If you became CRNA for the money did you end up......

Specialties CRNA

Published

End up loving it?

I'm strongly considering CRNA school for many reasons but primarily the salary. My opinion toward anesthesia right now is that it's not a passion or anything, I don't love it, I don't hate it, I'm very content/neutral toward it. This is holding back my decision to move forward because the schooling is so intense. Is there anyone that initially felt the same way as me but ended up falling in love with it? Anyone feel the same as me and regret pursuing CRNA?

Why are people depressed coming out of CRNA school? $100,000 in loans...but you can't work as an RN part-time or per-diem while going to school?? Hospitals won't pay you or you can't find scholarships? I thought about getting my BSN and have dreamed of working two full-time jobs my first year to pay off my loans if I can (I estimate $30-40K after BSN). What about working two full-time jobs as a CRNA? Don't they work as much as an RN?

Don't go to CRNA school thinking you'll be able to work any significant amount to cover bills or school fees. Most programs prohibit you working and all programs HIGHLY discourage it. The professors know what you find out as soon as it begins, you will struggle to pass if you try to work at all. One student in my cohort pulls about 3 shifts a month PRN because she's trying to cover the interest on her $100,000 school loans while it accrues. She is currently pulling her hair out stressed to just make a passing grade and she's a brilliant person. Those 3 12's she works a month equates to 45 hours lost that she should have been studying.

Once you graduate as a CRNA many do work two jobs or pull 60 hours in overtime. The earning potential is definitely over $200,000 if you want it to be.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.
Why are people depressed coming out of CRNA school? $100,000 in loans...but you can't work as an RN part-time or per-diem while going to school?? Hospitals won't pay you or you can't find scholarships? I thought about getting my BSN and have dreamed of working two full time jobs my first year to pay off my loans if I can (I estimate $30-40K after BSN). What about working two full time jobs as a CRNA? Don't they work as much as an RN?

I assume you are referring to the anecdote I told about my friend. The money wasn't the source of her depression - in fact, her entire schooling was paid for by her company.

She was miserable because she found that she didn't enjoy the CRNA role, missed her role in the ICU, and didn't seem to fit in with the general culture of CRNA school/practicum. Now that she is working, she still feels the same way. It doesn't help that at her particular facility, there isn't a great relationship between the anesthesiologists and CRNAs, and she actually feels less autonomous and less respected than she did as a bedside nurse, which frustrates her.

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CRNA school consumes your life. I'm just finishing up my first semester in a front loaded program so I'm pretty new to the rigors of school compared to others. However, in order to succeed you have to hit the ground running from the first day of class. If you slack off, you WILL be behind. The volume of material that you must know is extreme, and working while in school, hell having any distractions at all, can affect your grades. I average about 8 hours a day of studying not including class time. I advise you to shadow a CRNA to get a better feel for the profession. If you have any hesitations after that, then do not pursues this field. Time, energy and discipline are needed to succeed in school, but in order to not quit you have to have a passion for what your learning. Bright students fail out of CRNA programs all the time; intelligence alone is not enough sometimes.

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lol have to shadow one before you dump your life into a lifetime of sitting in the OR, less patient contact than most other specialties, and pumping drugs.

One surgery rotation and one anesthesia rotation and I was like "nah brah ill pass."

If you enjoy pharm and physio and such though it may be for you. But those 8 weeks of surg and 4 of anesthesia was enough for me lol

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CRNA school consumes your life.

And I thought nursing school was the worst...

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One of my instructors is an APN and he made a really good point about CRNA. He said that his is about $1,800.00/year, whereas CRNAs will pay about $18,000.00, eating up much more than the salary difference between the two. If you don't have a passion for it, the money probably isn't worth it.

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One of my instructors is an APN and he made a really good point about CRNA. He said that his malpractice insurance is about $1,800.00/year, whereas CRNAs will pay about $18,000.00, eating up much more than the salary difference between the two. If you don't have a passion for it, the money probably isn't worth it.

I'm not sure where he's getting his numbers but that's about 4 times the actual cost of for a typical CRNA. Most CRNAs who work in anesthesia groups don't even pay for malpractice insurance because they are covered by their groups malpractice insurance. My professor who is a practicing CRNA said when she worked in an all CRNA independent practice she paid for her own and it was about $3000 a year.

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I'm not sure where he's getting his numbers but that's about 4 times the actual cost of malpractice insurance for a typical CRNA. Most CRNAs who work in anesthesia groups don't even pay for malpractice insurance because they are covered by their groups malpractice insurance. My professor who is a practicing CRNA said when she worked in an all CRNA independent practice she paid for her own and it was about $3000 a year.

Mea Culpa--being a student, I took him at his word. Does bring up a good question though. What is the average salary of a CRNA and is the extra money worth it if you could make a similar salary as an APN? The whole question would be moot, however, if you really love anesthesia...and I could definitely see it being a good fit for some people.

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dbabz, Salary.com states "The median annual Certified Nurse Anesthetist salary is $173,541, as of June 28, 2017".

Of course, no amount of money is worth it if it's not a career you're passionate about. I have friends who are NPs and work for about $70k a year and love their jobs. Money shouldn't be the main focus in career fulfillment.

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.

It was fun in the early days before medicine became so cookbook based . The last 10 years were hell. You are a corporate widget making money for the lazy guys sitting in the anesthesia office. They always seem to be too busy to give meal breaks for any break at all. The only way to get them to move was to announce into the phone that a tampon had to be changed. The production pressures gave me PTSD. I had nightmares for several years after leaving. It was a pleasure in the beginning when I worked alone. I loved the the instant gratification of an excellent anesthetic. There's a reason why we have so many addicts. Most are adrenaline addicts before starting school. I left to devote more time to working face to face with them. You earn mire than you make.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I shadowed several CRNAs before I decided that I couldn't stand still long enough to do the job. I still go to the OR every year or so to do intubations to keep up my skillset (volunteer pre-hospital RN at the ALS level). However, I still know I made the right decision to choose another route.

That said, my recent experience with a surgical procedure was phenomenal! The CRNA had 40 years experience, extremely personable and we talked for 30 minutes prior to going back to the OR.

So...CRNAs do have to have people skills too in addition to being clinically competent.

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Bluebolt. ...You are right.But with overtime it can easily reach to 250k or more.Many places give time and half.Which don't give that,they give you 90 and hour or more on W2.

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