CRNA or RNFA?

[EKTheRN]

Hello all,

I'm currently awaiting a response regarding my admission into my local nursing program (I've been waitlisted), and I'm obviously getting way ahead of myself, but I've been looking into different specialties.

It has always been a dream of mine to work and live in a large metropolitan city. I hear that residents and interns are typically always the first assist in procedures in teaching hospitals, which kind of defeats the purpose of having an RNFA on staff. That is my only stipulation with the idea of getting my RNFA certification- that I'll essentially be unable to work alongside the surgeon by handling tissue, closing after the operation, etc. That part interests me to no end.

When it comes to becoming a nurse anesthetist, I realize that it requires a master's degree. The only drawback in my situation of becoming a CRNA is not being able to handle tissue, closing, etc like the RNFA would be able to do. I could be very wrong, but being a CRNA doesn't seem as hands-on.

Long story short, I'm in love with the idea of working in the OR, and any information y'all can relay to me about either profession is greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance.

[MedMayhem]

This is from what I've seen as an OR nurse. RNFAs aren't super common where I work except in the CVOR. (I work in the main OR doing trauma, general, etc). Where there aren't residents assisting, we have surgical assistants through a third-party company, including assists, physician assistants and one RNFA. THey're right in there doing what a resident would do without doing rounds on the floor, from positioning and prepping to assisting in the surgery to closing. If you want to do actual surgery, go the RNFA/NP route absolutely. (We recently got a lot of NPs for our neurosurgeons who I believe will have to get their RNFA eventually to continue assisting in surgery.) RNFAs also need at least two years of perioperative experience and in particular scrubbing experience. CRNAs are completely different. They're absolutely hands-on but in a different realm where they're monitoring the patients vitals, giving meds, basically in the Venn diagram of anesthesiologists and nursing, they're that overlapping purple part. Depending on the case, they may have lots of moments sitting and watching the EKG or they might be spending the whole case trying to keep a patient alive long enough to make it to the end of the surgery alive and with minimal injury. That's why they require you to have critical care experience to go CRNA school. If you love working in the ICU, it's the thing for you.

Really, they're just two completely different types of nursing. I love working in the OR, and you can join in in so many different ways. Maybe try shadowing some people in these roles to see what you actually enjoy. I've had friends who loved the idea of the OR but once we spent a day or two there for school, they never wanted to do it again. I wanted to do critical care and become a CRNA and absolutely love scrubbing in.