Certified Nurse Anesthetists (CNAs) are registered nurses who have completed graduate-level study in anesthesiology. They work alone or with a team to administer anesthesia for surgeries and procedures, and can also provide pre-surgery counseling to calm patients. CNAs determine appropriate medications and dosages, administer medications, and monitor patients during anesthesia administration. They can work in various locations, including hospitals and birth centers, and may work with anesthesiologists depending on state or country laws.
A nurse anesthesiologist is more formally called a certified nurse anesthetist or CNA. These are registered nurses who have completed several years of study and practice at the graduate level in the field of anesthesiology. Depending on the state or country they practice in, they may work alone or with an anesthesiology team to administer anesthesia for surgeries, procedures, and things like childbirth.
There are many things a nurse anesthetist can do. When working alone, they may see people before surgery to obtain their medical history, information about past drug reactions, and specific details about weight and height. They usually not only get information from patients, but explain how the anesthesia will work and how patients might feel when they recover. A good CNA often uses this pre-surgery interview to help calm patients and alleviate some of their fears regarding the medical procedure they face.
Given the procedure the person will have, the CNA can then determine which drugs would be most appropriate. CNAs not only need to determine the appropriate medications, but also calculate dosages as per the size of the patient and the length of time the patient will need medication. This second part of the calculation is less predictable, as the same procedure can vary in length each time it is performed.
During an actual procedure, the nurse anesthesiologist administers medications as needed. It should be noted that anesthesia can include many different things. People usually think only of general anesthesia. There are also milder forms of sedation, such as twilight sleep, and local anesthesia, such as epidurals, that CNAs are capable of giving.
In many cases, and particularly when general anesthesia is used, the CNA remains with the patient during the entire anesthesia administration. He monitors the patient and determines when to use more or less medication to maintain patient sedation or comfort. In most cases, a nurse anesthesiologist will not stop monitoring the patient until the patient has finished the procedure and is fully awake.
Nurse anesthesiologists can practice in many different locations. Some work in birth centers, dental clinics, or dermatology/plastic surgery centers. Many CNAs work in hospitals. The above description of job duties may differ depending on where these nurses work. Some work as part of anesthesiology teams that include anesthesiologists. They may assist an anesthesiologist with procedures rather than working alone, and country or state laws may influence this in part. Sometimes the CNA has an anesthetist supervisor and will perform some basic anesthesia procedures, but must call the anesthesiologist for more complex anesthesia needs or if problems arise.
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