General Purpose of Job:

To provide anesthetist services for the care and treatment of patients.

Essential Duties:

This job description is intended to cover the minimum essential duties assigned on a regular basis. Associates may be asked to perform additional duties as assigned by their leader. Leadership has the right to alter or modify the duties of the position.

• Anesthetists (CRNAs) work under the supervision/direction of an anesthesiologist.
• Obtains appropriate health history including biophysical and psychosocial data.
• Conducts appropriate physician screening assessment.
• Recommends, or requests and evaluates pertinent diagnostic studies.
• Selects, obtains, orders or administers pre-anesthetic medications.
• Documents the pre-anesthetic evaluation and obtains informed consent for anesthesia.
• Obtains, prepares or utilizes all equipment, monitors, supplies and drugs used for the administration of anesthesia; performs or orders safety checks as needed.
• Selects, obtains or administers the anesthetics, adjutant drugs, accessory drugs and fluids necessary to manage the anesthetic, to maintain the patient's physiologic homeostasis, and to correct abnormal responses to the anesthesia or surgery.
• Performs tracheal intubation and extubation and provides mechanical ventilation.
• Performs and manages regional anesthetic techniques including, but not limited to, subarachnoid, epidural and caudal blocks' plexus, major and peripheral nerve blocks, intravenous regional anesthesia; transtracheal, topical and local infiltration blocks as credentialed and monitored.
• Provides appropriate peri-anesthetic invasive and non-invasive monitoring utilizing current standards and techniques and responds to abnormal findings with corrective action.
• Recognizes and treats cardiac dysrhythmias through the use of peri-anesthetic electrocardiogram monitoring.
• Recognizes abnormal patient response during anesthesia, selecting and implementing corrective action and requesting consultation whenever necessary.
• Manages the patient's fluid, blood, electrolyte and acid-base balance.
• Evaluates patient response during emergence from anesthesia and institutes pharmacological or supportive treatment to insure the adequacy of patient recovery from anesthesia and adjutant drugs.
• Provides anesthesia care consistent with infection control and anesthetic safety prinicples in order to prevent the spread of disease and prevent harm to the patient, the anesthetist and others in the anesthetizing environment.
• Documents, as part of the medical record all aspects of anesthesia-related care in a thorough and timely fashion.
• Provides a thorough report of the patient's psychological and physical condition, peri-anesthetic course and anticipated problems to the post anesthetic health care provider who assumes the patient's care following anesthesia.
• Provides post anesthesia follow-up and evaluation of the patient's response to anesthesia and for potential anesthetic complications, taking appropriate corrective actions and requesting consultation whenever indicated.
• Initiates and administers respiratory support to insure adequate ventilation and oxygenation in the immediate post anesthesia period.
• Initiates and administers pharmacological or fluid support of the cardiovascular system during the immediate post anesthesia period to prevent peri-anesthetic morbility and mortality.
• Inserts peripheral and central intravenous catheters as credentialed.
• Inserts arterial catheters and performs arterial puncture to obtain arterial blood samples as credentialed.
• Identifies and manages emergency situations, including initiating or participating in cardiopulmonary resuscitation that involves identifying and managing emergency situations, including initiating or participating in cardiopulmonary resuscitation that involves airway maintenance, ventilation, tracheal intubation, pharmacologic cardiovascular support and management of blood, fluid, electroylte and acid-base balance.
• Provides consultation and implementation of respiratory and ventilatory care.
• Initiates and modifies pain relief therapy utilizing drugs, regional anesthetic techniques or other accepted pain relief modalitites.
• Selects or prescibes medication and treatment modalitites related to the peri-anesthetic care of the patient, with consultation or collaboration when appropriate.