I know most programs only require a minimum of 8 hours of shadowing experience but do most applicants have way more or right around 8? Would having more hours help your application in any way?
Re: Observation Hours
Posted by carboneel on October 5, 2011, 5:12 pm, in reply to "Observation Hours"
Needtoknow,
There isn't a formula. I don't believe that admission boards insert all of your data into a machine that spits out a ranking of your suitability to practice anesthesia. Whether an applicant shadowed just once in order to complete the requirement or half a dozen times most likely makes very little difference as a standalone statistic.
Hundreds of people apply and scant few are admitted. If I were part of an admissions committee, I would seek out students whose data and interview demonstrate their burning desire to practice in the field.
How do you know if someone is passionate about the prospect of studying and practicing anesthesia? They go above and beyond. They don't ask if 8 hours is enough. They want to shadow as much as possible because they love the experience. They don't wonder if the school will accept a C in gen chem. They seek out opportunities for more exposure to the field. They study pertinent topics even when there is no test, but simply because they love the science and art.
Don't try to discover a path to the "magical" application. Pursue the career in all areas with the passion of someone whose life depends on it and it will show.
Re: Observation Hours
Posted by Get Real on October 5, 2011, 11:02 pm, in reply to "Re: Observation Hours"
Okay, I'm really curious about something. Why do people act like an applicant has to have some fervent sense of all-or-nothing, do-or-die burning passion to become an AA? Why is it that CRNA programs (even the "good" schools) take a more nonchalant and less rigorous attitude towards evaluating applicants, instead being content in most cases to extend interview invites to applicants who have good grades, a decent GRE score, and a well-written personal statement?
Are AA's and AA programs trying to give the impression that learning and practicing anesthesia as an AA is a much more rigorous endeavor than learning and practicing it as a CRNA?
What's the deal with the perceived elitism here? In terms of rigor, difficulty, prestige, etc., it almost sounds like you guys are placing the AA profession on a higher pedestal than going to medical school and becoming a neurosurgeon.
If that kind of 100% do-or-die attitude is essential to practicing competently as an anesthetist, then why is it that most CRNA's enter the field with a casual attitude of "I guess I'll go to the next step and become a CRNA," and yet they are considered to be competent anesthesia providers? If your perception of the ideal AA program applicant truly represented the only kind of individual who could competently practice as an anesthetist, there would be thousands of CRNA's committing grievous cases of malpractice every day.
Also, consider that, up until 2 or 3 years ago, it was honestly quite easy to get accepted to an AA program. Up until that point in time, the vast majority of applicants were recent graduates with biology degrees, had low (3.1 - 3.3) GPA's, similarly low GRE scores, and nothing more than the minimum 8 hours of shadowing. There were a few non-traditional applicants who wanted to become AA's as career-changers, but for the most part, the applicant pool was comprised of fairly recent college graduates who thought AA's had cool jobs and made good money. Don't get me wrong -- these people weren't "in it for the money," but they weren't some breed of anesthesia-devoted robots who were laser-focused on becoming from day one of their freshman year in college.
Let's get real here.... the REAL reason this attitude has surfaced lately is because, for the first time in many years, AA program admission has become competitive, and so now the schools can afford to be pickier about which applicants they interview and accept.
With the increased level of competitiveness, they might be able to afford to sift through the stacks of applications to selectively accept those who actually do have a "burning passion" to practice anesthesia, but admit it -- that kind of mindset isn't requisite to practicing competently as an AA.
(Disclaimer: I am NOT a CRNA)
Re: Observation Hours
Posted by carboneel on October 6, 2011, 7:40 am, in reply to "Re: Observation Hours"
I think you may have missed the point entirely. Anything worth doing is worth doing to the best of your ability.
It's up to you to determine how you go about that. I'm sure the schools are not looking merely to pump out "competent" providers. I would suspect that the best providers (in any field) are those that genuinely love the profession and pursue it accordingly.
Not sure why it seems offensive to encourage someone to confirm within themselves that anesthesia is what they love and to tackle that with their strongest game.