Nursing

Registered nurses looking to advance their education and career opportunities might want to consider becoming an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN). The APRN field includes several occupations, including those for nurse practitioners (NPs) and nurse anesthetists as well as for other types of APRNs. When deciding to become an APRN it is important to know the difference between the different types, including the nurse practitioner vs nurse anesthetist career occupations. Most people are not likely to confuse an NP position with that of a nurse anesthetist, but if you happen to be a registered nurse (RN) undecided about what APRN occupation to pursue, a side-by-side comparison looking at the nurse practitioner vs nurse anesthetist occupation may be helpful in decision-making. So what is the difference between an NP and nurse anesthetist? While it's true they both need to have a minimum of a Master's degree to work in their field and that they continue to provide care to patients, the kind of care that they will be administering will be different. NPs are trained to assess, diagnose and treat patients in a specialized healthcare area, such as pediatric care, mental health or women care, whereas nurse anesthetists administer anesthesia before surgery, monitor levels during surgery and assist in a patient's recovery from anesthesia afterward.