CRNA Student – End Semester 6 of 7

Once again the end of semester has dawned upon me. In retrospect this semester has been one of great strives in the clinical arena. As skills start to refine and your own personal anesthetic technique starts to emerge from bits and pieces from numerous anesthesia providers you have worked with, a desire for the end and independence takes form. The next 4 months will be a struggle to finally reach the end of the marathon I’ve embarked for such a long time of my life.

In this blog post I would like to address two aspects that are currently on my mind. First the job outlook in current nurse anesthesia practice and later lateral violence that continues to ensue in the healthcare industry.

While jobs are no longer plentiful in the field of anesthesia, It would be extreme to say the field is completely saturated (at this point). Like so many times that I’ve mentioned before to those who have asked me through this blog, there are still jobs in anesthesia, but being willing to relocate is essential during this time. The outlook for the near future is even of greater disparity between job supply and demand as schools continue to pump out more and more students as programs run rampant in offering more slots to potential nurse anesthetists. While creating a large cohort of anesthesia providers to care for the aging America, it worries me that this not only floods the market but enables less prepared students access to what was once known as a prestigious group in the nursing field that favored knowledgeable and respected practitioners. Truth be told, jobs are becoming scarce by the year, and like most other job markets in the U.S. competitiveness for job placement is a reality. Salaries have started to drop the 6 figure mark and for those who plan to live off financial aid, repayment will certainly become challenging especially if job placement is not immediate.

Finally, I would like to express sorrow for our profession in due respect to the ever evolving lateral violence we experience as nurses. It seems that ever since the wheal was invented so was lateral violence in the healthcare industry. What amazes me even more so is that usually practicing CRNA’s are the culprits even more so that Anesthesiologists. I cannot generalize because I have experienced great clinical experience with both flavors of anesthesia professionals, but must admit supervision by anesthesiologists in most cases warrants an experience conductive to learning. While some students tough it out, others feel more inflicted by the “care” professionals and choose a way out. It saddens me to admit that as caring professionals we are able to focus so much in the care of our patients but choose to treat a “future” colleague with disrespect. The fundamental aspect in this picture is that not all are created equal, people have different ways of interacting with each other, some are introverted and others extraverted. Some like to talk and are socially outgoing while others sit and listen. People come in all flavors and the only thing that should be evaluated is their performance and knowledge. This of course while taking into consideration that they are students and as such are there to learn. When even licensed 20+ years experienced practitioners make mistakes, we as students are many times demanded perfection.

I am signing off for the year and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!