Nurse Salaries....

[AlleghenyPOD]

Guess what? CRNA's do make a lot of money. As a CRNA I can tell you that SEVERAL years ago my base pay in Fort Worth was $115,000. Now it is over $150,000 for working with a large group of MD's and other CRNA's in a large trauma hospital. My salary is actually kinda low for the area & I am looking at options. Many of the hospitals in this area offer up to $190,000 for experienced CRNA's. I spoke with a recruiter this week about a job in Georgia that pays between $200,000 & $300,000 depending on experience. I know it's hard to belive, but CRNA's are far removed from RN's. THe job we do is very intense, and the training is brutal. My pathophys prof. also taught the course at the local med school. He said our curriculum was nearly the same level of difficulty. I averaged about 40 hours a week outside of class just studying! And it's nearly 3 years of training, not 2 as most people believe. Now I am preparing the enter the doctorate CRNA program, so yes, my title will be Dr. Nurse.

Yea CRNAs do make alot of money, my mom's base pay is around 150k as well, but she makes more than that because she earns three times what my dad makes, and he's a Trauma RN in ACMC: he makes around ~90k. Its true tho, that CRNAs make ALOT of money just due to the fact of their speciality and the level of training they have, added to the fact that there just isnt enough nurses at all in the United States (as we speak, we're importing nurses from the philippines, india, britain etc) and the number of CRNA need has been increasing annually. To support what you say tho, there are terminal degrees for CRNAs. Generally one must attain their M.S in Nursing Anesthesia, which REQUIRES at least 2-3 years experience in either the ICU (intensive care unit), CCU (critical care unit), PACU (post anesthetic care unit) before going to advanced graduate studies for CRNA-ship. Then after getting their CRNA degree, they can progress to attain a Ph.D on CRNA--probably partaking in academic research on the physiological effects of analgesics--etc. Another terminal degree for CRNAs is also the DNSc (Doctor of Nursing Science), which is what my mom is doing this minute.

Also, I want to clear something to people. Just because one is a CRNA doesnt mean you start with over 200k as a base etc, veteran CRNAs are the ones that get paid alot, per se my mom who has been a nurse for over 26 years and out of those 26 years has worked in ICU/CCU/OR for over 20 years; and has been a nurse anesthetist for over 12 years.

Pay wise, the stats say that CRNA veterans make around 150 k base, but in reality their 'base' is more than 150 k. The Filipino CRNA nurses that my mom works with (my mum is filipina) make about ~200-300k annually, and literally make twice the amount of my own PCP or other doctors in the floor..easily making more than GIs, Peds, FamPrac, Geriats, etc.

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[sachiko]

Medical benefits must also be accounted for when considering a nurses salary. As with any other profession, benefits can be a major player when calculating income versus outgo. Most health care facilities offer fair medical benefits to their employees.