Thank You !

No, you will not know everything at the very beginning, but you will know a lot and learn more as you work, and you will have a preceptor(a seasoned nurse to follow and to help you learn and do procedures). You will likely have a fairly long Orientation period as well, maybe as much a 6 months. There is help along the way for sure and of, course also, here at allnurses! Good luck to you!

beth66335,

As for being by yourself with someone's life in your hands at the beginning. Are you referring to post RN or post CRNA school. If post CRNA school then the answer is YES. I start CRNA school in Janurary, when I shadowed a CRNA for a few shifts I also had the oppurtunity to shadow some SRNA's (student CRNA). The second year SRNA's were most certainly in the OR on their own. Mind you they obviously have an "assigned preceptor" and plenty of CRNA's and MDA's to use for resources, they are also checked on during the cases. Also keep in mind those SRNA's had hundreds and hundreds if not at least a thousand clinical hours under their belt already. At first you WILL have a CRNA by your side. The program I am in includes over 3500 clinical hours, so you will have plenty of practice and experiences prior to graduation.

Also this info pertains to the program I am attending and my experiences thus far, all programs and clinical sites are different. Plus I'm new and my info is still limited but these are things I've seen thus far..

Good Luck

I believe the OP is talking about anesthesia school since this is the CRNA forum. Graduating from anesthesia school is different than nursing school in that when you are finished, you have the skills and knowledge to go out and perform a safe anesthetic. You may get a short orientation period so you can get aquainted, locate supplies, familiarize with that facilities equipment, find your way around the hospital, etc., but you are expected to know how to do your job. Many hospitals will take it easy on you at first such as assigning you to easier cases or not sending you out to anxillary departments. One exception might be regional anesthesia if your lucky enough to work at a place that is willing to teach you blocks. There is always more learning to do as you gain experience doing cases on your own, but as a graduate anesthetist you will be ready to hit the ground running. Hope this helps!