Posted by graham on December 9, 2007, 3:48 pm, in reply to "Re: (no subject)"
I've been pondering about this medical experience requirement.
You're right that people skills, critical thinking, quick decision making are skills that are not exclusive to RNs and MDs. You've already mentioned several examples of non-nursing jobs that are good foundation for anesthesia.
However, there are non-medical jobs that incorporate people skills, critical thinking, and quick decision making. (law enforcers, firefighters, etc.) We can't necessarily bar these folks simply because they lack healthcare experience.
This is probably why AA schools do not require any kind of medical experience.
Sure, the minimum requirements for the AAs seem to be inadequate....but the adcoms are smart enough to carefully screen and select applicants who can demonstrate these important skills, regardless of their backgrounds.
Stated in another way, technically medical experience or any other work experience is not required. In practice, however, those with appropriate experience tend to be selected. Practically speaking, AAs do come in WITH backgrounds that complement anesthesia jobs.