AboutRonald Levy, M.D. Expertise Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. I am a board certified anesthesiologist who can answer all questions related to any type of Anesthesia with the exception of Pain Management.
Question Hello Doctor,
I am 17 and about to be a senior in high school. I know I want to work with anesthesiology but I'm not sure about being an Anesthesiologist or a CRNA. My main question is do CRNA's get to do a lot of hands on work, and are they challenged on a daily basis? I was also thinking that I would just be a CRNA and then become an anesthesiologist when I get older if I wanted to. So I was wondering if there is a program that bridges from Nurse Anesthesiology to Anesthesiology. Thanks for your help!
Kristen
Answer To answer your first question, CRNAs do the same thing as anesthesiologists. The main difference is the amount of education, the compensation and anesthesiologists tend to do the more challenging cases. As to your second question, there is no bridge. They are completely separate tracks so you should decide in advance which one you want.
Ronald Levy, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston
