OrthoMed Anesthesia News
OrthoMed Anesthesia Earns 2026 Great Place to Work Certification
February 2026
We are proud to be certified by Great Place To Work. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at OrthoMed Anesthesia. This year, 92% of employees said it’s a great place to work – 35 points higher than the average U.S. company. Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation. "Great Place To Work Certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience," says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, Vice President of Global Recognition at Great Place To Work. She emphasizes that Certification is the sole official recognition earned by the real-time feedback of employees regarding their company culture. “By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that OrthoMed Anesthesia stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees." According to Great Place To Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified great workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work, and are twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the company’s profits and have a fair chance at promotion. About Great Place to Work Certification Great Place To Work Certification is the most definitive “employer-of-choice” recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience – specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience.
OrthoMed Anesthesia Earns 2026 Best Place for Working Parents Certificate
March 2026
We are honored to receive this recognition for the second consecutive year, a distinction that underscores our sustained commitment to supporting working parents and fostering a culture where both professional excellence and personal well-being can thrive. This acknowledgment reflects not only our policies, but also the everyday efforts of our team to create a workplace rooted in flexibility, respect, and inclusivity. At OrthoMed Anesthesia, we recognize that work–life balance and provider well-being are essential to delivering safe, high-quality patient care. When clinicians feel supported—both inside and outside the operating room—they are better equipped to focus, collaborate, and perform at their highest level. By prioritizing initiatives such as flexible scheduling, family-friendly benefits, and a culture of understanding, we aim to empower our providers to succeed in every aspect of their lives. We remain dedicated to continuously improving the ways we support our team, knowing that investing in our people ultimately strengthens the care we provide to our patients and partners. Thank you to The Best Place for Working Parents® for recognizing OrthoMed Anesthesia as a premier workplace for working parents. We are proud of this achievement and motivated to build on this foundation in the years ahead.
How Do Anesthesia Staffing Companies Find the Right Candidates? A Look at the Recruitment Process
September 2026
Anesthesia staffing companies use a multi-step recruitment process to identify, vet, and place highly qualified anesthesia providers — including CRNAs, anesthesiologists, and AA's — into the right clinical roles. The process typically begins with sourcing candidates through specialized medical job boards, professional associations like the AANA, referral networks, and direct outreach to passive candidates who aren't actively job-seeking. Once potential providers are identified, experienced anesthesia recruiters conduct in-depth screenings to evaluate clinical experience, licensure, certifications, and subspecialty expertise — ensuring each candidate's background aligns precisely with a facility's case mix and staffing needs. Credentialing verification, malpractice history review, and reference checks follow to confirm each provider meets the highest standards of patient safety and compliance. What sets top anesthesia staffing companies apart is their ability to match not just on qualifications, but on practice style, scheduling preferences, and culture fit — resulting in placements that benefit both the provider and the facility long-term. Whether a hospital needs locum tenens anesthesia coverage or a permanent full-time hire, a dedicated anesthesia staffing partner streamlines the entire recruitment process so facilities can focus on patient care without gaps in coverage. Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation. "Great Place To Work Certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience," says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, Vice President of Global Recognition at Great Place To Work. She emphasizes that Certification is the sole official recognition earned by the real-time feedback of employees regarding their company culture. “By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that OrthoMed Anesthesia stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees." According to Great Place To Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified great workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work, and are twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the company’s profits and have a fair chance at promotion. About Great Place to Work Certification Great Place To Work Certification is the most definitive “employer-of-choice” recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience – specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience.
What Should You Look for in an Anesthesia Staffing Partner? A Guide to Evaluating Staffing Services
September 2026
Choosing the right anesthesia staffing partner can mean the difference between seamless OR operations and costly coverage gaps — so knowing what to evaluate is critical. The best anesthesia staffing companies bring a combination of deep specialty expertise, a robust and pre-vetted network of CRNAs, anesthesiologists, and AAs, and a proven track record of fast, reliable placements across a variety of clinical settings. Look for a partner that handles the full credentialing and compliance process — including DEA registration, state licensure verification, and malpractice coverage — so your facility never has to chase paperwork. Responsiveness matters too; a quality anesthesia staffing firm should offer 24/7 support and be able to mobilize qualified providers on short notice for both locum tenens and permanent placement needs. Transparency around compensation, contract terms, and provider screening processes is another strong indicator of a trustworthy partner. Ultimately, the right anesthesia staffing company acts as an extension of your team — understanding your facility's case mix, culture, and scheduling demands to deliver providers who are not just credentialed, but genuinely the right fit.
Why Are Anesthesiologists Hard to Recruit and Retain?
September 2026
The anesthesiologist shortage is one of the most pressing workforce challenges in healthcare today — and understanding why starts with the numbers. Training an anesthesiologist takes a minimum of 12 years of education and residency, creating a pipeline that simply can't keep pace with growing demand driven by an aging population, increased surgical volume, and widespread physician burnout. Many experienced anesthesiologists are approaching retirement age, while fewer medical school graduates are choosing the specialty due to its demanding call schedules, high-pressure environment, and the rising administrative burden of modern hospital practice. Geographic imbalance compounds the problem — rural and underserved facilities often struggle to compete with the compensation packages and lifestyle offerings of major metropolitan health systems. Retention is equally challenging; even when anesthesiologists are successfully placed, factors like scheduling inflexibility, lack of autonomy, and inadequate support staff drive turnover. Facilities that understand these pain points — and proactively address them through competitive compensation, work-life balance initiatives, and strong departmental leadership — are far better positioned to recruit and retain top anesthesiology talent long-term.
How to Attract CRNAs to Your Healthcare Facility
September 2026
With demand for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists at an all-time high, healthcare facilities need a deliberate and competitive strategy to stand out in a crowded hiring market. CRNAs are highly autonomous, highly sought-after providers — and they know it, which means a generic job posting simply won't cut it. Start with compensation: CRNAs expect market-rate salaries, and facilities that benchmark pay against current national data and offer sign-on bonuses or relocation assistance immediately rise to the top of consideration. Beyond pay, CRNAs prioritize practice autonomy, case variety, and a supportive work environment — so clearly communicating your facility's CRNA-led or collaborative practice model in your recruitment messaging is essential. Flexible scheduling, reasonable call requirements, and access to continuing education or loan repayment programs are powerful differentiators that speak directly to what today's CRNA workforce values. Partnering with a specialized anesthesia staffing company can also accelerate your reach, connecting your facility with passive candidates — experienced CRNAs who aren't actively job-searching but are open to the right opportunity. The facilities that attract and keep top CRNA talent are the ones that treat providers not just as staff, but as integral clinical partners.
What Benefits Do Top Anesthesia Professionals Want?
October 2026
Attracting and retaining elite anesthesia providers — whether CRNAs, anesthesiologists, or AAs — requires more than a competitive base salary; today’s top candidates are evaluating the full compensation package before they ever sign a contract. Competitive pay remains the baseline expectation, with CRNAs commanding national averages well above $200,000 and anesthesiologists often exceeding $400,000, meaning facilities that don’t benchmark regularly risk losing candidates before the first conversation ends. Beyond salary, anesthesia professionals consistently rank comprehensive health insurance, robust retirement plans with employer matching, and paid malpractice coverage with tail insurance among their top non-negotiable benefits. Scheduling flexibility and reasonable call burdens have become increasingly decisive factors — particularly post-pandemic, as work-life balance has shifted from a perk to a priority across the entire healthcare workforce. Loan repayment assistance and continuing education stipends are powerful differentiators for newer CRNAs still carrying student debt from doctoral-level CRNA programs, while sign-on bonuses and relocation packages help facilities compete across geographic lines. The anesthesia professionals most in demand have options — and the facilities and staffing partners that clearly communicate a well-rounded, provider-first benefits package are the ones that consistently win top talent.
Schedule Flexibility in Anesthesia: What Candidates Are Demanding
October 2026
Schedule flexibility has moved from a nice-to-have to a non-negotiable for today’s anesthesia providers — and facilities that haven’t adapted their staffing models are feeling it in their recruitment numbers. CRNAs and anesthesiologists are increasingly seeking positions that offer predictable hours, limited overnight call, and the ability to choose between full-time, part-time, or locum tenens arrangements that fit their lifestyle and career stage. The pandemic fundamentally shifted how healthcare professionals evaluate work-life balance, accelerating burnout across the specialty and pushing many experienced providers to leave traditional hospital employment in favor of outpatient surgery centers, office-based anesthesia, or independent contracting — all of which typically offer more schedule control. Younger CRNAs entering the workforce are especially vocal about these expectations, prioritizing flexibility from the very first job search and showing little hesitation to move on when a position doesn’t deliver. For facilities, this means rigid, one-size-fits-all scheduling models are actively costing them candidates — and retention. Anesthesia staffing partners that offer flexible placement structures, including per diem, block scheduling, and hybrid locum-to-perm arrangements, give both providers and facilities the middle ground that modern anesthesia recruitment demands.
How to Fill Anesthesia Staffing Gaps Quickly
October 2026
When an anesthesia coverage gap hits — whether from an unexpected resignation, a sudden leave of absence, or a spike in surgical volume — every hour without a qualified provider on the schedule carries real financial and patient care consequences. The fastest and most reliable solution for urgent anesthesia staffing needs is partnering with a specialized anesthesia staffing company that maintains a deep, pre-credentialed bench of CRNAs, anesthesiologists, and AAs ready for rapid deployment. Unlike general healthcare staffing agencies, anesthesia-specific firms understand the urgency of OR schedules and have streamlined credentialing processes designed to place qualified providers in days — not weeks. Locum tenens anesthesia coverage is the most commonly used tool for bridging immediate gaps, offering facilities a flexible, short-term solution that keeps cases running without the long-term commitment of a permanent hire. Facilities can also reduce future gap risk by building ongoing relationships with a staffing partner before a crisis occurs — establishing pre-approved provider pools, preferred vendor agreements, and on-call locum arrangements that can be activated at a moment’s notice. The facilities best equipped to handle urgent anesthesia staffing challenges aren’t the ones that react fastest — they’re the ones that planned ahead with the right staffing infrastructure already in place.
What Is the Current Job Market for Anesthesiologists?
October 2026
The anesthesiologist job market is one of the most competitive and supply-constrained in all of medicine — and for facilities looking to hire, understanding the landscape is the first step toward building a realistic recruitment strategy. Demand for anesthesiologists continues to climb driven by an aging Baby Boomer population requiring more surgical procedures, the rapid expansion of outpatient surgery centers, and a growing backlog of elective cases that accumulated during the pandemic. On the supply side, the pipeline remains critically tight — anesthesiology residency programs produce a limited number of graduates each year, and a significant portion of the current workforce is nearing retirement age, creating a compounding shortage that shows no signs of reversing in the near term. Geographic maldistribution further strains the market, with rural hospitals and smaller regional facilities competing against well-resourced academic medical centers and urban health systems that can offer higher compensation, more complex case variety, and greater career development opportunities. The result is a candidate-driven market where qualified anesthesiologists hold significant leverage — often fielding multiple offers simultaneously and prioritizing the full package of compensation, scheduling, autonomy, and culture fit before committing. Facilities and anesthesia staffing partners that approach recruitment with a clear understanding of current market conditions, realistic timelines, and competitive offers are the ones successfully securing top anesthesiology talent in today’s demanding hiring environment.
CAA vs CRNA vs MD Anesthesiologist: Staffing Considerations
October 2026
Understanding the differences between Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAAs), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), and MD Anesthesiologists is essential for any facility building or optimizing its anesthesia care team — because the right mix depends heavily on your state’s scope of practice laws, case complexity, supervision requirements, and budget. MD Anesthesiologists bring the highest level of medical training, making them the preferred choice for complex, high-acuity cases and facilities that require physician-led anesthesia care teams — though they also come with the longest recruitment timelines and the highest compensation expectations in the specialty. CRNAs are the most widely utilized anesthesia providers in the United States, capable of practicing independently in opt-out states or collaboratively in physician-led care team models, offering facilities a highly flexible and cost-effective staffing solution across a broad range of surgical settings. CAAs, while less widely known, are a growing presence in the anesthesia workforce — they practice exclusively under physician supervision, making them well-suited for facilities that operate an Anesthesia Care Team model and want to expand capacity without the full cost of additional MD coverage. Each provider type carries distinct credentialing requirements, compensation benchmarks, and supervision structures that directly impact how a staffing strategy should be built. A knowledgeable anesthesia staffing partner can help facilities evaluate their specific case mix, regulatory environment, and budgetary constraints to determine the optimal blend of CAAs, CRNAs, and anesthesiologists that keeps the OR running efficiently and patients safe.
Why New Graduate Anesthesiologists Are Difficult to Place
October 2026
Hiring a newly graduated anesthesiologist can seem like an attractive option for facilities looking to control costs and build long-term loyalty — but the reality of placing early-career anesthesiologists comes with a unique set of challenges that catch many hiring teams off guard. Unlike other physician specialties where new graduates can onboard with moderate supervision, anesthesiology demands immediate clinical independence in high-stakes, fast-moving environments — a pressure that many new graduates and their prospective employers underestimate during the recruitment process. Facilities often hesitate to take on new graduates without a structured mentorship program or a senior anesthesiologist on staff to provide oversight, narrowing the pool of settings where early-career providers are a realistic fit. From the candidate side, new graduate anesthesiologists frequently have narrow subspecialty exposure coming out of residency, limited regional anesthesia experience, or gaps in specific case types that certain facilities require from day one. Compensation expectations can also create friction — new graduates entering a high-demand market often arrive with salary expectations that don’t yet align with the experience level facilities are paying for, requiring careful negotiation and expectation-setting on both sides. Successfully placing new graduate anesthesiologists requires a staffing partner with the experience to accurately assess a candidate’s clinical readiness, match them to facilities with the right support infrastructure, and manage the expectations of both parties throughout the placement process — turning a traditionally difficult hire into a long-term staffing win for everyone involved.
How Geographic Location Affects Anesthesia Recruitment
October 2026
Geography is one of the most underestimated variables in anesthesia recruitment — and for facilities in rural, remote, or underserved regions, it can be the single biggest barrier standing between an open position and a qualified hire. Urban and suburban facilities near major medical centers, research institutions, and metropolitan amenities naturally attract a larger pool of anesthesia candidates, creating a significant recruitment advantage over smaller regional hospitals and critical access facilities that can’t compete on location alone. Rural facilities face a compounding challenge — not only is the candidate pool smaller, but many anesthesia providers, particularly those with families or established roots, are reluctant to relocate to areas with limited schools, cultural amenities, or spousal career opportunities, making geographic resistance one of the most common reasons promising recruitment conversations stall. State scope of practice laws add another geographic layer, as CRNA opt-out states offer providers significantly more practice autonomy and professional appeal than supervision-required states — directly influencing where CRNAs choose to live and work. Compensation must also scale with geography; facilities in high cost-of-living markets need to benchmark salaries accordingly, while rural facilities often need to offset location disadvantages with enhanced sign-on bonuses, relocation packages, housing stipends, or loan repayment incentives to remain competitive. Anesthesia staffing companies with national reach and regional market intelligence are uniquely positioned to bridge these geographic gaps — identifying providers who are open to relocation, matching lifestyle preferences to community fit, and helping facilities craft offers that make saying yes to a rural or regional opportunity genuinely compelling.
Locum Tenens Anesthesia: Is It Right for Your Facility?
October 2026
Locum tenens anesthesia has become one of the most widely used and strategically valuable staffing tools available to healthcare facilities today — but like any solution, its effectiveness depends entirely on whether it’s the right fit for your facility’s specific needs, budget, and operational structure. At its core, locum tenens places pre-credentialed, independently practicing anesthesia providers — CRNAs, anesthesiologists, or CAAs — into temporary coverage roles ranging from a single day to several months, giving facilities an immediate, flexible solution for coverage gaps without the long-term financial commitment of a permanent hire. Locum tenens is particularly well-suited for facilities managing unexpected provider departures, seasonal surgical volume spikes, extended medical leaves, or the bridge period between a permanent placement search and an actual start date — situations where leaving the OR understaffed simply isn’t an option. Cost is the most common hesitation facilities raise around locum tenens, as hourly or daily rates for temporary providers typically run higher than permanent staff compensation on paper — but when weighed against the revenue lost from cancelled cases, the cost of OR downtime, and the administrative burden of an extended vacancy, locum coverage consistently proves its financial value. Facilities considering locum tenens anesthesia should evaluate their average gap frequency, case volume fluctuations, and credentialing timelines to determine whether an on-demand locum arrangement, a preferred provider agreement, or a locum-to-perm strategy best aligns with their long-term staffing goals. A specialized anesthesia staffing partner can help facilities model these scenarios, match the right provider type to the coverage need, and manage the entire logistical process — making locum tenens not just a stopgap, but a smart, scalable part of a facility’s broader anesthesia workforce strategy.