If you have ever wondered if I truly love being a CRNA or if I just like it, well the answer is right in this post’s title. I absolutely love it! In this post, I would be going into details about all the things I love about being a CRNA. Who knows, my reasons might be very similar to why you also love being a CRNA. If you are aspiring to be a CRNA or already in CRNA School, my reasons might just be all the motivation you need to pull through with it. So, let’s get right into it.
Here Are The Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Being A CRNA
Helping Patients Manage Pain
I remember being in the ICU and having very sick patients. I was always very interested in making sure my patients were comfortable and not in pain. As I’ve always been interested in pain management, I wanted to provide safe and effective holistic care. When I worked night shifts in the ICU, I would give my patients a bed bath, massage them and do all I could to make sure they were comfortable. From changing their bed sheets to brushing them up when they are becoming more awake to helping them with the transition from being very sick to coming out of the sickness and becoming healthier, I did all I could.
I Love Critical Care
While in the ICU, I enjoyed thinking fast and having to think on top of my feet. I loved learning and growing and I loved pathophysiology. So, that mirrors what I feel today as being a CRNA. Yes, being a CRNA differs from being an ICU nurse, however, being an ICU nurse has built a foundation that allowed me to be successful as a CRNA.
I Love Pain Management Strategies
My first transition into being a CRNA student, going into clinicals, and having to learn about epidurals and peripheral nerve blocks and more. These types of regional anesthetics are great pain management techniques in the sense that you are not requiring patients to have a lot of opioids as nowadays, there’s something called an opioid epidemic.
Learning a variety of pain management strategies where I can block certain nerve roots in order to decrease pain sensation is exciting to me. It may not be a perfect or sole pain management anesthetic, but it’s nice to see it being used for surgeries, for labor, and more.
I Love Being Autonomous
The independence that comes with being a CRNA amazes me each and every day. In my institution, I work with anesthesiologists and CRNAs who I enjoy working with. I love being independent in the sense that you develop good relationships with people you work with and you get to try new anesthetic techniques.
In an operating room, it is you, in charge of managing your patients through their anesthetic experience. You’ve got to know that patient from head-to-toe, in and out, their history, and everything there is to know about them just so they can have a good anesthetic experience. People often say “Oh, CRNA, they are the ones that sit down and they have a book they’re reading”. No, that’s not the case. CRNAs are very vigilant. You may have a situation whereby you have a healthy patient whom you can provide a nice, smooth anesthetic. On the other hand, there could be times where it can be very rocky and you are constantly titrating medications and anesthetics drugs, changing your anesthetic plan to ensure your patients are safe and you’re applying best practices just so your patients have a good anesthetic experience. So, you’ll have great days and you may have bad ones too but you learn from the bad and you just love the good.
I Love Constant Growth
Life as a CRNA is never the same thing every day. You are learning new things and growing on the ones you already know. I mean, you may have two patients with the same comorbidities, for example, but they react differently to the anesthetic. How the human body works is simply magical. Being a CRNA would make you realize this.
There are tons of opportunities for you to grow as a CRNA. You can decide to go back to school to get a specific certification or fellowship in a specific area. There’s always opportunities to grow in anesthesia.
The Development Of Confidence
Being a CRNA and providing anesthetics goes a long way in helping you to develop a lot of confidence. You would see a patient who you are keeping alive during such an interesting time in their lives. You meet a person, within five minutes, you’re going to be taking over for them with your ability to give them a safe, effective anesthetic. They are trusting you and you have to be confident.
CRNAs Are A Very Close-knit Group
I remember my experience being an ICU nurse and my experience transitioning into becoming one. It was quite terrifying and it felt like nurses eat their young. It was both a good and bad experience, but it made me who I am today and strong clinically. It allowed me to sharpen my critical thinking ability and skill set. Now, being a CRNA, I am confident to exchange information with my colleagues and learn from their art of anesthesia.
Many Career Opportunities For CRNAs
You can do a variety of different areas as a CRNA. You can work in an ambulatory care facility, in a hospital, a trauma institution, a community center, and a pain management clinic. You can work in obstetrics where you are just doing labor epidurals and C-sections. You can work in a facility where you are putting in regional blocks.
There are many places you can work in as a CRNA and there is so much diversity such that you can never be bored. If you don’t like a particular area, you could just go on to do something different. For example, you might have worked 10 years in G.I. procedures and endoscopic procedures, but might one day feel that you want to transition into cardiac surgery. It might be a very tough transition for you but you can surely do it. You can always change and do many different areas. I mean, as CRNAs, we do cardiac surgery, we can put in central, arterial lines, peripheral nerve blocks, epidurals and so many others. All these techniques allow you to be a very strong anesthesia provider. If you have an area where you don’t want to do all these things and you would rather be low-key, then you can do that too.
Traveling Contracts Are An Option
You can travel! The traveling field in nurse anesthesia is expanding rapidly. There are tons of jobs across the country where you can do one-week, three-month, or six-month contracts. You can bounce around within a specific locum company or try different places or different companies where you can maximize on becoming a CRNA.
Flexibility In Our Schedule
This is yet another thing there is to love about being a CRNA. We have a pretty flexible schedule as we can work an eight-hour shift, a 10-hour shift, 12-hour shift. You can work night shifts, you can do 16-hour, or 24-hour shifts. There are constantly different types of shift you can work as a CRNA.
If you’re an aspiring CRNA, I feel it’s important for you to see for yourself what CRNAs do daily as it’s not just enough to want to become one. You have to know what it entails. You shouldn’t go into it just for the money as money is not always going to solve your problems or make you happy. You don’t want to invest a lot of time, money, and energy into being something that doesn’t come naturally to you. So, I recommend shadowing a CRNA to see if this career path is for you.
There you have it! The top 10 reasons why I love being a CRNA. Are you a CRNA? Which of the 10 reasons above can you relate with? What are some of the top reasons you love being a CRNA that I didn’t mention?
Just starting your CRNA journey? Which of these reasons above are you itching to enjoy once you’re done with school? Which of them have you started enjoying? What are some of the top reasons you love being a CRNA student that I didn’t mention?
I’d love to hear from you. Please leave me your comments!