CRNA Career Center

 

2008 CRNA Salary Survey

The results are in for LocumTenens.com’s Annual Compensation and Employment Survey 2008.

Find salary and employment statistics including compensation comparisons by area (metro vs. rural), gender and years in practice. Also covered are CRNAs top sources for finding jobs, influencing factors for seeking a job change and demographics -- board status, gender, years in practice and CRNA insights into the practice of medicine today and thoughts about universal healthcare.

View the full 2008 CRNA salary report here

View the full 2007 CRNA salary report here

View the full 2006 CRNA salary report here

View the full 2005 CRNA salary report here

 

VA hospitals suffer from nurse anesthetist shortage

More than half of 125 Veteran Affairs medical facility chief anesthesiologists responding to a Government Accountability Office study last year said they had to temporarily close operating rooms and 72 percent said they delayed some elective surgeries because of a shortage of certified registered nurse anesthetists. The GAO study projects that 26 percent of the VA’s CRNAs will retire or leave in the next five years. A key problem: VA salaries are lower than other such jobs in the facilities’ local markets. The report notes that the VA facilities don’t fully use the available tools to improve salaries, such as bonuses, education payment programs or a “locality pay system,” to determine if salaries should be increased.

Source: H&HN, February 2008

 

Not just nursing shortage

Hospitals have difficulty filling critical positions

When the ambulance diversion and treat-and-transfer rates at Massachusetts hospitals soared in September, it was not because of increased patient demand as much as decreased staff capacity. Registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nurses' aides, pharmacists, anesthesiologists, ultrasound technicians, nuclear medicine technicians, nurse anesthetists, radiology technicians, pharmacy technicians -- many health care specialties have serious staffing problems. And those staffing shortages are translating into longer waits for elective procedures, and in some cases -- such as ambulance diversions -- no treatment at all.  (Source: Boston Business Journal)

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Industry scan

Allied professionals’ salaries rise with demand

Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are being offered salaries that top what some physicians earn, according to a survey by Allied Consulting, Dallas, Texas. Based on 951 allied healthcare professional search assignments in 2001, the survey found that salary offers to CRNAs ranged from $90,000 to $180,000 in 2001, compared with $86,000 to $107,000 in 1997. Although CRNAs may earn more than primary care physicians such as pediatricians, they still earn considerably less than anesthesiologists, who are in short supply.  (Source: Healthcare Financial Management)

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Shortage of certified nurse anesthetists

The shortage of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) has affected the delivery of health care to a significant portion of the U.S. population, according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA). The AANA cited a decline in anesthesiology resident positions, an increase in office-based surgery or surgery in places other than a hospital as driving forces behind an increased need for CRNAs. Additionally, managed care is constantly pursuing cost-cutting efforts, and coverage plans recognize CRNAs for providing high-quality anesthesia care at reduced expense to patients and insurance companies. The cost-efficiency of CRNAs helps keep escalating medical costs down. (Source: CountryNurse.com)

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So you want to be a CRNA ...

Despite the critical need for CRNAs, a national protracted shortfall of anesthesia providers threatens to limit the growth of surgical activity. CRNAs practice in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered, including traditional hospital surgical suites, obstetrical delivery rooms, physicians' offices, ambulatory surgical centers and the military. (Source: NurseWeek.com)

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Shortage of certified registered nurse
anesthetists limits access to healthcare

A serious shortage of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) has made an impact on the delivery of healthcare for a significant portion of the U.S. population, according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA). (Source: AnesthesiaPatientSafety.com)

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