Clinical Stage at Wolford College

Clinical work during the next 16 months will be the majority of your learning experience. In addition, reading assignments with testing will motivate continuous reading and studying. At the end of every semester an exam covering the entire assigned reading list will take place. You must pass this exam to go to the next clinical rotation.

The class will be separated into two clinical hubs (Naples & Tampa). These sites consist of several clinical affiliates that provide different and varied clinical experiences. The students will be assigned to a site for the remainder of their education. Any concerns over your education must be immediately conveyed to Wolford College. For information about the clinical sites please click here.

Clinical Experience:

Full time “Clinical Experience” shall begin during the fourth semester. Students will be in clinical a minimum of 40 hours per week for clinical practica I, II, III, and IV.

Wolford College will make reasonable efforts to ensure that all nurse anesthesia students receive fair and equitable clinical experience at all affiliation sites. All nurse anesthesia students shall be assigned clinical experience in the full scope of anesthesia practice that will permit them to sit for the National Certification Examination in Nurse Anesthesia upon completion of the program of study.

All clinical experiences shall be assigned in the following manner:

• Clinical experience time is directly related to the committed academic time and shall not exceed 60 - 65 hours of total (combined academic and clinical) committed time (average 64 hours). This commitment may change as the curriculum develops.
• Students shall be committed to a minimum 40 hours per week of clinical experience during the Clinical Practicum.
• Students may be assigned to the clinical areas during holidays and College breaks.
• Students may work any configuration of clinical assigned time to comprise the hours worked in the clinical area. Examples of these times may be: 0700-1500, 1500-2300, 2300-0700, 0700-1700, 1500-0700, 0700-1900 and 1900-0700.
• Students are expected to arrive at least ½ hour prior to the beginning of the shift to set up and be ready to start the case.
• Clinical time with call coverage will not exceed 50 hours per week. Call coverage is only that time actually present managing cases.
• At the end of your assigned shift you are expected to complete your case and be excused by your attending MDA or CRNA.

Clinical Etiquette:

It is very important for students to realize that anesthesia providers must maintain a professional attitude in the clinical setting. Sometimes it is difficult for students to disassociate themselves from getting involved in random conversations. We encourage you to tactfully minimize and excuse yourself from casual dialogue. This is your opportunity to focus on your clinical experience.

If you need to ask questions about the surgery itself or want to know more about patient outcomes or treatment, please ask your supervising CRNA or MDA first. They will know best when to ask the questions.

Working in the OR presents a different atmosphere and it takes finesse and experience to navigate this unique setting. In time you will learn when it is appropriate to talk and when it is alright to ask questions of the surgeon. In the mean time, concentrate on what you know and what your attending MDA and CRNA are teaching you. Your attention to detail will ultimately make you an exceptional clinician.

Clinical Schedules:

The Clinical Coordinator at each clinical affiliate site makes clinical schedules. Consideration is made for the level of clinical expertise and clinical case experience.

Call:

Call is a planned clinical experience outside the normal operating hours of the clinical experience. Anesthetics are delivered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Students need to know how to manage and develop call skills to remain effective in the clinical area. Students will be assigned to call on a rotating basis starting with their first clinical practicum (NUAN 6451 Clinical Practicum I). Students will benefit from call by being exposed to a great variety of emergency cases.

Student Clinical Evaluation Policy:

Nurse anesthesia students shall receive formative and summative evaluations of their clinical performance. Please click here for more information.

Dress code:

To review what you need to wear when you are at a clinical site please click here.

Please review the clinical information document for a full review of what will be expected of you during this stage. If you have any questions please call Wolford College, thank you!