If I become an RN, how much longer will it take me to become an ANESTHESIOLOGIST?

You have great answers here, bottom line, you would be wasting your time with this plan. RN and MD education have absolutely nothing in common. It would not shorten your time to becoming an MD, in fact, it would add on about 4 yrs or so to your entire education process. You would work to get the RN and then have to start all over again to become an MD. You would be wasting years of your time. CRNA is a different story, that would be the track to take.

Tiare and Jill summed it up. To be an Anesthesiologist, you need to be an MD. You 'll have an EXCELLENT salary, and an excellent education. Pre med studies (chem, biochem, physics, bio, etc.) give you an excellent background for advanced and complex medical situations and research. You won't have this strong science based background with a nursing degree, as nursing is primarily a technical based program focusing on nursing theory, not medicine. Due to this reason, it is NOT an advantage to use a nursing degree to try and get into medical school. In fact, a nursing degree is not generally accepted by most medical schools as the education is not sufficient in order to write the MCAT and do well in the program. Nursing education is NOT anywhere near a pre-med program. You don't use a technical degree to get into med school, you need a degree that gives you (ideally) a strong science background which you will need for diagnosing and managing complex medical cases, as well as research. Also, the nursing model of care is completely different from the medical model. You will now have to be "untrained" from the nursing model. Also, you will have to explain why you took a nursing school spot from someone who really wanted to be a nurse and used your degree as a means to an end. This is generally frowned upon, although not everyone will admit it. The reality is, the clinical skills you learn in nursing (IV starts, assessment, etc.) are basic skills that you will learn in med school early on, before you advance to more complex skills. There's no real advantage to already having these basic skills. You need to focus on having a strong undergrad background instead, which will really be of help as an MD. I have heard first hand from med students who have had a nurse in their class that their nursing background was little to no help in med school, and that they found it harder than most other students because they lacked the proper formal education that others had. In some cases, you can be admitted as a "special applicant" to med school with a nursing degree, but this is not suggested because most often nurses just don't have the education background to do well in a med program. Some schools are more accepting of what's called "non-traditional" applicants, but generally speaking, a nursing degree won't cut it. You really should decide if you prefer the nursing or medical model of care, and decide which field you want to go into *before* you decide to be an RN or MD. The 2 courses of study (and the abilities needed for them) are very different. If you know that you want to be an anesthesiologist, I highly suggest you become and MD. Not only do many countries ONLY use MDs in anesthesiology (such as Canada), but you will have a formal education better suited to such a complex role. I have heard of some complaining about the skills and education of CRNAs in the US (we don't use them here so I don't know personally). To be an MD, and then an anesthesiologist, you need an undergrad degree, usually most "pre-meds" focus on the science majors, since you will need these courses to enter most med schools and write the MCAT. Then you need to apply to med school, finish med school, then complete your general residency and then specialist residency/fellowship. You're looking at about 12-13 years of education on average. But it's worth it if that is truly what you want to do. For those of us who want to be an MD, the time isn't an issue because it's simply what we need to do to get where we want. If you are unsure and decide to still go for your nursing degree, then in order to prepare for med school after that, it is likely that you will need an additional 2-4 years of "pre-med" higher level science and math classes *after your degree* before you can apply to med school as a regular applicant. Because nursing programs are structured to graduating nurses and not pre med students, you will be unable to fit in the classes you need into a nursing program. If you are confused about what you want, you should speak with a university academic and career counsellor,and perhaps job shadow and do a career investigation. Ideally, *before* you decide and start on a program of study. Just realize (as few people do) that nurses are NOT "jr. doctors", no matter what people seem to think. Good luck!

Anesthesiologist is an MD. You need a college degree, med school, and residency -- about 13 years. You might consider Nurse Anesthetist. You might need to be a BSN, not an RN, to get into that program.