Wolford College Lawsuit Update

[wtbcrna]

http://lawmedconsultant.com/6216/update-srna-lawsuit-wolford-college-nurse-anesthesia-program/

They also cite an email sent from a student to Wolford College staff complaining of excessive work hours and being removed from designated clinical experience to cover CRNA staffing needs: I have been on my heart rotation for several weeks now. I stayed late today because I was the call person. I have been putting in long hours, plus call shifts for the heart rotation, and then also working regular weekend shifts at the main. Today I was call for hearts, so at 3pm I stayed in my heart case. Then I was pulled from hearts to go and work in the cath lab because the CRNAs were supposed to go home? I am exhausted and I don't mind the rotation, and understand the call shift being part of the rotation, but I do not feel it was right to pull me out of my heart case to go work for the main. I was not able to complete my heart case. Dr. Leslie Hussey, who was Wolford College's Director of Academic Education, Director of Program Development, and Associate Director of Doctoral Education until August of 2012 describes her unsuccessful attempts to bring clinical hours in line with the published number of hours cited in the curriculum. Nolan responds by telling her that senior students are needed are needed in the clinical areas to "work". -

[deecha]

Is Wolford Colloge really that bad of a CRNA program? I thought it was accredited by the COA for 10 years. Insight please.

[loveanesthesia]

That's a good question. The COA accreditation standards have been changed recently and Wolford will be required to become regionally accredited or they will be out of compliance with the COA standards. So Wolford has some work to do or they won't be accredited by the COA. Also the COA needs to be informed of the problems at Wolford. I think students are reluctant to inform the COA because they don't want their program to be closed while they are a student. The COA doesn't want to leave students in a lurch, and typically will put a program on probation if violations of accreditation standards are documented. Probation means the program continues but new students can't be enrolled, so more students aren't put into the situation. The bottom line is violations must be documented.

[Bluebolt]

Wow I was considering applying to this institution before I read it was ran by anesthesiologists. It's a shame that their program openly uses students to staff their needs instead of learning as a student. It's also dangerous considering you are still a student and require a preceptor who is fully liscensed.

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

This is excellent news re: Wolford, a throwback to the past. However, did a program open recently in Hartford, Ct. that is MDA owned?

I can't imagine that Ct. even needs another program unless nobody wanted to work at the institution in Hartford and this was merely a staffing plan for that department. Do the COA approved programs require a CRNA as the program director? Don't know why this wouldn't be required.

[loveanesthesia]

The accreditation standards require the program director and assistant PD to be CRNAs. Standards required the PD to have control over budget and curriculum. Obviously though, however hires/fires has the ultimate power.