The Anesthesia Record

My name is Amy and I'm a first-year anesthesia student at Winston-Salem's Baptist Hospital, which is 1 of the 2 nurse anesthesia programs associated with UNC Greensboro.  Baptist, also known as Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center or WFUBMC, offers qualified nurses the opportunity to complete 2-year integrated Nurse Anesthesia Program (NAP).  This means that, instead of spending a year or more in the classroom prior to applying that knowledge in the operating room, I will be learning a large amount of general anesthesia concepts at the outset to prepare me for the OR, which I will enter after 2 months of didactic learning.  This also means that the first 2 months as an SRNA will be a whirlwind, to put it mildly.

As for me personally, I'm a 29 year-old who, before my return to the classroom, worked as a nurse in UNC Hospital's Surgical/Trauma ICU, located in Chapel Hill.  But I wasn't always a nurse.  After graduating from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce in 2003, I worked as an assistant buyer for Hecht's, a department store chain operating along the east coast (though it was later purchased and absorbed by Macy's).  In the summer of 2006 I left Hecht's and relocated to North Carolina to attend UNC's 14-month accelerated BSN program, which I completed the following year.

I have never been married (though I am in a long-term, long-distance relationship) and I do not yet have any kids of my own.  I'm very close with my parents and siblings, all of whom are incredibly supportive of my career and academic goals.  These points, I feel, are important to mention because not everyone enters anesthesia school with the same responsibilities (or lack thereof) and support system that I do.  As a result, my perceptions and experiences may significantly differ from those with families, commutes, or the like.  In fact, my perspective will almost certainly differ.

Regardless of your personal situation, I hope that my experience sheds some light onto the process of becoming a CRNA and aids your career decision or transition into anesthesia school.  If I can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to email me at the following address: srnalife@gmail.com.