I am a CCU nurse currently and am thinking of becoming a CRNA. I'm wondering if anyone has any information of the day to day job and what you can expect as a starting salary? Thanks.

The average starting salary for a CRNA is about $178,000.00. Depending on where you live.

Day to day is never the same - not totally the same - just like nursing or any allied health field. I think that is what keeps it interesting.

There is a good article posted on NurseWeek.com about CRNA Careers -
NurseWeek:So You Want to be a CRNA ... (http://www.nurseweek.com/news/features/02-05/crna_web.asp)

A general idea of a day in the life of a CRNA would be something like this:

Working closely with other healthcare professionals such as surgeons, dentists, podiatrists, and anesthesiologists, a CRNA takes care of a patient's anesthesia needs before, during and after surgery or the delivery of a baby by:


Performing a physical assessment
Participating in preoperative teaching
Preparing for anesthetic management
Administering anesthesia to keep the patient pain free
Maintaining anesthesia intraoperatively
Overseeing recovery from anesthesia
Following the patient's postoperative course from recovery room to patient care unitNurse Anesthetists stay with their patients for the entire procedure, constantly monitoring every important body function and individually modifying the anesthetic to ensure maximum safety and comfort. CRNAs administer approximately 65% of the 26 million anesthetics given to patients in the United States each year.