CRNA clinical Hours - Page 2

All programs are full time jobs, there will be an average minimum of forty hours a week, some in the mid 60's. You will get way more than the minimum required. If your school is front loaded then the first year will be mainly classes. My program was classes only first three months, the last 24 months was a minumum clinical time of 40 hours a week plus classes. We stopped actually recording cases about six months before graduation (because we already had over twice the minimum requirement). I have heard of a few schools that the first half of the program was almost 30 hours a week clinical, plus classes. But I think that is rare. All programs close to me require classes be attended AFTER clinicals are done. It was acceptable to miss class to do interesting cases. Though we were still responsible for what went on in class.

Regardless of what school you choose, you will spend about the same amount of time on it. I had a little over 3000 hours actual anesthesia time. But I went to a school that used us as unpaid staff with no crna supervision on us (unless it was a really big case). I have talked to a few CRNA's who did residencies at the place they were going to work after graduation, and those places let them do just twenty hours a week and then let them off to study for boards. This is extremely rare though, and no one will officially admit to it. Those rotations lasted over three months.

If you are looking for an idea of what you are "getting into," all I give you is my data to use as an example. I started my program January 10. The majority of the didactic portion was completed this spring and fall. We started clinical one day/week the third week of the program. The first three weeks of clinical, we were placed with a junior or senior student to observe and ease our way in. We were on our own with a CRNA starting week 4. During the two summer months, we had "40 hour clinical weeks" for two months. In the fall, we returned to the once a week schedule. This January 3, we started our full time clinical rotations that will last until we graduate in May 2012. SO..........In one year and one month, I have completed all but three research oriented (laid back) classes and completed 72 clinical days that total 684 hours and 191 cases.

Those hours do not include the 1 to 3 hours of careplanning each day. During the semesters, I basically was just trying to sleep when I could no longer stay up and study...for about 4 hours at a clip. I always get to the hospital between 5:30 and 5:45, and I usually end my OR time at 3pm or later depending on the cases I am in toward the end of the day; I will always stay and finish my case when 3pm rolls around. Then its off to get the next day's assignment and do chart reviews on my paitents or go and see my inpatients. I usually get home between 5:30 and 7pm and try to relax and unwind for an hour or so. I hit the sack and I am asleep by 9pm at the latest, and I get up at 2:30-3:30 depending on the extent of the careplans I need to do and do them when I wake up.

That is the cycle. When classes are going, you will find yourself studying until you can no longer study and ending up averaging 16-20 hours of class/studytime per day. During clinical, it will be your life when you are on, and you will have a couple of days off/week, so it is a little more normal.

It sounds like sheer insanity, and at times it is, but you will absoultely dig it and get through it. Good luck.