Career offers responsibility, flexibility
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Kyle Riley, a nurse anesthetist from Upstate University Hospital, discovered his career “by accident,” he said.
When a senior in high school, he was taking a class through BOCES about basic anatomy and also job exploration in health care. Part of it included job shadowing. While shadowing in an operating room, Riley stood against the wall to avoid touching anything.
“A gentleman asked if I would stand with him,” Riley recalled.
He agreed and learned that the gentleman was a nurse anesthetist, who shared his job responsibilities, education and work-life balance. At home, Riley looked up the career online and liked what he saw.
“From that time forward, that’s all I wanted to do,” he said.
He works with the adult population, but nurse anesthetists can specialize in many areas. He works with anesthesiologists. He checks and prepares equipment to start his day. He talks with patients and compares that with what the surgeon requires. He can prescribe an anesthetic plan and administer it.
As the father of young children, Riley likes that he can work weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m.
“The job offers a great amount of flexibility,” he said. “I can pick and choose as to when and where I want to work.”
He advises anyone interested in the career to read up on it and have a good understanding and aptitude for pathophysiology, pharmacology and chemistry.
Shadowing a nurse anesthetist as he did can help people know if this is the right path as well.
“One reason I find it rewarding is we provide anesthesia to people who need to have a surgeon to fix a problem in their lives,” Riley said. “There’s a lot of anxiety. To be able to help them through a difficult point of their lives in such a short amount of time, to me that’s rewarding. They’re relying on you to be their caretaker while unconscious. We help them forget a time they don’t want to remember. I’m so happy I was exposed to this accidentally. I owe that gentleman a large platter of gratitude.”
Nurse anesthetists have additional training beyond the registered nurse designation.
Mark Blazey, nurse anesthetist at Highland Hospital and president of New York State Association of Nurse Anesthetists, said that nurse anesthetists do everything that physician anesthesiologists do, but from a nursing background, as nurse anesthetists must first earn a nursing degree and work as a nurse in a high acuity ICU.
“We go over the patient chart and medical history and talk with the patient about consent, risks and benefits,” he said. “We bring them into the OR, administer anesthesia, communicate with the physician about their needs, make sure they’re asleep and their vital signs are within the parameters we want.”
They also may administer anti-nausea medication, check fluid balance and offer post-op pain management.
As part of their work, nurse anesthetists are airway and cardiopulmonary experts.
The age range of Blazey’s patients can vary from newborns to seniors.
“We have a short period of time to develop a rapport with the patient,” he said. “They have to believe …they can place their lives in your hands.”
He enjoys the technical aspects of his job and that he solves problems while helping patients remain safe and comfortable.
“I like making a difference in their outcome,” he added.
People interested in becoming nurse anesthetists don’t need to worry about career longevity.
“The career is absolutely in high demand,” said Cheryl Spulecki, past president of the New York State Association of Nurse Anesthetists and current professional practice chair, works as a professor at University Buffalo. “There is a shortage of anesthesia providers.”
She said that a strong science background and a penchant for helping others are traits people should have if they’re interested in working as a nurse anesthetist.
“It’s for someone who’s interested in longevity within a profession; it’s a career, not a job,” Spulecki added. “Very few do any providers regret their decision. There’s a lot of flexibility within the profession regarding to finding your ‘happy place’ where you want to work.”
Salary
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual mean wage for a nurse anesthetist in the Rochester area is $229,850 (information is not available for the CNY area).