Hello. Does anyone know much about the Gooding Institute of Nurse Anesthesia at Bay Medical Hospital in Panama City, Florida? I'm interested in the program based on literature I reviewed from them. It's 28 months in length, all didactic and clinicals are performed at the same site simultaneously. They state they teach every anesthesia technique. However, they only admit 12 students per year...1 clinical instructor per student. Any info./opinion of this program would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Angela:roll

The only thing that I have heard is that most if not all students are admitted from within---meaning they have a hospital they are affiliated with and the students have all been employees there. This is hearsay, of course, but I imagine there aren't many folks on this site who know too much about the school.

Thank you for your reply, g8rlimey. That is a bummer for me. It really seems like a good school too. I'll probably still give it a shot, anyway. My second choice would be Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth, Texas. My husband and I aren't too keen on living in Texas. Also, I was real excited about the fact that the Gooding Institute does all their didactic and clinicals at one site. At Texas Wesleyan there's a chance we'd have to turn around and move again after a year when clinicals start. I know that's a reality for just about everyone when attending CRNA school, but I'd like to avoid it if I could. I'd just hate to move somewhere and get my husband settled into a new job, and then turn around and have to uproot and move again to a distant clinical site. Any advice on Texas Wesleyan's program? What about having to move to a distant clinical site? I mean what are the odds? Thanks for any help!

Angela

I was informed that there are only about 25 clinical spots in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro. With an enrolment of 100+ students, the chance having to move for clinicals is pretty high.

Yuk...Oh well, I guess that's just how it goes. You gotta do what you gotta do right? I'm just lucky I have such a supportive husband who is willing to drop everything (including the good job he has here in Tulsa) to support my dreams. I feel pretty guilty, though, because I've already made him sacrifice once while I was going through the ADN program! I'm pretty lucky! Thanks for your help, Sandman. Any info I can get is helpful.

Angela

Have you considered UNC-Charlotte, which is affiliated with Carolinas Health System, UNC-Greensboro, affiliated with Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, or VCU, affiliated with the Medical College of Virginia. All three schools have clinicals fairly close by or at one place.

That's helpful. Thanks, ASU_Sdvls! I will check those programs out! Luckily, my husband says he doesn't care where we move, but he prefers not to move to Texas. I appreciate the help!

Angela

Angela,

I'm curious why your husband does not want to move to Texas. I'm in OKC and I would love to move to Texas to get out of Oklahoma and once I become a RN that's what I may do.

You do bring up a good point about the clinicals and having to move since I didn't realize that I might have to do that once I get to CRNA school. Can anyone tell me of any other schools in the southern part of the country (I hate the cold) where the clinicals will be in the same town? This is a huge concern for me since I have children.

Dear Okie-dokey,

You've been mis-informed, I'm afraid, about the Gooding Institute. Just to let you know, I graduated with my MSNA from there in 1998. I left the area for two years, and returned to the parent hospital three years ago. I currently am a staff CRNA there, a clinical instructor, and am on the Education Committee with the Gooding Institute.

We currently accept twelve students per year, from all over the country. No preference is given to students within the hospital, while we have accepted students from the hospital. The current classof first-year students has no students from the hospital, and the second-year class has two. That's about average, none to two students per year. What we do examine, however, is GPA, GRE, previous experience, and personal interview. first hand knowledge of an applicant can be either detrimental or positive, as I am sure you must know.

Our program is very intense, strongly clinically based. We provide complete anesthesia services for ASA Level I-VI patients, pediatrics to openheart, and all in between. You will be strong when you leave us, able to go anywhere to practice.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reply. Hope this helps in your choice.

Sincerely, Nika

Dear Okie-dokey,

You've been mis-informed, I'm afraid, about the Gooding Institute. Just to let you know, I graduated with my MSNA from there in 1998. I left the area for two years, and returned to the parent hospital three years ago. I currently am a staff CRNA there, a clinical instructor, and am on the Education Committee with the Gooding Institute.

We currently accept twelve students per year, from all over the country. No preference is given to students within the hospital, while we have accepted students from the hospital. The current classof first-year students has no students from the hospital, and the second-year class has two. That's about average, none to two students per year. What we do examine, however, is GPA, GRE, previous experience, and personal interview. first hand knowledge of an applicant can be either detrimental or positive, as I am sure you must know.

Our program is very intense, strongly clinically based. We provide complete anesthesia services for ASA Level I-VI patients, pediatrics to openheart, and all in between. You will be strong when you leave us, able to go anywhere to practice.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reply. Hope this helps in your choice.

Sincerely, Nika

Dear Okie-dokie,

Forgot to mention: We currently take twelve students per year, yes, but clinical faculty has increased. We now number twenty-one CRNAs in the clinical area, not twelve. Hope this helps. Nika

Dear Okie-dokie,

Forgot to mention: We currently take twelve students per year, yes, but clinical faculty has increased. We now number twenty-one CRNAs in the clinical area, not twelve. Hope this helps. Nika

Dear Nika,

Wow! That's very exciting news for me. I was feeling pretty discouraged after I was informed that the Gooding Institue only picked students from within. I'm glad it was only a rumor. I really like the school (they sent me a packet, which I have reviewed). I'm always ready for a challenge, so the intensity will be refreshing to me. Thanks for the info!

Sincerely,

Angela