CRNA job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 5 of 5

extensive preparation

Typical entry education

Master's degree

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$236,590

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Nurse Anesthetists (O*NET-SOC 29-1151.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

1. Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation. importance 5.0 of 5
2. Respond to emergency situations by providing airway management, administering emergency fluids or drugs, or using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques. importance 4.9 of 5
3. Monitor patients' responses, including skin color, pupil dilation, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, ventilation, or urine output, using invasive and noninvasive techniques. importance 4.9 of 5
4. Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary. importance 4.8 of 5
5. Select, prepare, or use equipment, monitors, supplies, or drugs for the administration of anesthetics. importance 4.7 of 5
6. Assess patients' medical histories to predict anesthesia response. importance 4.7 of 5
7. Perform or manage regional anesthetic techniques, such as local, spinal, epidural, caudal, nerve blocks and intravenous blocks. importance 4.7 of 5
8. Develop anesthesia care plans. importance 4.7 of 5
9. Obtain informed consent from patients for anesthesia procedures. importance 4.7 of 5
10. Prepare prescribed solutions and administer local, intravenous, spinal, or other anesthetics, following specified methods and procedures. importance 4.6 of 5
11. Perform pre-anesthetic screenings, including physical evaluations and patient interviews, and document results. importance 4.6 of 5
12. Calibrate and test anesthesia equipment. importance 4.6 of 5
13. Evaluate patients' post-surgical or post-anesthesia responses, taking appropriate corrective actions or requesting consultation if complications occur. importance 4.6 of 5
14. Administer post-anesthesia medications or fluids to support patients' cardiovascular systems. importance 4.5 of 5
15. Select and prescribe post-anesthesia medications or treatments to patients. importance 4.5 of 5
16. Perform or evaluate the results of diagnostic tests, such as radiographs (x-rays) and electrocardiograms (EKGs). importance 4.4 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Assisting and Caring for Others, Getting Information, Documenting/Recording Information, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge and Making Decisions and Solving Problems.

Knowledge areas: Medicine and Dentistry, Customer and Personal Service, Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Epic Systems, Patient management software, MEDITECH software, eClinicalWorks EHR software, Microsoft Word, AetherPalm InfusiCalc. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 5 of 5 (extensive preparation). Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become a CRNA.

Most O*NET's occupation experts for this occupation (56%) name a doctoral degree as the education the job requires.

Job title: CRNA
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a CRNA to administer anesthesia, monitor patient's vital signs, and oversee patient recovery from anesthesia.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- 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.
- Assess patients' medical histories to predict anesthesia response.
- Perform or manage regional anesthetic techniques, such as local, spinal, epidural, caudal, nerve blocks and intravenous blocks.
- Develop anesthesia care plans.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a master's degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in reading comprehension, critical thinking and complex problem solving
- Working knowledge of Medicine and Dentistry and Customer and Personal Service
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Epic Systems or Patient management software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $236,590 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $113.75. BLS estimates about 51,840 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of CRNAs to grow 9.7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,400 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full CRNA salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real CRNA posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only CRNA work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (reading comprehension and critical thinking); CRNA interview questions turns them into practice questions.