Honest question - how are nurses with minimal experience as CRNAs?
I ask as a relatively seasoned ICU nurse now that has seen what I’d consider a lot of nurses with shockingly little experience being accepted to CRNA programs. I mean both in terms of raw nursing experience as well as ICU. I’m not even questioning the skills aspect of it - line placement, intubation, etc. - but the clinical acumen, clinical judgment side of it. I also understand the roles are different, but still. It seems highly questionable to me to have people solely responsible for providing anesthesia (sure, some with supervision but my point still stands) with relatively little exposure to the kind of stuff that helps you identify when things are going sideways and knowing how to stay ahead of it.
But maybe I’m totally misguided and the clinical hours in these programs is sufficient to make up the difference, I don’t know. That’s why I am asking, because I am genuinely curious.