Advanced Practice Nurse, Certified Nurse Anesthetist (CNA)

Veterans Health Administration • Salt Lake City, UT

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Advanced Practice Nurse (APN), Certified Nurse Anesthetist (CNA), is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) who provides a full range of services emphasizing quality, timeliness, and advancement of the Veterans Affairs mission. The CRNA practices to the full extent of their education, training, and certification, providing advanced clinical practice, consultation, and management.

The role provides anesthetic services across pre-anesthesia evaluation and preparation; anesthesia induction, maintenance, and emergence; post-anesthesia care; peri-anesthetic and clinical support functions; and emergency response. The CRNA develops and implements anesthesia plans for patients requiring local, regional, general, or monitored anesthesia inside and outside the operating room. The position promotes patient safety, satisfaction, outcomes, and efficiency; supports staff education and trainees; applies evidence-based practices; and prescribes appropriate perioperative orders and medications.

The position works rotating shifts, including days, nights, weekends, and holidays. Compressed or flexible scheduling is authorized. Telework is not available, and the position is not virtual. Relocation or recruitment incentives may be authorized.

Requirements

• Master's or doctoral degree in nurse anesthesia from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs at the time of completion.
• Maintain an active, current, full, and unrestricted license to practice as a certified nurse anesthetist or equivalent in a U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia.
• Maintain current certification from the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists or an equivalent certification recognized by the Council on Accreditation.
• Proficiency in basic written and spoken English for direct patient care.
• Nurse II is the entry grade and requires no experience beyond the basic education requirement; candidates must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities described for entry-level nurse anesthetists.
• For Nurse III, meet the basic education requirement and have one year of specialized APN (CNA) experience equivalent to the Nurse II grade level.
• Demonstrate knowledge of current research, practice guidelines, anesthesia techniques, pharmacology, and equipment.
• Demonstrate ability to formulate and administer individualized anesthesia care, assess patients, manage physiologic changes, and provide safe perioperative care.
• Demonstrate emergency response skills, including airway management and advanced cardiac life support techniques.
• Demonstrate effective communication, interdisciplinary collaboration, patient safety practices, and quality improvement knowledge.
• Meet U.S. citizenship requirements, subject to applicable VA policy exceptions for non-citizens.
• Pass required pre-employment drug screening, background/security investigation, and physical evaluation; complete onboarding and any required probationary period.
• Register for Selective Service if applicable.
• Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.

Nice To Haves

• Five or more years of recent, independent clinical experience as a CRNA in a variety of anesthesia settings, including general, regional, and monitored anesthesia care.
• Experience administering anesthesia to diverse populations, including adults, geriatric patients, and patients with complex comorbidities.
• Experience working collaboratively with anesthesiologists, surgeons, nurses, and other health care professionals.
• Experience with, or willingness to learn, electronic health record systems and perioperative documentation.
• Demonstrated ability to perform pre-anesthesia assessments, develop comprehensive anesthesia care plans, and provide perioperative patient education.
• Strong communication, organizational, and critical-thinking skills.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with health care professionals to achieve shared goals for patient care, safety, and welfare.
• Promote patient and staff confidence and satisfaction and meet or exceed compliance standards.
• Provide pre-anesthesia evaluation and preparation, anesthesia induction, maintenance and emergence, post-anesthesia care, peri-anesthetic and clinical support, and emergency response services.
• Develop and implement comprehensive anesthesia plans for patients receiving local, regional, general, or monitored anesthesia inside or outside the operating room.
• Ensure anesthetic services throughout the facility promote patient safety, satisfaction, improved outcomes, and efficiency.
• Serve as a resource for staff education and as a preceptor or adjunct clinical faculty member for health care trainees rotating through the facility.
• Develop and implement evidence-based practices for high-quality anesthesia care.
• Prescribe appropriate preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative orders and medications.
• Exemplify the ICARE values of Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, and Excellence.
• Obtain, document, and verify informed anesthesia consent; perform pre-anesthetic histories and physicals; manage preoperative consultations and interpret data.
• Formulate patient-specific anesthetic plans and explain relevant risks, benefits, and options to patients.
• Administer inhalational, regional, intravenous, local, and topical anesthetics; monitor and treat anesthesia- or surgery-related physiologic changes.
• Assess readiness for transfer of care and communicate essential patient information to other providers.
• Participate in patient positioning, physiologic monitoring, infection control, and anesthesia documentation.
• Respond to emergencies with airway management, fluids and medications, invasive line insertion and management, and advanced cardiac life support techniques.
• Participate in quality improvement, safety reporting, auditing, shared governance, committees, and interdisciplinary guideline development as applicable.
• For Nurse III-level assignments, manage anesthesia for a broad range of complex procedures, adapt care to patient response and comorbidities, and contribute to educational and administrative processes.

Benefits

• Competitive salary, regular salary increases, and potential performance awards.
• 50 days of paid time off per year, including 26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Traditional federal pension with five-year vesting.
• Federal 401(k) with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement.
• Relocation or recruitment incentives may be authorized.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level