For anyone looking to go into CRNA school, I 10000% recommend (if you can) being an ICU travel nurse for a few years (3 is good) and not taking contracts under 3K before taxes. Then saving strictly for CRNA school. After 3 or 4 years, you’ll have and working three 13 week contracts a year, you’ll have at least over $250K (after tax) saved up. If your School is $200K, you’ll have enough money to pay out of pocket and have money left over for everyday things (rent, car payments, groceries, etc). Also, no rush to go to CRNA school. I know someone who graduated with her BSN, traveled for 5 years after working 2 years and then went back to school and moved into her parents house just so she didn’t have to pay rent. There are options for you all ❤️

As a CRNA, no matter the negatives, CRNA is a great profession and don’t mind the OR staff, no one knows what people are going through outside their job. Smile and be nice to all, if i had to do it again I would be a CRNA again.

If school costs $200k and you get on avg between $180-200k before taxes, there’s no reason you can’t just rent a small apartment for $2k/mo and eat very cheaply by meal prepping and pay off the entire loans in 2 years.

CRNA is not for everyone, just the same as nursing is not for everyone. I have been a RN for 16 yrs now, 8 yrs in ICU and 8 yrs in PICC-line team. I was aggressively applying to CRNA 8 yrs ago but I change my mind after shadowing a CRNA in the O.R. for about a month. CRNAs get paid a lot because of what they do. Their job is very stressful. I did not like being in the O.R. and not being able to freely leave when you need to. Sometimes in nursing and like other careesr, you have to do what you love and let the money follow you. It has been shown individuals either rich or poor, they can also be content and miserable. I love being a PICC nurse and I don't want to trade this job for something else. I really don't understand the super ego health care workers (... RNs, MDs, Techs...).

After working on the psych unit of a hospital for 15 years, I had to get out. Hospitals are full of bullies in every department, wherever I went in the hospital, somebody tried to bully me. The nurses were the worst bullies I ever met.

Whatever your doing it’s working, Bolt. Looking good!

Always helpful☆Thanks Bolt

Dang looking sharp i like it *whistles* Edit: yes ill love to hear about the negative sides in CRNA i always hear about the good things about it, keep up the good work. 💯

Your video just came up on my iPad today…..I’m 62 but I’ve still been interested in different areas of the medical field. I just think it’s fun to learn. Your video is very good…have you kept your videos in some kind of order? I guess I’m stuck in my “time of life” and really like to start from the 1st video and staying in numerical order (maybe?) just curious. Vicki

All the respect in the world to you and what CRNA’s do. But you can’t compare not getting paid in CRNA School to physicians getting paid as Anesthesia Physician Residents. A more accurate comparison would be how in both CRNA School and Medical School no one gets paid. The training that doc’s do during Anesthesia Physician Residency is not comparable to CRNA School where you’re still a student and haven’t graduated. Anesthesia Physicians who are in Residency training are Physicians. They are not students. They have graduated with a degree as a M.D./D.O. That’s is why they’re further training (Residency. Not school) is subsidized by CMS/Federal Government.

Lol 7am? For me it was 6am for 20+ years. I agree with you. I hadn't considered that, and it was brutal. But, looking back, I wouldn't change a thing. I worked in small ambulatory settings, so generally lighter hours than the hospital, but there until the surgeon is DONE. Never could bank on being out by any particular time. Nice video

Why did I think early was like 3am 😂 when you said 7 I was like oh thank god

Great video. Can you do a video about the specific factors one needs to consider when looking for a first job (i.e., "medical directed" vs other types or, for example, places where CRNA is not allowed to do blocks or other procedures) and the consequence. Another video that might be good is to talk about being W-2 vs 1099? Thank you:)

Maybe consider a video discussing CRNA fellowships, benefits, disadvantages etc.

I've always wanted to be a CRNA but I've been putting it off because I was afraid of making a critical error. Granted, you can make a critical error as an RN, but with anesthesia, you don't have much wiggle room and me being an introvert, I don't know if I would do well with the strong personalities in the OR.

Everything you mention is exactly the same in any residency I have experienced as an NP, having been through two educational experiences and residencies -- no life, money is hard at times, hard hard work, stress, overwork and overwhelming - long days of work, always having to start at the bottom and learning different methods of doing things from multiple preceptors daily. This is not specific to CRNAs; it is particular to our training. Medical model training is tough - period. I do agree with the high pay in taxes (way too much), the call is the same for many NPs, but I will also say that since being an NP (PMHNP) my pay has been better than at any time in my entire career (private practice). I would not do anything else -- so glad I put up with all the hard times in the past to get here no doubt it is well worth it.

@Bolt CRNA- Can you make a video of purfusionist vs CRNA? I want to know what both can do and can’t do in their field. Which one is better? Who has better social life, financial stability etc?

People : Hey what do you do ? Future self : Uh Anesthesia...

great talk!, would like to know your thoughts on how this profession will be in next 5 to 10 years?

I'm almost a CRNA, I am a CNA-2. Pretty close, right?! ;) I'm working my way up that way though. I'm only thinking about my RN for now, and then I can decide if I want to put in that time to become a CRNA like has been my childhood-adult life dream.

Downsides for being a CRNA: Politics, call, children/infants/patients dying, surgeon egos/incompetence, surgeons doing cases on call because it’s convenient for them, limitations on practice based on poor knowledge of surgeons/pharmacy/nursing etc, OR nurse circulators thinking they are in charge and/or know more than anesthesia providers...

Why do i feel like nursing in general has to constantly explain what our role is ... I’m in my residency and its already old, oops!

ugh.... 😩 waking up early!

Hello i am a student in nursing in tunisia. And i wanna travel to usa for working as a nurse there. Is there a way to do that ? And how ?

Hey Jason! Loved the video as usual... I'd love to know your thoughts on newly graduated nurses looking to get into the ICU. Do you absolutely need that 1 year minimum as Med-Surge? Is it recommended before the ICU role? Thanks for all you do. Looking to join Ketamine Kings!!!

More or less it sounds like you gotta have thick skin in the game. Great video by the way!!

I don’t particularly like nothing but negative videos because in life everything has positives and negatives but I do think CRNA is made they way it is for a reason. You are dealing with literal lives so - the pros and cons balance each other for me.

You look SO young without your facial hair. I'm sure you hear that all the time. But great video. Love your channel.

What are some schools that do not have anesthesia residents for med students? How does one go about searching that? love the vid!

Do all cases start at 7am? Are they such work where you can start later in perhaps surgery centers, plastic surgery offices, or dental practices etc? Thanks

How long are the surgeries or how often do you get a break as a CRNA? I never thought about the bathroom breaks because I often go every hour right after coffee and couple hours after that (Usually drinking 3-4 liters a day of water).

Hi! Im so new and i really have no idea about med school but im considering CRNA? Is it possible to proceed from a crna to a physician anesthesiologist? Or should i just disregard crna and go straight to physician?

I’m a second year srna student and I want to know if gasworks salary is accurate

This is a long comment, sorry, but hopefully it’s worth your time. In answer to Miss Boyle, As someone who was a CRNA for 10 years, and who then went to medical school/anesthesia residency, it is possible. However, the focus of medical school, and being a physician, is so different from CRNA pathways, that you will receive no credit for having been a CRNA in the eyes of the people who are educating you in medical school. They don’t care. I was surprised at this. Being a physician is so different from being a nurse that medical school and and residency educators don’t much care about your nursing experience. Your job as a physician is just THAT different from your job as a nurse. Admittedly, anesthesia is anesthesia, but any other field is different. I believe Bolt is a bit wrong when he says the physician led anesthesia team is going to die out. That care team concept is definitely NOT dying out. It is alive and strong in most all of the bigger communities’ hospitals. Especially in the teaching hospitals in America. Smaller practices everywhere can be, and very often are, CRNA only. I worked as an independent CRNA for 6 years. Bolt seems like a great practitioner. He is telling a lot of truth about life in the OR. I spent 43 years doing anesthesia, as either a CRNA, and later as an anesthesiologist, working with hundreds of GREAT CRNAs. A LOT of what he says about day to day life is dead-on accurate. The title of Doctor, in a hospital setting, should be reserved for actual physicians, so the patients are not confused about the training, and education level, of the practitioner who is caring for them. Having been through both educational systems, I can tell you, there is NO comparison in the rigor and difficulty between the two educational levels. I’ve been there, I know. For example, the first two years of my medical school, we have 27 credit hours of hard science classes each semester. I never experienced that level of work in CRNA school. And the large CRNA school I was involved in (DNP granting level) never reached that work load. All that said, this was a very informative video. I’m retired now, having been a very CRNA-friendly anesthesiologist (you can ask ANY of the CRNA/SRNAs I worked with), but I believe I would have liked to have worked with Bolt. At my practice, we had 190 anesthesiologists and 300 CRNAs, and I can confidently say that I was in the top 3 favorite physicians in CRNA’s opinions. CRNAs would openly smile when they saw I was scheduled to work with them. What that said about my physician colleagues, I don’t know. So take all my comments as being CRNA friendly. No animosity or rancor here. I apologize for any offense taken by my comments. There was no offense intended. I was anesthetized three times by CRNA colleagues, so I am forever grateful for the skill set of the CRNAS of the world. Being a CRNA was, and is, a great profession.

Idk if anyone will see this but I'm switching gears from pursing MD school to nursing with a hope to get into a DNP CRNA program. I'm about to finish my undergrad degree and hope to do a BSN post bacc. My GPA took a pretty bad hit but I have an upward trend back up to all A's and a couple B's. Would my application be thrown out or do I have a chance?

Hey Dr. Bolt! Did you get your DNP or DNAP?

How long does it take to become a CRNA?

I’m 21, looking into getting my BSN and later going to into CRNA school. Should I consider another field im a hard worker but everywhere I look it’s constant negatives about the nursing field. Is the money worth it or should I go into the tech industry?

Can you please elaborate a little more on the "Politics" section? Maybe make a separate video on that? You said "People" get angry about nurses getting a Doctorate degree. What do you mean by people? Doctors or patients?

Hey I want to ask you a question

What do you think about anesthesiology assistants? Do you think they are a threat to the CRNA profession?

Awesome video bro😍👍.i have a question...do CRNA's get a vacation like in 1 year...can we get a 1 month holiday or every 2 years 1-2 month vacation ?

Q: Do you have to do residency? This is the first time I've heard about it on a video.

Not a CRNA, but in the cath lab im a call junky! Im always trying to take extra. Love that call back pay!

At least with my wife being an esthetician I don't have to explain I won't be doing facials...but she's already asked me if I'll be able to give her botox lol

Do CRNA schools appreciate perioperative nursing experiences as well or only ICU?

Hey Dr. Bolt! What are the best recording devices for lectures while in CRNA school?

"Lack of hydration and potty breaks" *floor nurse has entered the chat

Thanks for the exceptional video!!! However, after 10 plus years of school I will use DOCTOR period once done.

I am a Surgical Tech and i still have to explain what I do.......I mentioned to my Aunt that I wanted to be a CRNA, explained what they do and she said "Med school this late?" lol I'm like its not med school!!!

I wake up between 3am and 5am every single day without an alarm. I have no idea why. I'm an RRT about to start nursing school so I can become a CRNA in a few years. Intubating and placing a lines is just fun for me for some reason. I love a good challenge. They paralyzed this dude to intubate in the ER once then shortly discovered the guy had a laryngeal tumor with absolutely no visible airway. Holy Crap, dude should've had a soft tissue neck CT first oops! I had to bag him until the vec wore off and he started to take spontaneous breaths. As soon as he inhaled an extremely small airway appeared then bam in went the bougie and et tube. Sweatin bullets man!

Do you have to wear a diaper for long surgeries? ( I saw it on Greys anatomy once)

I don’t take vacation or trips anyway lol… just gym

Can you do a video of what Nursing School (Not CRNA School) is like? I’m planning to be in two music ensembles at my university as well as do Nursing but idk if it’ll be too much

Lack of breaks, lack of sick days, ‘colleagues,’ and some surgeons 👎

Hey Jason, this is off the topic of this video, but I just wanted to ask a couple of questions: 1) is it a rule in USA to have one year of ICU experience down before going into ICU travel nursing or can you get hired as a new grad travel nurse? (I’m a nursing student in Canada with hopes of moving over to the States once I’m finished) 2) In one of your older videos, you mentioned being an ICU travel nurse for 6 years before going into CRNA school. Do all CRNA schools in USA generally consider travel nursing as part of work experience requirements before applying to CRNA school or is it just your school? (It doesn’t really say in most schools websites)

What do you have to complain about?

Please does CRNA earn more the pa

The idiot thing would get them cursed out. I don't have the patience for that kind of disrespect

“Can’t say anesthetist” boy oh boy the ways I’ve heard it pronounced is insane

Disagree on taxes. There is no specific CRNA tax...higher income = higher taxes.

is dnp different than crna?

Don’t call yourself doctor in the clinical setting if you’re a nurse… duh! Don’t be disingenuous, you’re not an “Anesthesiologist.”

I dont see why CRNA's shouldnt be allowed to use their doctoral title in a medical setting. It makes the patient think/know that they are being cared for by someone who has completed a terminal degree (which is the truth). I get the doctors want the prestiege that comes with the title and get their panties in a knot about how the schooling to be an MD is harder, but at the end of the day crna's have a doctoral degree. I can also see how the nurse doctor thing could be confusing, but it can always be explained. Its not like CRNA's are impersonating MD's, and it can be easily explained. Psychologists have a doctoral degree and they go by doctor 🤷🏻‍♂️ hopefully that changes. just my 2 cents.

Wait so to be a CRNA I need a doctors Berger now instead of a masters?? I’m confused

CRNA or MD what do you think?

20+ years in the greatest profession. If these things you speak of hit her you, probably not the profession for you….

So cute… ❤ I need an exam please.

So a student CRNA on clinicals is consider a resident?

After watching this video you might as well go to med school!

If you did it all over again, would you go to medical school?

Sounds like you can't take consecutive criticism

The cunny symbol😭😭😭

You really think MD/DOs are leaving.? After 12 years? Oh yeah!

I have been a UM/UR nurse for 14 years and was a house supervisor for 7 years a manager for 8 and director for 3 and half. I could never have been a CRNA. I love screaming at physicians way too much and taking away their money. As a side flex it’s only the mean, rude, and shitty physicians I “yell” at and have develop a stinging low volume belittling communication style that often results in rage, threats, and even crying. But the CEO of our hospital is well aware I can clear out the entire cafeteria of surgeons and thinks it’s great. The good surgeons have no clue who I am as a side note but the chief of service gave up after logging over 200 complaints against me. Save a hospital tens of millions a year and you get lots of latitude… who knew?

LOL, NURSES THINK THEIR DR'S AND DR'S THINK THEIR GOD.

cat hair ;)

Not an esthetician 🤦🏿‍♀️🤣😅

Silly rant