Do CRNA's miss out on patient interaction?

[aCRNAhopeful]

Hello, I recently talked with my nursing instructor who told me she at one point considered nurse anesthesia. She decided not to choose that route because she felt that being a CRNA would not be enough patient interaction to be fulfilling to her. Do any of you current CRNA's feel you miss out on patient interaction? Another question, somewhat related, is: do CRNA's get out of the OR very often? My thought was that if CRNA's got out to the floors to start central lines, etc., that it may help that feeling of missing out on patient interaction or not feeling as much a part of the team as one might feel being an ICU nurse constantly "on the front lines", if you will. Any input would be great, just trying to get a better picture of the profession.

[racing-mom4, BSN, RN]

THe CRNA come up to our floor quit a bit, for central lines, picc lines, art lines, they assist us in intubating if needed, they usually hang around more if someone is going pretty bad pretty quick. THey also are in OB doing the epidurals. Shadow one around for a shift or two so you can see for your self what their day looks like.

[luvkyaking]

I was worried about that too, but I can tell you that this has been THE best career decision I have ever made. I actually have a much higher level of satisfaction with my patient interactions than before. You do get to interact with them before and after surgery. Remember most patients are really nervous and they are mostly worried about pain, waking up and being nauseated. So they are looking to you for reassurance. I don't get yelled at because of petty things like I did in the ER or ICU, and the patients and family thank me a lot more than they did when I was a staff nurse

[loveanesthesia]

Do any of you current CRNA's feel you miss out on patient interaction?

As a CRNA you do have patient interaction, but it is different, and you don't develop long term relationships often. Often in the pre-op period I have a few minutes to put the patient as ease with the idea that I am going to be administering the anesthetic. It is a very important time, usually they've never seen me before and it's a lot to trust me with. I know one student who was doing well in anesthesia school, but decided to drop out because she didn't like the isolation of sitting at the head of the table for long periods every day "listening to the beep". If you teach nurse anesthesia, that will increase your interaction with people, the students. Also OB anesthesia allows more interaction with patients.

[alterego33]

I agree with the others, it is the best kind of patient interaction you can have. Just today, I got a lovely gift from a patient with a note that said, "thank you for a wonderful experience."

If you need long term interaction for fulfillment, then maybe anesthesia is not for you and only you, can answer that. I agree with the other poster, shadow a CRNA and see if it is for you.