Anesthesiology is confronting a mounting workforce crisis as the provider shortage deepens, retirements accelerate and training pipelines fail to keep pace with demand. The strain is already reshaping care models, widening rural access gaps and intensifying burnout across the profession.
Here are 10 numbers that capture the growing pressures facing the anesthesia workforce:
6,300: The projected shortage of anesthesiologists by 2036, according to a 2025 Medicus Healthcare Solutions white paper. The shortage is being driven by rising surgical demand alongside a training bottleneck, with residency positions failing to expand enough to meet workforce needs.
56.9%: The percentage of practicing anesthesiologists who are 55 or older — with more than 17% nearing retirement.
44%: The percentage of medical students who sought an anesthesiology residency in 2024 but did not match, despite 1,695 available positions.
40.6%: The percentage of anesthesiologists who plan to leave their current roles within two years. Burnout, staffing strain and reimbursement pressure are driving faster-than-expected workforce attrition.
80%: The percentage of rural anesthesia providers who are CRNAs, delivering more than 50 million anesthetics annually. With rural facilities reporting sharp increases in CRNA vacancy rates, these communities are especially at risk.
78%: The percentage of rural facilities reporting CRNA staffing gaps by late 2022 — up from 35% in 2020.
56%: The share of CRNAs who report feeling very or somewhat burned out.
450,000: The projected national nursing shortage by the end of 2025 — a strain that compounds anesthesia staffing gaps, affecting perioperative care before and after anesthesia delivery.
5.5%: The drop in anesthesia reimbursement rates between 2019 and 2023, adding financial strain to already thinly staffed practices.
Nearly 40%: The reduction in payments to anesthesiologists following the implementation of the No Surprises Act in 2022.