Nurse Anesthetists
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Reviews the medical history, writes an anesthesia plan, and prepares the drugs, monitors, and equipment before a procedure. During the case the airway is managed with intubation, mechanical ventilation, and extubation; pulse, blood pressure, breathing, and urine output are watched by invasive and noninvasive means, and anesthetics, fluids, or blood products are adjusted as needed. Regional methods such as spinal, epidural, or nerve blocks are used when that is the plan. If something goes wrong, the response is airway support, emergency drugs or fluids, and cardiac life support, alongside a surgeon, anesthesiologist, or dentist. Fits those who prefer precise physiological monitoring and drug and airway decisions during procedures.
Typical education: Doctoral Degree (Ph.D., Ed.D.)
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$236'590
Median Wage Market Position
$236'590
What you might do
- Select and give anesthetics during procedures
- Manage the airway with tubes and ventilators
- Monitor pulse, breathing, blood pressure, and color
- Perform spinal, epidural, and nerve block anesthesia
- Review history to predict anesthesia response
- Handle airway and cardiac emergencies during surgery
Skills that matter
- Reading histories to predict anesthesia response
- Choice of anesthetics, fluids, and blood products
- Close watch on pulse, pupils, and breathing
- Airway management, including tubes and ventilation
- Talking through the plan with the surgical team
- Spinal, epidural, and other regional blocks
AI & the future of this role
Administering anesthesia requires continuous monitoring, rapid judgment under liability, and close teamwork in the OR. AI might help with dosing suggestions or vital-sign patterns, but licensed hands-on care and procedure-side trust are likely to remain central.
Does Nurse Anesthetists fit your values?
Take the free LostInCareer assessment to see personalized matches based on your core values—not just a personality label.
Related careers
Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details