Ability to observe and communicate Nurse anesthetists must be able to observe and understand evidence about a patient's status quickly and accurately and communicate rapidly and clearly with patients and members of the work team. This requires the ability to see both close and distant visual information; discern three-dimensional and spatial relationships; hear high and low pitched sounds, soft sounds and the spoken word; and communicate using the verbal and written word.
Physical capabilities and motor skills Nurse anesthetists are required to have the capacity to move patients and position equipment as needed; to be sufficiently mobile to provide care to several patients at a time; and to have sufficient dexterity, hand-eye coordination and stamina to operate complicated instruments and perform procedures on patients for prolonged periods as medically required. This requires upper and lower body strength; gross and fine motor skills; mobility, speed and dexterity in small spaces; eye-hand coordination; tactile sense for percussion, palpation and therapeutic interventions such as invasive line placement and cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and stamina.
Cognitive skills and intellectual capacities Nurse anesthetists are expected to be able to understand, synthesize and interpret complex medical information related to patient needs and care; to demonstrate the ability to transcribe and communicate that information quickly and accurately; and to be able to distinguish standard from non-standard patterns of patient response. This requires the capacity to understand and interpret complex information from multiple sources quickly; capacity to learn, integrate and apply new information; capacity to translate and document complex data; ability to recognize patterns of responses; ability to multitask when needed; ability to focus, engage, and attend to a specific task for prolonged periods of time without being easily distracted; ability to focus on the midst of heightened external sensory stimuli; ability to complete tasks.
Decision-making skills Nurse anesthetists are expected to demonstrate the capacity to gather, organize, prioritize and act on information appropriately and under pressure in a manner that facilitates the delivery of patient care. This requires the ability to intellectually organize information and prioritize actions; the capacity to identify cause/effect relationships; and make rapid decisions "on the fly."
Behavioral and social attributes Nurse anesthetists are expected to exhibit professionally appropriate behaviors at all times with patients, family members and with members of the health care delivery team. These behaviors include capacities for: establishing rapport and trust with people of various sociocultural and educational backgrounds; respect for team roles and norms; preserving confidentiality; clarity of communication with patients, their families and other health care providers; timeliness in completing work. This also requires emotional maturity; ability to work in small, closed, and dark spaces for long periods; effective coping skills; ability to adjust to social situations; discretion and ability to detach; mastery of impulse control.