Anesthesia Assistant Advice

[atlantaguyaa]

Hello everyone,

I am writing to request information about being accepted into one of the five anesthesia assistant programs. I am hoping that a current Anesthesia Assistant will answer or someone that is currently in the program.

I would like to apply to the AA program but am concerned about the possibility of acceptance due to my criminal background. There is nothing listed on the AA websites that discusses background checks.

I am a 42 year old undergraduate student. I have 6 drug and alchol arrests (3 are for DUI and 3 are for marijuana). At the time that I will apply they will be about 10 years old and are all misdemeanors. I have a high GPA (3.7) and expect to do well on the GRE. I have gotten the standard answer that each application is reviewed on a case by case basis but I do not wish to continue this journey if I will be unable to be admitted to the program and granted a license by the medical board.

I was told NO by South University because the Georgia medical board would not grant me a license due to the high risk nature of the profession. Emory said I should just apply to see what happens. I was really disappointed with this answer because I think they should be upfront about my chances rather than have me go thru with the work then not accept me. I was also told by Emory that I might have difficulty being approved to participate in clinicals as each hospital has to approve me for the rotation.

I think Nova is out too because Florida is pretty strict about DUI's. At this point it looks like my best chance will be at UMKC because their background check only goes back 7 years according to Laura in admissions. I don't think the UMKC application asks about previous arrests. I will also try Case Western but I haven't heard back from them about their background check procedures.

If I am unable to complete this program does anybody know of any healthcare careers that I will be able to pursue.

Thanks

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[Pietrantonio]

Hello everyone,

I am writing to request information about being accepted into one of the five anesthesia assistant programs. I am hoping that a current Anesthesia Assistant will answer or someone that is currently in the program.

I would like to apply to the AA program but am concerned about the possibility of acceptance due to my criminal background. There is nothing listed on the AA websites that discusses background checks.

I am a 42 year old undergraduate student. I have 6 drug and alchol arrests (3 are for DUI and 3 are for marijuana). At the time that I will apply they will be about 10 years old and are all misdemeanors. I have a high GPA (3.7) and expect to do well on the GRE. I have gotten the standard answer that each application is reviewed on a case by case basis but I do not wish to continue this journey if I will be unable to be admitted to the program and granted a license by the medical board.

I was told NO by South University because the Georgia medical board would not grant me a license due to the high risk nature of the profession. Emory said I should just apply to see what happens. I was really disappointed with this answer because I think they should be upfront about my chances rather than have me go thru with the work then not accept me. I was also told by Emory that I might have difficulty being approved to participate in clinicals as each hospital has to approve me for the rotation.

I think Nova is out too because Florida is pretty strict about DUI's. At this point it looks like my best chance will be at UMKC because their background check only goes back 7 years according to Laura in admissions. I don't think the UMKC application asks about previous arrests. I will also try Case Western but I haven't heard back from them about their background check procedures.

If I am unable to complete this program does anybody know of any healthcare careers that I will be able to pursue.

Thanks

You know more than I do about AA admissions. How far are you into your undergraduate studies? What is your major, etc?


Other healthcare careers:
Paramedic
Nursing
Respiratory
Radiology Tech
Phlebotomist
Polysomnographer

Best of luck.

 

[PMPMD]

Hello everyone,

I am writing to request information about being accepted into one of the five anesthesia assistant programs. I am hoping that a current Anesthesia Assistant will answer or someone that is currently in the program.

I would like to apply to the AA program but am concerned about the possibility of acceptance due to my criminal background. There is nothing listed on the AA websites that discusses background checks.

I am a 42 year old undergraduate student. I have 6 drug and alchol arrests (3 are for DUI and 3 are for marijuana). At the time that I will apply they will be about 10 years old and are all misdemeanors. I have a high GPA (3.7) and expect to do well on the GRE. I have gotten the standard answer that each application is reviewed on a case by case basis but I do not wish to continue this journey if I will be unable to be admitted to the program and granted a license by the medical board.

I was told NO by South University because the Georgia medical board would not grant me a license due to the high risk nature of the profession. Emory said I should just apply to see what happens. I was really disappointed with this answer because I think they should be upfront about my chances rather than have me go thru with the work then not accept me. I was also told by Emory that I might have difficulty being approved to participate in clinicals as each hospital has to approve me for the rotation.

I think Nova is out too because Florida is pretty strict about DUI's. At this point it looks like my best chance will be at UMKC because their background check only goes back 7 years according to Laura in admissions. I don't think the UMKC application asks about previous arrests. I will also try Case Western but I haven't heard back from them about their background check procedures.

If I am unable to complete this program does anybody know of any healthcare careers that I will be able to pursue.

Thanks

I will be very frank: I would not recommend any anesthesia position (AA, CRNA, or anesthesiologist) to someone with a half-dozen drug or alcohol charges. My biggest concern would be the potential for abuse of opioids, BZDs or even propofol. My second concern would be licensing difficulties down the road. Don't assume that the highest hurdle is admission to AA school. I can only speak from an MD's perspective, but there were much more numerous and specific questions about this type of history on state medical licensing applications than on medical school or residency apps. Don't let me crush your dreams, but I would think very hard about this choice.