Why I Left NP Practice to Become an SRNA — And Why I Would Do It Again
When I tell people I am going back to school to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, the reactions are pretty predictable. There is usually a pause, then: “Wait, aren’t you already a nurse practitioner?” Yes. And a critical care nurse. And now, an SRNA — Student Registered Nurse Anesthetist.
In 2025, I was accepted into a Nurse Anesthesia program and began what is honestly the most challenging and most exciting chapter of my career. So why? Why leave a well-established NP practice and the world of healthcare consulting to pursue one of the most rigorous advanced practice specialties in medicine?
Because I have always been drawn to the intersection of precision and compassion. Because I spent years in the ICU watching CRNAs work, thinking: that is where I want to be. Because I believe that the best clinicians are the ones who never stop evolving.
What SRNA Life Actually Looks Like
Let me be honest: it is hard. The science is dense, the hours are long, and the stakes have always been high. CRNA training demands a deep mastery of pharmacology, physiology, pathophysiology, and anesthesia principles that challenges even the most experienced clinicians. My background in critical care has been invaluable — but it does not make the program easy. It makes it possible.
A typical week involves rigorous didactic coursework, simulation labs, and clinical rotations where I am learning to manage airways, calculate drug dosages to the microgram, and keep patients safe through some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. It is everything I love about nursing — just turned up to a completely different level.
Why My NP and ICU Background Matters
One of the most underappreciated entry points into CRNA school is the FNP-to-SRNA path. My years as a Family Nurse Practitioner — assessing patients, managing complex comorbidities, making independent diagnostic and treatment decisions — built a clinical reasoning framework that serves me every day in anesthesia training. My ICU years gave me comfort with hemodynamic instability, vasoactive drips, and rapid deterioration that many of my peers are still developing.
If you are an FNP or NP considering CRNA school, I want you to know: your background is not a detour. It is preparation. Your differential diagnosis skills, your comfort with autonomy, your understanding of the whole patient — these things matter enormously when you are the one managing an anesthetic.
Anura Health Group and the Path Forward
I have not stepped away from consulting. Through Anura Health Group, PLLC, I continue to support healthcare organizations and clinicians navigating complex systems. In many ways, the two worlds inform each other — my clinical depth makes me a better consultant, and the big-picture systems thinking I do in consulting makes me a more thoughtful clinician.
This next chapter is not a pivot. It is a continuation. Every credential, every patient, every hard conversation on the floor has led to this.
For Anyone Watching from the Sidelines
If you are a nurse thinking about a big career move — whether that is CRNA school, an NP program, or starting your own practice — I want to say this plainly: the best time to take that step is before you feel completely ready. You will never feel completely ready. The work will be hard. The reward will be worth it.
I am still in the thick of it. Still learning, still showing up, still believing that the patients who end up in that OR deserve a provider who gave everything to be there. I cannot wait to be that person.
Follow along as I document this journey. And if you have questions about CRNA school, the SRNA life, or making a major transition in your nursing career — reach out. I am always glad to connect.