Wollford College

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Anyone thinking of applying to CRNA school in FL might want to do a web search using the terms "Wollford", "Collier anesthesia" and "suit" and see what comes up. FYI, "a word to the wise..."

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Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU.

Yeah I'm glad this lawsuit happened. How dare a nurse anesthesia school make its senior students work 40+ hours a week without compensation!

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
Yeah I'm glad this lawsuit happened. How dare a nurse anesthesia school make its senior students work 40+ hours a week without compensation!

All SRNAs work without compensation, and often for 40+hrs a week. Nurse anesthesia programs are fast and furious and SRNAs need to spend as much time in clinicals as possible.

What is not appropriate is using as SRNAs as staff. SRNAs are paying for their education. SRNAs should have a staff CRNA or MDA available at all times to teach, quiz, and oversee them. Having an SRNA in the room gives the staff a chance to do other things rather than be in the room every second all day, but IMO staff to student ratios should always be one on one especially during the first 6-12mo of clinicals.

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Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU.
All SRNAs work without compensation, and often for 40+hrs a week. Nurse anesthesia programs are fast and furious and SRNAs need to spend as much time in clinicals as possible. What is not appropriate is using as SRNAs as staff. SRNAs are paying for their education. SRNAs should have a staff CRNA or MDA available at all times to teach, quiz, and oversee them. Having an SRNA in the room gives the staff a chance to do other things rather than be in the room every second all day, but IMO staff to student ratios should always be one on one especially during the first 6-12mo of clinicals.
And they are. You only go 2:1 your senior year. Even then, there's always a CRNA or MDA on the radio. Sure the SRNA's supplement the anesthesia staff, but we are never alone in house. There's always back up in case things hit the fans!
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Specializes in Anesthesia.
And they are. You only go 2:1 your senior year. Even then, there's always a CRNA or MDA on the radio. Sure the SRNA's supplement the anesthesia staff, but we are never alone in house. There's always back up in case things hit the fans!

You should never supplement staff. That is essentially double paying for your education, it takes jobs away from staff, and your licensed to do cases on your own.

I hope this lawsuit wins. It should send ripples through the anesthesia community, and the way SRNAs are used on the civilian side.

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Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU.

Collier anesthesia has 26 clinical sites where MDA's and CRNA's practice. Today alone there were 7 operating rooms in Naples without a single student in them. I'd love to know where everyone gets their misinformation from, this is better than reality TV! Who needs the real housewives when you can read these forums with everyone offering conspiracy theories about anesthesia programs! This is not directed completely towards you wtbcrna, just got off another nurse anesthesia forum so I'm a little heated! LOL

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
Collier anesthesia has 26 clinical sites where MDA's and CRNA's practice. Today alone there were 7 operating rooms in Naples without a single student in them. I'd love to know where everyone gets their misinformation from, this is better than reality TV! Who needs the real housewives when you can read these forums with everyone offering conspiracy theories about anesthesia programs! This is not directed completely towards you wtbcrna, just got off another nurse anesthesia forum so I'm a little heated! LOL

It seems to be enough to substantiate a class action lawsuit against them, so I doubt that it is entirely fabricated.

This particular school has had complaints against it since its opening. Wolford is still not regionally accredited, and the alumni from this school have offered many disparaging remarks about this school.

A student needs to think long and hard before considering to goto Wolford.

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Specializes in ICU.

I'm not sure why so many people bash a school they don't even go to. I don't go there, but have gained acceptance to the program as well as a few others. Gooding is not regionally accredited...why don't people bash that program?! I am beginning to think it is just the disgruntled students that couldn't make it through the program that seem to bash it because all the students I have spoken to have had nothing but positive things to say. I was very impressed with the program when I went to interview there, more so then with a few of the other places I have been to. Several CRNAs that I have spoken to have all had nothing but positive things to say about the wolford grads they have come across as well. In fact, I know of a wolford grad that was hired by my hospital, which is practically unheard of considering my hospital has their own program to hire people from!!!! Bottom line is, they have a very high board passing rate, the students all find jobs upon graduation, and from what I have learned in my research they are just as competent as any other graduate from the other florida programs. It seems all the other programs that every boasts about being regionally accredited received it because they are associated with a university that is already regionally accredited, not because their program got it specifically! It will be interesting to see how this lawsuit plays out, but there is just as much drama like this at plenty of other schools (Ex: fl hosp firing their director, rumors of students suing the school, etc)

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Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU.
It seems to be enough to substantiate a class action lawsuit against them, so I doubt that it is entirely fabricated.

This particular school has had complaints against it since its opening. Wolford is still not regionally accredited, and the alumni from this school have offered many disparaging remarks about this school.

A student needs to think long and hard before considering to goto Wolford.

The reason why it is a "class action" law suit is because a couple of upset students have decided to sue the school as a group instead of individually. Are you familiar with the other lawsuits that have been brought against every single other CRNA school in FL?

No, Wolford is not regionally accredited. Yes, the application to SACs has been completed and now the school is waiting. I'm not sure what people are going to complain about once Wolford is regionally accredited, but I'm sure they'll find something. Never mind that many students have continued to get their PhD and DNAP at multiple schools throughout the country. The real issue is when you try to get a DNAP or PhD from a FL university, because FL is a very volatile state and many of the anesthesia programs despise each other and would love to make examples of applicants from non-regionally accredited schools.

I'm sure alumni bad mouth the school, but remember that someone who had a bad exp is much more likely to jump online and complain than someone that had an OK or good experience. Sad but true.

Regarding the fact that the school has had complaints against it since its inauguration, considering the school's controversial beginning and separation from FGCU, it's no surprise.

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Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU.
It seems all the other programs that every boasts about being regionally accredited received it because they are associated with a university that is already regionally accredited, not because their program got it specifically!

You hit the nail on the head! It's no coincidence that the only two non-regionally accredited NA schools are single-purpose educational institutions. These programs do not automatically get regionally accredited based on their affiliate universities, so they have to apply for SACs accreditation from scratch.

Wolford had to make a decision between pursuing SACs accreditation or creating a state of the art SIM lab. They chose the SIM lab. In a few weeks, we will have one of the most advanced SIM labs in the country NOT tied to or controlled by a university, meaning we get dibs on using it and running mock cases. This is in stark contrast to other major universities and schools that have to either rent a SIM lab for a day or share it with a medical school. This thing is so advanced that it even has an observation deck and a mezzanine! LOL it looks so sweet!

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You hit the nail on the head! It's no coincidence that the only two non-regionally accredited NA schools are single-purpose educational institutions. These programs do not automatically get regionally accredited based on their affiliate universities, so they have to apply for SACs accreditation from scratch.

Wolford had to make a decision between pursuing SACs accreditation or creating a state of the art SIM lab. They chose the SIM lab. In a few weeks, we will have one of the most advanced SIM labs in the country NOT tied to or controlled by a university, meaning we get dibs on using it and running mock cases. This is in stark contrast to other major universities and schools that have to either rent a SIM lab for a day or share it with a medical school. This thing is so advanced that it even has an observation deck and a mezzanine! LOL it looks so sweet!

MeTheRN,

Thanks for your insight. It's nice to see a well thought out opinion from someone who knows about the program.

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Well said! How has your experience in the program been so far?

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