Shadowing in KC?

[IrishTwins]

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I am in Kansas City, and preparing to apply for the AA program next year. As part of the pre-req's, the programs would like for all applicants to have a minimum of 8 hours of shadowing an anesthesiologist/CRNA/AA in a surgical setting.

I am having a terrible time getting my foot in the door, and I'm wondering if it isn't due to political maneuvering. Whatever the case may be, I'm not having any luck making cold calls to hospitals. I thought I might give you guys a shot.

So, do you know anyone in the KC area who would be willing to let me come in and shadow? I am a Junior B.S. Bio major at UMKC, applying to the AA program next summer. I need a minimum of 8 hours, but am looking for as much observation time as I can get.

Thanks!

 

[jwk]

I am in Kansas City, and preparing to apply for the AA program next year. As part of the pre-req's, the programs would like for all applicants to have a minimum of 8 hours of shadowing an anesthesiologist/CRNA/AA in a surgical setting.

I am having a terrible time getting my foot in the door, and I'm wondering if it isn't due to political maneuvering. Whatever the case may be, I'm not having any luck making cold calls to hospitals. I thought I might give you guys a shot.

So, do you know anyone in the KC area who would be willing to let me come in and shadow? I am a Junior B.S. Bio major at UMKC, applying to the AA program next summer. I need a minimum of 8 hours, but am looking for as much observation time as I can get.

Thanks!

Why not call someone at the UMKC-AA program and ask for their help?

I know someone in St. Louis you could call if that doesn't help. PM me for the info.

 

[IrishTwins]

I forgot to mention I'd already called the MSA program at UMKC. They told me that they'd been seeing this resistance a lot recently, so much so that they're thinking about waiving the shadowing requirement altogether. I even called one of the other programs to try to get some leads. When I finally got in contact with the group that they directed me to, I was met with negativitiy and, again, total lack of cooperation. STL is about 4 hours from me, but at this point I'm not sure I have many other options. PMing now.

 

[Josh L.Ac.]

This is one of the unfortunate consequences of the nurse anesthetists circling their wagons. Probably your best bet is to either try to shadow an anesthesiologist (say you are interested in going to medical school) or a CRNA (say you are interested in going to nursing school).


It depends on what level of subterfuge you are comfortable with.


On the other hand, the idea of shadowing is somewhat funny when you step back and look at it. Unless you are learning anesthesia, then you really won't have a clue about what is going on during a case. Learning as much about the profession is probably a better use of time.

I'm pretty sure if you tell the UMKC AA office about the resistance you've met they'll offer some alternative to shadowing (or waive it).

 

[IrishTwins]

This is one of the unfortunate consequences of the nurse anesthetists circling their wagons. Probably your best bet is to either try to shadow an anesthesiologist (say you are interested in going to medical school) or a CRNA (say you are interested in going to nursing school).


It depends on what level of subterfuge you are comfortable with.


On the other hand, the idea of shadowing is somewhat funny when you step back and look at it. Unless you are learning anesthesia, then you really won't have a clue about what is going on during a case. Learning as much about the profession is probably a better use of time.

I'm pretty sure if you tell the UMKC AA office about the resistance you've met they'll offer some alternative to shadowing (or waive it).

This idea occurred to me during the tail end of my initial cold calling. I did receive some really helpful contact info from PM's in response to this thread, so I'm going to follow up on those tomorrow. If nothing pans out from there, I will definitely start using some subterfuge. 😎