CRNA's attitude towards shadowers

[rnbeauty]

Are there any practicing CRNA's here that can enlighten me?

I have shadowed a CRNA about 2 years ago when i first became interested in the field. Now that I have a few interviews coming up this month, I wanted to do one more shadow day just to refesh my memory on the whole OR process.( and because it was so cool two yrs ago from what I remember).

Here's the problem. I am now at a new hospital, still a very large urban teaching hospital in Maryland. CRNA's that you see walking the halls "appear" to be very kind and welcoming when approached. When I discuss interest in a shadow day, they are all so excited and seems so perky about having me there. We exchange information and so forth. So when I call or email them to arrange something, it is always an excuse why they can not accomadate me. Granted, I know that it can be very busy and stressful in the OR. But give me a break, every week is not a good week? There's no one that they can refer me to. I have been more than flexible with my days and time in order to make it easier for them. I even emailed the chief nurse anesthetist and she met me on my unit for discussion and to arrange something. Again, without fail, it is busy today or simply not returning emails or calls. I try not to be a bother, I just simply want one day in th OR again before my interviews. They all act as if they have been CRNAs all their life.

I vowed that when I do become an anesthetist, I am going to be pro- student as best I can. Everyone needs help and has to start from somewhere.

[shang36]

Are there any practicing CRNA's here that can enlighten me.

I have shadowed a CRNA about 2 years ago when i first became interested in the field. Now that I have a few interviews coming up this month, I wanted to do one more shadow day just to refesh my memory on the whole OR process.( and because i just want to do it again because I thought it was so cool two yrs ago).

Here's the problem. I am now at a new hospital, still very large urban teaching hospital in Maryland. CRNA's that you see walking the halls "appear" to be very kind and welcoming. When I discuss interest in a shadow day, they are all so excited and seems so perky about having me there. We exchange information and so forth. So when I call or email them to arrange something, it is always an excuse why they can not accomadate me. Granted, I know that it can be very busy and stressful in the OR. But give me a break, every week is not a good week? There's no one that they can refer me too. I have been more than flexiable in my days in time in order to make it easy for them. I even emailed the chief nurse anesthetist and she met me on my unit for discussion and to arrange something. Again, without fail, it is busy today or simply not returning emails or calls. I try not to be a bother, I just simply want one day in th OR again before my interview. They all act as if they have been CRNAs all their life.

I vowed that when I do become an anesthetis, I am really going to be pro- student as best I can. Everyone needs help.

hi rnbeauty! i posted a message for you regarding georgetown .do you know if they try to weed people out ? Regarding shadowing don't waste your time with people who are not genuinely interested in other people. Try at some other place shadowing. Or may be, go there in person and fix a day .As ,it almost always work. I know its frustrating .But, chase your dream and don't give up. You can do it. Not sure , if you go on AANA site and look ,may be they can arrange it.

[rnbeauty]

Wow, no responses from all of the CRNA's on this board?

Interesting.....

[shang36]

By the way, I am starting my program in june.If someone has any question regarding interviews or CCRN,would gladly help. I have gained lot of knowledge through this forum.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

It is always important for nurses and advanced practice nurses to remember that we were all students at one time. We are only hurting ourselves by not being accomodating to students.

[lonestargas]

RNBeauty, I hope your experiences haven't discouraged you. I am currently an SRNA and also shadowed several times before starting my program. However, my experience was totally opposite of yours. The CRNA's were the ones that suggested I shadow. The hospital I went to is a clinical site for SRNA's and the anesthetists are very accustomed to teaching. Maybe you could try to find a facility close to you that serves as a training site for SRNA's. I don't think that most CRNA's are uninterested in helping others who want to enter the profession, it's just that I think there are a higher proportion of nurses who visit the forum that are either SRNA's or are wanting information on how to get into the field. Don't give up on shadowing; it provides a great encouragement to pursue your dream!