Hospitals Spend Way More Hiring Outside Nurse Anesthetists

A recent study shows hospitals pay a hefty price when they look outside their own walls for anesthesia specialists. Researchers wanted to know exactly how much more expensive it is to bring in Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists from other places instead of keeping graduates from their own training programs. The answer might surprise you.

The team looked at what happened in one hospital system during 2019. They tracked every cost linked to bringing new CRNAs on board. This included how long it took to get new hires ready, what recruiters spent, money paid for travel to job fairs and interviews, and how much time experienced staff spent teaching newcomers. The numbers tell a clear story.

In that single year, the hospital hired 27 CRNAs total. Only 4 came from their own program. The other 23 were recruited from outside. For each outside hire, the hospital spent about $22,961 extra compared to keeping one of their own graduates. When you add that up across all 23 external recruits, the difference hits roughly $528,109 in one year alone.

Anesthesia work is a major money-maker for hospitals. Getting qualified people in the door, though, can eat into those profits fast. The study suggests that growing your own talent makes financial sense. Keeping program graduates and hiring them when spots open up appears to save substantial money. It also helps keep staffing stable and maintains the quality of care patients receive.