re up. What is more, you are going to receive a large volume of calls on your days off because of your team being understaffed and that’s something that you sometimes can’t say no to. In case you are wondering why you can’t say no – it’s because the previous time it was you who was calling your colleague to help you out and he actually did it. 2. Abundance of stressful situations Even though you are going to get some cases in which trauma wouldn’t be as severe and the result of the surgery is guaranteed to be positive, this isn’t always the case. Be prepared for incredibly stressful situations. The surgeons are going to be stressed out and this is going to reflect on the entire team. Unfortunately, that’s how it works. This
line of work isn’t for everyone and you must be able to go through stress on a daily basis without it leaving a considerable impact on you. In case you don’t expect it – people will die. That’s something that you are going to have to get used to. Even though you’d be aware of the fact that it’s out of your reach to help the patient in any other way than to alleviate his pain, you might be harsh on yourself.
3. Be prepared for sass Now, this is something that you should be aware of. Nurse anesthetists make a lot of money. With this in mind, that’s not something that surgeons would generally let pass by. Unfortunately, people are not meant to work this way. Surgeons are always going to think that their work is much more important than yours and that this should reflect in their pay check. Related: How to Plan Your Vacation Days The truth is, for the most part, that they aren’t exactly wrong. While you have a tremendous responsibility of making sure that the anesthesia is effectively administered throughout the entire surgery, they are the ones who are actually going to handle the life of the patient in their hands. One wrong move of the scalpel and this could be it – it’s as simple as that. Of course, that’s not to say that your work is less important – it’s just a different scale and they are rather incomparable. However, that’s not what the surgeon is going to think, at least not for the most part. Even though the situation has changed dramatically for over the last 20 years, there is still a lot of disrespectful treatment on behalf of surgeons towards nurse anesthetists and that’s something that you need to be able to cope with. A strong personality is something that’s going to help you out significantly. 4. Monotony Monotony is something that’s part of the job. For the most part you are going to be monitoring the vitals of the patient and determining whether or not everything is in line. Sure, it may sound challenging and incredibly overwhelming, and it most certainly is for the first few months or maybe a year. However, after that, you quickly get used to all of this and everything becomes just numbers on the screen. Of course, unexpected situations tend to happen and they require your swift involvement and interference. That’s why you need to be able to overcome monotony and stay alert throughout the entire procedure. As you can see, there are quite a lot of things that you’d have to be able to cope with. Of course, these are just the most regular and general ones of them. There are hundreds of specifications that you’d need to be aware of and that you’d have to get used to. The
truth is that being a nurse anesthetist is something particularly challenging and it’s definitely not like being a regular or even an ER nurse. Of course, this is not to say that other specializations are less challenging. In fact, it’s absolutely impossible to compare them in terms of which one is more demanding because they involve completely different expertise and consideration. However, being a nurse anesthetist would require the most of you, that’s for sure. You are going to be taking care of patients which are unable to take care of themselves completely and you need to ensure that you have their full trust. Once you’ve done this, you need to make it so that you do your best for their well-being. This is a tremendous responsibility which is the main reason for which this is amongst the highest paid line of work not only in the field of nursing but in the entire healthcare industry. What is more, there is currently a shortage of specialists in the area and with the advancement of the medical care as a whole more and more people are turning to this particular specialization. It’s important, however, to understand that the high salaries are high for a reason – the job is tremendously demanding and incredibly overwhelming – something that’s not appropriate for everyone. Make sure to take this into account. Related: International Nurses Association Please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and Twitter