Topic Overview
Anesthesia specialists are responsible for making informed medical
decisions to provide comfort and maintain vital life functions while you are
receiving anesthesia and in recovery.
Anesthesia specialists include anesthesiologists and qualified nurse
or dental anesthetists.
Anesthesiologist
Anesthesiologists are medical doctors who, after obtaining their
medical degrees and completing their internships, complete an additional 3 years
of specialized training in an accredited anesthesiology residency program. They
are certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology. As medical doctors, they
have a wide range of knowledge about medicines, medical care for diseases,
how the human body works, and how it responds to the stress of surgery.
Anesthetist
Most anesthetists are nurses who have graduated from an accredited
nurse anesthetist program and who have been certified by the American
Association of Nurse Anesthetists to become a certified registered nurse
anesthetist (CRNA). Nurse anesthetists are advanced practice nurses with
specialized skills in anesthesia administration. Some nurse anesthetists are
supervised by an anesthesiologist or a surgeon, although law and practice may
vary by state.