What Is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)?
July 28, 2026
A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is an advanced practice registered nurse who specializes in anesthesia care. CRNAs are among the most highly trained nursing professionals, completing graduate-level education and extensive clinical training before providing anesthesia independently or in collaboration with anesthesiologists.
What CRNAs Do
CRNAs administer anesthesia for a wide range of procedures — from minor outpatient surgeries to complex cardiac and neurosurgical operations. They perform pre-anesthetic assessments, select and administer anesthetic agents, monitor patients throughout procedures, and manage post-anesthesia recovery. In many rural hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers, CRNAs are the primary or sole anesthesia provider.
CRNA Training
Becoming a CRNA requires a bachelor's degree in nursing, several years of critical care nursing experience, and a graduate program in nurse anesthesia (now at the doctoral level — DNAP or DNP). The training is clinically intensive, involving thousands of hours of supervised anesthesia cases before independent certification.
CRNAs in NPPES
CRNAs are registered in NPPES as individual providers (Type 1 NPI) with the CRNA credential and a nurse anesthesia taxonomy code. You can find them through the specialty index or by searching by name or location on the DoctorDataHub search page.