wolfordstudent

The school has good points, but it also has bad points. Let's drop political corectness at the door and be open about issues. I haven't yet seen anybody saying that I'm lying. And yes, I'm frustrated and venting.

The relationship between a CRNA and a surgeon is purely collaboration. A CRNA that takes orders from a surgeon will end up making a mistake eventually. E.g., If the patient has a vagal response d/t to surgeon's maneuvering in the patient's abdomen, you as a CRNA will tell the surgeon to stop - and any smart surgeon WILL stop, until the patient is stable. As for the legality of the issue, even if an MDA supervises a CRNA, if something goes wrong, in a court of law, a CRNA cannot use the excuse: " I did ... that because the MDA told me to". In a court of law you are all by yourself, because you are supposed to make independent decisions. If you are a CRNA uncomfortable with the medical direction during a case, you can sign out. Period. All this legal knowhow comes from three MDA's I work with who have been sued.

I am a current WC student in full time clinicals. I am very dissapointed in the way the program is run. From a didactic point of view, they accept more than necessary and than the class is trimmed (30% drop rate). That's unfair to the students that shouldn't be here - they spend time and money pursuing something that is out of reach for them. In clinicals, they have too many students in the OR's. More than 60% of rooms have two students all the time. (you are not getting the clinical exposure needed). This crowding was my main concern before accepting their offer. I should have gone to any other school that accepted me (other schools accept 12 students/yr, and have 20 or more OR's) where student numbers are less than the available OR's. The last 3 classes accepted have been between 36 and 43 students per class. ... and they accept 2 classes each year ! To top it off, as of today, half of their CRNA's have graduated in the past 18 months, and they cannot be the best instructors b/c they're not experienced enough. In conclusion, I am very dissapointed with the program. Good luck and don't forget: during the interview process, "smile and look cuddly, boys!".