For Jason and Nathan Cromer, the identical twin bond has always been strong and although they never planned to follow the same path through life, Jason said it happened more often than not. “We have always strived to be successful in life, we just didn’t know it was going to be in health care.”
Born just eight minutes apart in Des Moines, Iowa, the twins spent their childhood inseparable, with one shared goal: playing professional baseball. Now, years later, their careers in health care have aligned after Jason, the younger twin, joined the UNMC Department of Anesthesiology in October.
“Baseball was life; we had no other plan,” Nathan recalled. “Teachers would ask, ‘What if baseball doesn’t work out?’ and I’d say, ‘What do you mean if?’” Baseball did work out — both brothers were drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays straight out of high school in 1999. Nathan played for six years, and Jason for 13.
Nathan was the first to pivot to health care, starting his nursing career in Florida before advancing to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist. “I’d had four elbow surgeries during my baseball career, and anesthesia always fascinated me,” he said. “When I realized I could have a positive impact on patients during surgeries, it became a passion.”
Jason followed in his brother’s footsteps a little later. After shadowing Nathan, he said he knew he’d found the right path. “I love the complexity of cases,” Jason said. “Every case is different, even when it’s the same procedure.”
The Cromers occasionally overlap in the operating room. “Seeing my brother doing the same thing as me does put a smile on my face,” Nathan said. “We give each other a hard time -lovingly, of course. We may be in our 40s, but we act much younger.”
Being identical twins has come with its quirks, they say. “It’s tough for people to tell us apart in the OR,” Nathan said. “We sound alike, have the same mannerisms and even look the same in scrubs. Jason wears a KU badge clip, and I wear one that says, ‘I have gas’- that helps.”
Though their lives mirror each other in many ways, there are some subtle differences. “Jason has a mole on his wrist and nose — that’s about it,” Nathan says with a grin. Jason, the “younger” twin, jokes that Nathan still holds those eight minutes over his head.
Outside of work, both brothers prioritize family time. Nathan and his wife, Allison – also a CRNA with the department of anesthesiology – are raising three children. Jason, meanwhile, has two young children with his wife, who also works at UNMC. “Life is full, but we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Jason says.
The Cromer twins are more than colleagues and siblings — they’re each other’s biggest supporters. They credit their baseball careers for instilling the discipline and resilience that prepared them for health care. Now, as CRNAs, they take pride in providing comfort to patients during some of their most vulnerable moments.
“The best part of being a CRNA,” Nathan says, “is seeing a patient smile or give a thumbs up after surgery, knowing they’re comfortable and pain-free. It’s incredibly rewarding.”
Whether it’s hiking, target shooting, or “arguing like teenagers,” the Cromer twins continue to share a bond as strong as ever. “We’ve become even closer over the years,” Nathan said. “Life took us on a journey we never expected — but it’s been an amazing ride.”