Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), Children's Hospitals
Healthcare Headhunters recruits healthcare professionals for employers. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
This is what we do all day: recruit healthcare professionals.
Hiring a CRNA for your children’s hospital means matching pediatric anesthesia experience to your case mix, practice model, and call duties.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
Get a free talent snapshot · Get a free job description review
What does this hire really come down to?
We recruit CRNAs for permanent positions where the daily work may include scheduled surgery, urgent add-ons, imaging anesthesia, and recovery handoffs. Before searching, we ask which ages and procedures your service covers. A candidate comfortable with adolescent outpatient cases may need a different assessment for neonatal or pediatric cardiac assignments.
Start with the actual assignment, not a broad request for pediatric experience. Ask whether the CRNA will rotate through operating rooms, MRI, procedure suites, or specialty services. Define who handles preoperative evaluation, anesthesia planning, airway management, emergence, and postoperative transfer within your practice model. Clarify call and backup arrangements.
Care team practice and independent practice need separate conversations. An opt-out state does not, by itself, define a hospital’s privileges or supervision arrangements. Your team should compare that experience with applicable licensing rules, hospital policy, and the privileges you intend to grant.
What do we check before you see anyone?
Verify current NBCRNA certification and the applicable state nursing and advanced practice licenses. Ask, “Which credentials are active, and are any renewals or state applications pending?” Review documents and dates rather than accepting a certification listed on a résumé. Ask, “Which pediatric ages and procedures have you managed recently?”
- Useful answers distinguish infants, younger children, and adolescents, with case frequency, individual responsibilities, and the support available during those assignments.
- Ask, “How did you handle an unexpected airway concern during a pediatric case?” Look for a clear account of recognition, communication, requests for assistance, and the candidate’s assigned role. Your clinicians assess the clinical reasoning.
- Ask, “What changes when you move from the operating room to MRI or another remote location?” Strong answers describe equipment checks, patient access, team communication, and escalation arrangements without treating every location as interchangeable.
- Ask, “Which regional, obstetric, cardiac, and pediatric assignments were part of your practice?” Separate exposure from recent hands-on work. Obstetric experience may broaden a background, but it does not substitute for the pediatric work your position needs.
- Ask, “What did your handoff include after a pediatric anesthetic?” Listen for patient-specific information, outstanding concerns, receiving-team communication, and documentation. Ask who remained responsible if recovery staff raised a concern.
These are recruiting discussions about experience and stated credentials, not a substitute for clinical assessment. Your organization completes formal credentialing, license and privilege checks, and the hiring decision.
Where do we find them, and why would they move?
We search anesthesia groups, ambulatory surgery centers, and academic departments. Each pool needs a different review. An ASC candidate may bring substantial pediatric outpatient experience but limited inpatient call exposure. An academic candidate may know specialty cases well, yet have worked within a narrower assignment or support structure.
Graduating DNAP and DNP students are another source when your hospital can support entry into practice. We ask about pediatric clinical rotations and expected certification and licensing dates. Experienced candidates may consider a move for a different pediatric case mix, teaching responsibilities, or call arrangement. We test those reasons against your actual position.
Which mistakes stall the search?
A common mistake is treating “pediatric experience” as a single category. Ask for ages, procedures, recency, and personal responsibilities before deciding whether the background fits your neonatal, general pediatric, or specialty service. Another is advertising independence without defining backup and privileges. If the posting differs from actual daily practice, candidates cannot judge the clinical responsibility or support they would accept.
Leaving remote-location coverage out of interviews. If the role includes MRI or procedure suites, discuss equipment familiarity, staffing, patient access, and emergency response arrangements.
How would we run the search for this opening?
Tell us your patient ages, procedure mix, practice model, call schedule, and expected coverage locations. We screen credentials, work history, and fit through concrete questions about pediatric cases and responsibility. Before an offer, align privileges, reporting relationships, orientation, call, and specialty assignments.
Define the pediatric assignment
Identify assignments that need established experience and those your team can support through orientation. This gives the search a clear clinical boundary.
Review evidence of fit
We present relevant experience and unresolved questions for your review.
Confirm the working arrangement
If a candidate expects cardiac work but your vacancy covers general pediatric surgery, resolve that difference before either side commits.
Tell us the role and setting. We will discuss the work and terms with you before a search begins. There is no fixed shortlist or placement promise.
What happens next
- The initial conversation clarifies the work, location and search terms.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- When we recommend someone, you get reasons for fit and open questions to assess. We support interviews and offer discussions.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
The role and the setting
Not ready to start a search?
Get a free talent snapshot
We tell you where qualified Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) are working in your area and what it takes to move them. No fee. No obligation.
Get a free job description review
Paste or upload the JD. We flag unclear scope, requirements and terms that may put strong candidates off. No fee. No obligation.
Can an adult-practice CRNA be considered for our pediatric opening?
Yes, if your clinicians find the background suitable and your service can support the transition. We distinguish earlier pediatric training from recent practice and ask which ages the candidate has managed. We ask candidates how their previous service divided responsibility.
How should we assess pediatric cardiac experience?
Ask about specific procedures, patient ages, recency, and the candidate’s responsibilities within the cardiac anesthesia team. Do not treat general pediatric anesthesia or adult cardiac experience as equivalent evidence.
Should our posting describe care team supervision?
Yes: describe the actual division of responsibility, physician availability, and escalation process. Candidates need that detail even when the hospital is in an opt-out state.
When is a graduating DNAP or DNP candidate a reasonable option?
Consider this pool when your service has suitable orientation, clinical support, and assignments for a new graduate. Confirm certification and licensing milestones before agreeing on a start date.
What should we ask about pediatric call coverage?
Describe the ages, urgent procedures, locations, and backup available during call. Ask candidates which comparable assignments they have covered and where they would need additional preparation.
What should you send us about this role?
Send us the role, where the person will work and what needs to change with this hire. We will ask about the work, not just the title. Share any license or schedule limits that could rule someone out before we begin the search.
Share your pediatric case mix, coverage locations, and practice model with Healthcare Headhunters. We can build a permanent CRNA search around the work your hospital needs.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What happens next
- The initial conversation clarifies the work, location and search terms.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- When we recommend someone, you get reasons for fit and open questions to assess. We support interviews and offer discussions.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
What happens beyond the introduction?
We explain our recommendation in writing and flag what your team still needs to assess. We gather interview feedback, resolve practical questions and support offer discussions. The goal is the right person for the work, not simply a shortlist.
Read the full six-step search process · Compare recruiting models
What are the fee and payment terms?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The signed agreement sets the fee and when it is due, along with the placement terms. We agree those terms before the search starts and before any candidate introductions. Temporary or contract coverage is a separate arrangement.
How long will it take to see a short list?
That depends on the job, schedule, available people, and what your employer can offer. We discuss those constraints before outreach and update you as candidates respond. We do not promise a fixed shortlist date. We check the job brief before arranging interviews. Tell us which parts of the role you can change.
What if a candidate receives a counteroffer?
We ask why the person wants to move and discuss competing decisions before an offer. A counteroffer can still change their choice. Keep the duties and offer clear rather than assuming more money settles every concern. Tell us early if parts of your offer cannot change, so the candidate hears it from us first.
What are the replacement terms?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement. Ask us to walk through those terms before you sign, so you know how a replacement would work for your opening and who would start it.
What do we not do in a standard permanent search?
We do not bill standard contingency search by the hour or simply repost your job. Temporary coverage is a separate arrangement. Any retainer or different engagement must be agreed, not assumed. Tell us early if you need coverage while the permanent search runs.