Attending a well established CRNA program Vs. a brand new program

japaho41 · Jul 17, 2006

I dealt with this issue when thinking about applying to Western Carolina this year. The short of it was that I was not willing to take on the risk of a program that 1 was not established and 2 was not yet accredited. I guess for you it depends how bad you want to get in. I would apply to both and see what happens, hopefully you will get a choice.

Brian_SRNA · Jul 17, 2006

It might be a great oppurtunity to go through a brand new program, pave the way....on the other hand a well established program has many benefits. Hope fully you will have a choice and decide what school is best for you.

Good luck,

Brian

apaisRN, RN, CRNA · Jul 18, 2006

I am grateful that my program has been around for 10 years (relatively new). When we talk to earlier graduates they recall a lot of kinks to be worked out during their student years. There weren't as many clinical sites and it all just sounds a little haphazard. Also, I applied to a program in which I would have been in the 2nd class. The director told me that my science background wasn't strong enough, and that in the first class two students had failed their basic sciences and been dropped. Frankly, I think that's unacceptable. Either they're not admitting the right people, or they aren't giving the right kind of support. No one has flunked out of my program. We're in the 3rd semester and we've lost one who discovered it wasn't her cup of tea and one who dropped back a year to deal with some personal issues. I know some have struggled with academics but our faculty is committed to getting us through, as long as we're willing to do our part.

I would worry less about accreditation and more about how smooth and well-coordinated the whole experience will be. School is hard enough without logistical goof-ups and administrative issues. My program runs like clockwork.

Brian_SRNA · Jul 18, 2006

Very Very well put. best of luck

Focker, CRNA · Jul 18, 2006

You should also look at who is running the new program. I believe Dr. Mary Karlet is heading up the program at western carolina. She is very respected in the CRNA community and she is an excellent teacher. Personally, I would have no reservations attending a new program with her as the director. Like someone else said though, as a new program I'm sure there will be a few kinks to be worked out that an established program may not have to usually deal with.

duewest · Jul 19, 2006

Liz,

I just faced that dilemma. I applied and was accepted at Westminster College in SLC, Utah. It's a first year program. My reasons for accepting were...

-Westminster has been around for over a century.

-All of thier undergrad/grad programs are highly respected and very competitive.

-They already had a well developed APRN/MSN program.

-Westminster is very well funded and has made a large investment (commitment) to the long term success of all of thier academic programs.

-I felt very good about the program's plan that was presented at the interview.

-I don't have to move my family.

-I was accepted.

My bottom line....All programs are required to teach certain criteria and meet certain clinical criteria. As SRNA's, we all have to pass the same boards and prove that we are clinically competent.

One of a program's most valuable selling points is its student's board passing rate. There's no shortcut that you can take to pass the boards if you don't know your stuff. Westminster has a huge amout invested in the first (and subsequent) classes. Our performance directly reflects on the quality of thier program.

So, I think that if a new program is well planned and has great support from the parent institution, the program and it's student's will suceed.

Jason...just my .02 cents

LIZPICURN · Jul 19, 2006

Thank you all for your suggestions. I absolutely agree there are pros and cons to this situation. Perhaps more cons. The program director has years and years experience in running other institutions CRNA programs. This is one detail that made me feel confident about the program. I liked his philosophies and points of view. Yet, as we all know, every new program has its kinks. I will take this into consideration when and if I have a choice between programs. Thanks again for taking the time to discuss your opinions/experiences.

japaho41 · Jul 19, 2006

You should also look at who is running the new program. I believe Dr. Mary Karlet is heading up the program at western carolina. She is very respected in the CRNA community and she is an excellent teacher. Personally, I would have no reservations attending a new program with her as the director. Like someone else said though, as a new program I'm sure there will be a few kinks to be worked out that an established program may not have to usually deal with.

In my decision not to apply, I did take into account that Dr. Karlet was once the former program director of Duke. That was a positive. What it came down to was that I had already applied to five programs, it was a new program and I was not sure about the clinical sites they were going to be using.