Your welcome Sean in reality as I stated before if your worried about not getting excepted because you do not have any medical or nursing experience I really would highly recommend you becoming an Anesthesia Technician/Technologist(AT/ATT) even if It's 6 months as a A.T. or in any of the health care setting below I have mention as well it will help make your application stand out.
Volunteering and shadowing is one thing but actually having hands on experience with technical and clinical skills setting really stands out on your application if your worried about getting rejected from AA program. if you still have 1 year left then why not become a A.T.(Anesthesia Technician), or a C.N.A.(Certified Nursing Assistant/Certified Nurse Aide), H.C.T.(Health Care Technician)or P.C.A.(Patient Care Assistant)in a ICU setting instead of E.R.?.
In reality HCT/PCA follows in the same category, CNA is when your Certified and Registered by that state you live in, HCT/PCA are not Certified or Registered by state at least from what I know then again things can change it depends on each state.
Keep in mind whether you have previous patient care experience or not your still going to have over 2,000 "clinical" hours in all settings of anesthesia. Another advice I would like to share with you try shadowing an RRT, RCP, CCP(Perfusionist)majority of them are AA-C(Anesthetist)if you choose not to become an A.T. explain to them your applying to AA program to become a Anesthetist(AA-C)practitioner. Even CRNAs have many clinical hours as well both programs are on a Master level, surgery is becoming more complicated today despite all the technology we have today, and drugs that are used today are more potent and lethal(dangerous)than 50 or a 100 years ago as some CRNAs want you to believe(not all CRNAs think this way).
Don't be surprise if they never heard of an AA-C, where I work only two RRT/RCP, heard or knew about AA-Cs the vast majority of them(RRT/RCP)did not know about AA-Cs until I told them last year in 2007 now they want to become Anesthetist(AA-C). All theses years RRTs/RCPs with a Bachelor's Degree in Science had to go nursing school just to become a Anesthetist(CRNA). When in reality all they had to do was apply to AA school with already holding a Bachelor's Degree in Science in my opinon years wasted with out the hoops and loops of becoming a Anesthetist(CRNA)as a RRT, RCP, CCP, EMT, and/or PM(Para Medic).
In closing If I was a CRNA and my best friend or co-worker I work with in ICU was a RRT, RCP, CCP, EMT, and PM all of them holding a Bachelor's Degree in Science and they tell me that they want to become a CRNA why would I want to recruit them in becoming a CRNA when I know there's a shorter route of becoming a Anesthetist when they will be doing the same exact job that I'm doing as a CRNA in the ACT model as a AA-C?.
Also if one of my fellow colleague BSN/ADN nurse I work with in ICU apply to CRNA school and got rejected from one/or both school and I knew there was an AA program(Anesthetist) that except nurses(BSN/ADN) will still be doing the same job as a CRNA in the ACT making six figures annually and graduating with a Master of Science Degree in Medical and/or Health Science yes I would refer them to AA school and write them a letter of recommendation to get excepted in the program.
Some CRNAs have done just that which I have a great deal of "RESPECT" for them once again as long as your a safe and competent mid-level anesthesia provider I don't care what route you take in becoming a Anesthetist AA-C/CRNA or CRNA/AA-C I respect both. But in reality there has to be balance, fairness, equality, loyalty, and "respect" for both anesthetists AA-C/CRNA period.
I personally would not want to put my best friend or co-worker threw all the hoops and loops and back tracking just to become a CRNA that would be very selfish and inconsiderate of me to see someone go through that type of unnecessary stress when there's an alternative route in becoming an Anesthetist. Once again "POLITICS"
