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Nurse Anesthetist

A program that prepares registered nurses to administer anesthetics and provide care for patients before, during and after anesthesia. Includes instruction in the biochemistry and physics of anesthesia; advanced anatomy and physiology; clinical pharmacology of anesthetics and adjunctive drugs; pain management; acute care and operating room practice; clinical technology and procedures; emergency intervention; patient assessment and education; and legal issues.

Types of Degrees Nurse Anesthetist Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Nurse Anesthetist have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Master’s Degree	408
Doctor’s Degree	1,552

What Nurse Anesthetist Majors Need to Know

Studies in Nurse Anesthetist build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Nurse Anesthetist graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Nurse Anesthetist emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.8 / 5; level 5.9 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.8 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Nurse Anesthetist program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Active Learning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Nurse Anesthetist careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Information Ordering — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Nurse Anesthetist graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.8 / 7
Getting Information	4.7 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.7 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.6 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.6 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.5 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	4.4 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.3 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Nurse Anesthetist professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Skyscape AnesthesiaDrugs	Medical software	—
Medscribbler Enterprise	Medical software	—
Amkai AmkaiCharts	Medical software	—
StatCom Patient Flow Logistics Enterprise Suite	Medical software	—
Allscripts Professional EHR	Medical software	—
MicroFour PracticeStudio.NET EMR	Medical software	—
AetherPalm InfusiCalc	Medical software	—
Drug database software	Medical software	—
NextGen Healthcare Information Systems EMR	Medical software	—
e-MDs software	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Nurse Anesthetist graduates include:

• Anesthesia Specialist
• Certified Nurse Anesthetist
• Staff Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (Staff CRNA)
• Staff Nurse Anesthetist
• Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
• Anesthesia Physician
• Nurse Anesthetist
• Nursing Assistants Teacher
• Registered Nurse Teacher (RN Teacher)
• Instructor
• Nurse Instructor
• Nurse Educator
• Clinical Nursing Professor
• Nursing Instructor
• Registered Nurse Instructor (RN Instructor)

What Can You Do With a Nurse Anesthetist Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Nurse Anesthetist commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Nurse Anesthetists	14.8%	$66,747	$56,202–$77,291
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary	5.7%	$69,718	$58,585–$80,852

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Nurse Anesthetist graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	52.1%
Master’s degree	42.4%
First professional degree	3.0%
Post-doctoral training	1.2%
Bachelor’s degree	0.9%
Post-master’s certificate	0.4%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Nurse Anesthetist?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 62.7% of Nurse Anesthetist degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,229	62.7%
Men	731	37.3%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Nurse Anesthetist graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,266	64.6%
Asian	155	7.9%
Hispanic or Latino	235	12.0%
Black or African American	140	7.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	7	0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	4	0.2%
Two or More Races	55	2.8%
Race Unknown	90	4.6%
International Students	8	0.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Nurse Anesthetist Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Nurse Anesthetist graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$83,453
4 years	$80,149
5 years	$90,156

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $90,156 — roughly 8% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Nurse Anesthetist Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Nurse Anesthetist. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Master’s	1	6
Doctoral (Research)	2	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Nurse Anesthetist Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Nurse Anesthetist graduates earn a median of $80,149 four years after completion — roughly 111% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	311,372
Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse	256,965
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	14,847
Nursing Practice	9,206
Nursing Administration	7,911
Nursing Science	4,245
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Other	4,125
Nursing Education	3,933
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing	2,457
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing	1,505
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing	641
Critical Care Nursing	596

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.