CRNA vs. Nurse Practitioner

Why not do both? Get your CRNA/NP and practice critical care medicine with an anesthesia group. Lots of autonomy, money, variety, independence. Just get one and get a post master's in the other.

While it is not unusual to have CRNAs that went to NP school 1st. It would be highly unusual to be a CRNA working for anesthesia group providing critical care outside of the OR. Fist off CRNAs rarely provide anything other than anesthesia or pain management outside the OR (and even that isn't that common). Of course they don't, that's why you get your NP degree so you can. Most NPs work under colloboration agreement with an MD.....CRNAs have a wide variety of ways to practice from totally independent to working in ACT envirnoment under the supervision of an MDA. Really? I had no idea... As far as money goes if you are working as an NP then you are going to paid as an NP, more than likely, which is usually considerably less than what you can make as a CRNA. You'll get paid for both if you do both. No reason an anesthesia group wouldn't hire you to do CCM, Pain Clinic, and OR anesthesia, just like a anesthiologist, if you have both your NP and CRNA certs.

Now saying all that my suggestion is to shadow both an NP and CRNA to see which one you like best.

Anesthesia is great in my opinion and I wouldn't want to do anything else and I don't think that NPs get much more patient interaction in my opinion. There is a reason why they teach you to do a 15 minute focused assessment. However, some people feel everything is black and white and no middle ground. Create your own cocktail of degrees (nursing is easy that way) and get what fits for you. It takes slightly longer but you'll be happier in the end.