Measuring the Pulse of MCV Campus

Nurse Anesthesia Program Contines to Gain Popularity

Nurse anesthesia can be an attracive choice for students interested in a medical career. The job does not require a medical degree and is among the most lucrative of most nursing specialties.

Yet, those qualities alone aren’t what attracts students to the field.

"If people chose this profession because of the salary, they would only do it for a few years," says Suzanne Wright, director of the Center for Research in Human Simulation. "People choose this profession because of their passion to help people at a critical point."

The simulation lab, located on the second floor in the West Hospital, provides students with the opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom in a clinical practice.

The program’s 120 students make up just a small part of the Department of Nurse Anesthesiology program at the Medical College of Virginia. The department, located in the School of Allied Health, is consistently ranked number one by U.S. News and World Report. The high ranking can be credited to the department’s numerous programs and its employees’ passion for nurse anesthesiology and helping others.

One of the incentives of being a nurse anesthetist includes being able to work independently.

"I love critical care and I like being at the bedside with a patient," said Amanda Greer, a senior in the department. "Other advanced degrees specialize in leadership, not in actual care. This concentrates more in in-depth studies."

Current nurses would argue that being a nurse anesthetist allows them to get involved in the best parts of the job. "It’s everything you like about nursing, all the ‘cool’ stuff," said Cassidy Harmon, who has applied to the program.

"You get to do drips, intubations, and IVs," said Harmon.

Students enter the program with an undergraduate degree, often in biology or chemistry. Upon receiving a bachelor’s degree, students are required to complete at least one year of specified work before they can apply for the program.

"Most of our applicants are older, but we have a good mix of ages," says Marjorie Taylor Goodwin, program support technician and admissions counselor for the department. "Some of our students already have a master’s degree."

The department attracts students by offering several programs and opportunities in the field. The department’s faculty and administrators work hard to stay abreast in the anesthesia community. What really sets the school apart is its simulation program, distance learning, reaching out to rural communities and setting continuing education initiatives.

Upon graduation, nurse anesthesiology students are offered continuing education through the professional organization Nurse Anesthesiology Faculty Associates. This program, created more than 30 years ago at VCU, helps nurse anesthetists receive credits to renew their license.

In addition to the continuing education program offered by VCU, nurses can now earn their doctoral degree in the first nurse anesthetists program. For more information on the department you can visit their web site at http://www.sahp.vcu.edu/nrsa/.

The following articles - written by VCU Journalism Students - examine the medical school's legacy, student life, programs, buildings and future. All students are from Professor Bonnie Newman Davis' MASC 303 Newswriting Course. Loren Pritchett assisted in editing the articles.