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Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA) aren't physicians, but for many facilities they're as valuable as physicians and compensated as highly as some. CRNAs earned a median compensation of $131,400 in 2005, according to the 2006 MGMA Physician Compensation and Production Survey. But physician recruiters such as Marc Bowles, CPC-PRC, CMSR, FMSD, chief marketing officer of The Delta Companies, have recently seen CRNA salaries in the $250,000 range.