Anesthetist Nurse?? CRNA?

I am looking to pursue a career in this field...How would I begin to acquire this position? How long will it take and how much do they make? Any informative suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Also, as a anesthetist nurse would I have to deal with cleaning patients feces and etc?

To become a CRNA, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, you first need to earn a degree which earns you your RN license, which could be either a 2 year Associates Degree, or a 4 year BSN. You will need to eventually earn the full BSN because to be a CRNA you must earn a master's degree, which is approximately 2 more years of school above and beyond the BSN.

You have to work your way up the ranks to become a CRNA. You will be required to have worked in a critical care unit at a hospital such as ICU or CCU for at least one year, but many schools prefer more like 2-5 years. It is not easy as a new graduate RN to get a job right away in a critical care unit, so odds are you would have to work in a regular medical / surgical unit for at least 6 months to a year before getting into an ICU position.

CRNA programs are even more in demand than regular RN programs, schools have small class sizes and only admit the best of the best students, so it is important to get a high GPA all through your undergrad degree, and volunteer and take on leadership roles, because they want CRNA students to be superstars.

So in all, you're talking a minimum of 6 years of schooling (that's IF you go full-time, which is hard for many people to do), and then you'll need that 2+ years of work experience as well. So it's a long road, and it takes dedication.

People hear about CRNA salaries and think "Oh cool, I want to be THAT kind of nurse!" but once they find out the commitment it requires they don't follow through.

Good luck.