PROSPECTS 4 CRNA's??

Zorya,
There will always be a need for anesthesia providers. The surgical case load is getting larger practically on a daily basis. As far as more oppurtunities for CRNAs Vs. NP I think it depends on your location. I know that NPs are not too common in the metro area, but out in the rural areas they are. Listen to the other guys here on the board, they know a WHOLE lot more than I do.

Brett

1) Do you guys think the pay rate being offered now i.e.; $90-200,000 annually is expected to stay the same, or will it go higher or lower?

Salaries very rarely go down once they have gone up. Benefits and sign on bonuses come and go with the fluctuations in supply of CRNAs. My personal belief is that we have seen such tremendous growth, we are likely about “topped out” now. But you will always be able to find places that have salaries much higher than average. Rural one man shop sites (read that on call 24/7/365) and very urban high volume centers (again, lots of work hours) are examples.

2) Do you see the whole billing process as getting easier or more detailed and diffucult in the future?

Billing has to do with the government. Bound to get harder. Of course if we have a complete health care reformation, who knows how things will work? The mechanics of billing have a direct impact on you if you do your own billing. Many CRNAs assign their billing rights, as so don’t really have to bother too much with the mechanics of it all. (The pros and cons of doing your own billing is another discussion)

3) what do you think about the # of schools offering CRNA classes? As in, do you think the schools will adjust and mk more space availability, or will it just get ever more competitive?

The number of schools does not seem to be increasing, yet the number of students accepted has greatly increased. My personal opinion is that the schools are pretty maxed out. This is a challenge for nurse anesthesia, we need to find a way to educate more SRNAs. I think things will only stay competitive in the short run.


4) Do you think there are more oppurtunities for CRNA's or practitioners?

CRNAs, IMHO.

5) Do you see the same need for CRNA's 6 yrs from now?

No. The need will increase. They used to say the shortage would peak in 2010. The latest word had been, they aren’t even going to guess when the shortage will start to reverse.

I’ve been a CRNA for over 10 years, and try to stay reasonably current in the national association. But even so, these are only my opinions. And when it comes to the future you know what they say “Past performance does not guarantee future performance”.

loisane crna