How do you really feel about AA and would you go that route now if you could do over?

Yes, I see that it isn't a new specialty, my bad. I meant a new option for me- I had never heard of it before and now I hear about all the time.

It appears that CRNA is a more thorough course- is this true?

Also would this be the route you would have taken had the choice been available to you at the time you went to school?

The number of schools is expanding. Here in KC, one of the local schools [UMKC] is taking applications for their first class - and they will be doing some of their training at Truman, which has its own CRNA program [cue West Side Story music]. The prereq's look more difficult [premed versus nursing] and they require the MCAT...but their cutoff is 20. Wow.


If speed is a factor, the program is only two years long and doesn't require 1-2 years of ICU. But as previously mentioned, you have to be supervised and you'll make slightly-to-substantially less money. But the ability to do epidurals would almost be worth it...

[seriously, CRNA's cannot due epidurals? is that a national thing or a state thing? I heard this the other day...]

Whomever informed you that CRNAs 'cannot do epidurals' is misinformed. I am a CRNA student and we do epidurals everyday. There are many rural hospitals that do not have AA's or Anesthesiologist on staff. CRNAs provide epidural and spinal anesthesia to these patients as well. Please do your research. CRNAs are NOT limited in the practice of anesthesia in any way. We provide ALL realms of anesthestic care.

This choice was available to me. I chose CRNA. The program I attended educated a former AA to be a CRNA, and from what I was told, that particular individual was blown away at the depth and breadth of information she was taught in CRNA school that she was not taught in AA school.