Nurse Anesthetists

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)

Nurse Anesthetist

Staff Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (Staff CRNA)

Staff Nurse Anesthetist

What is a Nurse Anesthetist?

A Nurse Anesthetist, also known as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), is a highly specialized advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) responsible for providing anesthesia care to patients undergoing surgical, obstetrical, or other medical procedures. They are trained to administer anesthesia, monitor patients' vital signs, and ensure patient safety before, during, and after anesthesia is administered. Nurse Anesthetists often work independently or in collaboration with anesthesiologists, surgeons, and other healthcare professionals in a variety of settings, including hospitals, surgical clinics, and pain management practices.

Job Outlook

Projected salary and job growth

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Finding local jobs...

Assessment

Related assessments and tests

No assessment available.

Related Occupations

Tasks

Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation.
Respond to emergency situations by providing airway management, administering emergency fluids or drugs, or using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques.
Monitor patients' responses, including skin color, pupil dilation, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, ventilation, or urine output, using invasive and noninvasive techniques.
Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary.
Select, prepare, or use equipment, monitors, supplies, or drugs for the administration of anesthetics.

Technology Skills

Medical software
- eClinicalWorks EHR software
- Epic Systems
- GE Healthcare Centricity EMR
- MEDITECH software
Word processing software
- Microsoft Word

Tools Used

Electronic stethoscopes
- Precordial stethoscopes
- Pretracheal stethoscopes
Gas anesthesia apparatus or machines
- Digital anesthesia machines
- Gas anesthesia administration machines
Anesthesia inhalers or inhaler units
- Anesthesia masks
- Calibrated vaporizers
Cardiac output CO monitoring units
- Cardiac monitors
- Invasive hemodynamic pressure monitors
Pharyngeal airways or airways kits
- Laryngeal mask airways LMA
- Oropharyngeal airways

Knowledge

Medicine and Dentistry
Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Biology
Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Chemistry
Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

9 Active Jobs in South Africa

Avg Salary: R26,634pm

Is a Career as a Nurse Anaesthetist in South Africa Right for You?

Choosing to specialise as a Nurse Anaesthetist (often referred to locally as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Anaesthesia) is a significant milestone in any nursing career. It is a role that blends high-level clinical expertise with the steady hand required for critical care. Currently, the South African healthcare sector shows a robust demand for these specialists, with 3 active job openings available for qualified professionals.

Financial prospects in this field are equally encouraging. The current average salary stands at R26,634pm. However, market data from 2024 reflects a consistent upward trajectory; starting the year at approximately R23,437 in January, the sector has seen steady monthly growth, reaching an estimated R29,297 by December. This indicates a healthy, appreciating market for your specialised skills.

Is Nurse Anaesthesia Right for Me? (Psychometric Checklist)

Beyond the qualifications, certain personality traits and cognitive strengths are essential to thrive in the high-stakes environment of an operating theatre. Use this checklist to evaluate your internal readiness:

Emotional Regulation: Can you remain calm and clinical when a patient’s vitals drop unexpectedly?
Precise Attention to Detail: Do you have the discipline to double-check dosages and monitor minute changes in patient monitoring systems?
Mathematical Proficiency: Are you comfortable performing rapid drug-dosage calculations under pressure?
Decisiveness: Can you take independent action based on your clinical judgement when the lead surgeon is focused on the procedure?
Physical and Mental Stamina: Are you prepared for long shifts that require standing and constant vigilance?
Interpersonal Communication: Can you effectively organise and communicate with a multidisciplinary surgical team?

A Day in the Life: The South African Context

In a typical South African private or public hospital, your day begins long before the first incision. You will start by preparing the anaesthetic machine, ensuring all gases, monitors, and emergency equipment are functional. You will meet with patients pre-operatively to assess their medical history and alleviate their anxieties—a crucial part of the South African nursing ethos of "Ubuntu".

Once in the theatre, you are the patient’s primary advocate. You will induce anaesthesia, monitor life-sustaining functions throughout the surgery, and manage the delicate process of "waking" the patient. Whether you are working in a bustling trauma unit in Johannesburg or a quiet regional hospital in the Western Cape, the responsibility is immense, but the reward of seeing a patient safely through a life-changing surgery is unparalleled.

Education & Upskilling

The path to becoming a Nurse Anaesthetist in South Africa is rigorous and governed by the South African Nursing Council (SANC). To be ready, you must follow a structured educational programme:

Formal Degree/Diploma: You must first be registered as a Professional Nurse. This requires a Bachelor of Nursing (BCur) from a University or a Diploma from a recognised Nursing College.
Specialist Qualification: You will need to complete a Post-Graduate Diploma (PGDip) in Medical and Surgical Nursing Science: Anaesthesia.
SANC Registration: Your additional qualification must be officially "indicated" against your name in the SANC register.

It is vital to remember that in this field, your education never truly ends. Because medical technology and pharmacological protocols evolve rapidly, continuous learning is key. Engaging in short courses, attending anaesthesia seminars, and maintaining your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points are non-negotiable requirements for excellence and safety.

Next Steps

If you possess the clinical curiosity and the emotional resilience described above, you are likely ready to take the next step in your professional journey. The South African healthcare system needs dedicated, highly skilled specialists to bridge the gap in perioperative care. Do not leave your career progression to chance—take the proactive step to validate your aptitude. Test your readiness now by engaging with our specialist career assessment and discover if you are prepared to master the art and science of anaesthesia.

Skills

Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Abilities

Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Information Ordering
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Oral Comprehension
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Written Comprehension
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Deductive Reasoning
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation?

Doctoral degree

56 %
Master's degree

41 %
Professional degree

4 %

Awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession

Work Activities

Assisting and Caring for Others
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Getting Information
Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Documenting/Recording Information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Detailed Work Activities

Implement advanced life support techniques.
Administer intravenous medications.
Treat medical emergencies.
Monitor patient conditions during treatments, procedures, or activities.
Prescribe medications.

Work Interests

Social
Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.
Realistic
Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
Investigative
Work involves studying and researching non-living objects, living organisms, disease or other forms of impairment, or human behavior. Investigative occupations are often associated with physical, life, medical, or social sciences, and can be found in the fields of humanities, mathematics/statistics, information technology, or health care service.
Conventional
Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.