shadowing a crna

krzysiu · Feb 2, 2009

Hi everyone,
I am interested in applying to the nurse anesthetist program. I would like to shadow a crna for a day or two but I have called at least 6 hospitals in the NYC area and all of them have said no including the one I work at. I know there are anesthesia dept that do allow this, does anyone know which ones. Thanks

Are you a nurse or currently in a nursing program? Do you work in a hospital? I noticed you said NYC, I'm from Chicago. Atleast in the larger metro areas, hospitals won't let just anyone into the operating room. I had to be employed at the hospital where I shadowed. They are completely aware that you will not be involved in patient care and, usually, patients are quite receptive to the idea of someone observing. However, the problem is, who will be responsible for YOU if something happens? The hospital will argue that you're not an employee and won't be covered by their or the anesthesia group's insurance. They know you can't mess anything up with a patient because you will not be touching them. But, what happens if a scalpel flies across the O.R. and hits you? Or, someone throws a bucket of blood at you and it goes right into your eyes? I know its far fetched, but I went through the same thing. Even though such an incident would be a rarity, it can happen and the hospitals would rather just not bother. Sucks because I have some classmates from Wisconsin who shadowed all the time. There must be much fewer lawyers in certain states. Hope this helps you understand why you're having such a hard time...

Mhart · Feb 2, 2009

I actually work for Columbia presbyterian.... the nurse anesthesia program is offered at the school (Columbia) and is a teaching hospital. By the way your response had me cracking up with the scalpel thing. That was a huge help. I've gotten one smaller city hospital to say maybe so i'll keep my fingers crossed. Thanks again

krzysiu · Feb 3, 2009

I actually work for Columbia presbyterian.... the nurse anesthesia program is offered at the school (Columbia) and is a teaching hospital. By the way your response had me cracking up with the scalpel thing. That was a huge help. I've gotten one smaller city hospital to say maybe so i'll keep my fingers crossed. Thanks again

Glad I could help. Because, like I said, I had to jump through some hoops to get into the O.R. myself. You may want to hit up your manager to try and set something up. However, sometimes it's a good idea not to let no one know what your intentions are. What I personally did was, I contacted the director of the anesthesia department myself. The group at my old hospital did not work for the hospital per say, but once they knew my intent they were more than happy to help me out. Call your hospital directory or just take a walk to the PACU and ask around and find out who is in charge/director of anesthesia etc. Get their contact information and politely introduce yourself and definitely let them know you work in the hospital. Let them know you're extremely interested in pursuing a career in anesthesia and would be very grateful if you can shadow a member of the group: MD or CRNA. The head MD at my place was big into teaching and very CRNA friendly. They are usually pretty receptive at that point. One, it's a teaching facility and two they are always looking for good people and are quite encouraging of your pursuits. All the best and good luck...

gasmaster · Feb 3, 2009

It stinks that your own hospital won't let you shadow there. Both programs I interviewed with asked if I shadowed and asked detailed questions about my experience (I did it at the Level I trauma center where I worked). They do look for this during interview....

iceman1613 · Feb 4, 2009

I got kinda of lucky because there is a student in my BSN program right now who's parents are both CRNA's at local hospitals by me. I just asked the student if it would be "ok" to contact one of the parents and ask to shadow. It worked and now I shadow the mom on a monthly basis in the OR. Moral of the story is, if you're still in school find out if any of the other students (especially those who want to be CRNAS) have family members who are CRNA's and see if you can shadow them! Good luck :)

baby831 · Jun 15, 2009

I am looking for a place too to shadow a crna. Did that hospital ever say yes? If so, which hospital. I am also interested in becoming a crna.