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For Kay Sanders, director of the School of Nurse Anesthesia,
collaboration is not just one of the buzzwords in the nursing
profession. It is a way of working with students, faculty, staff,
health care professionals and the organizations with which the
school is involved.
Sanders is the founding director of TCU’s School of Nurse Anesthesia.
When she came on board 10 years ago, her challenge was to create a
school that would pass accreditation, draw students and provide top
tier training. So far, all the goals have been met.
Students in the nurse anesthesia doctoral program have three
phases they must accomplish. First, they must complete eight
months of online courses. Second, they will take 12 months of on-
campus, face-to-face courses. Finally, they will work for 16 months
in a clinical residency. All three groups run concurrently, and
they rotate.
As part of the training process, Sanders has developed more than
40 clinical training sites for oversight of the students during their
clinical residency requirement. Twenty-three of the sites are primary
sites, where students generally stay for their entire clinical residency.
While most sites are in Texas, there are sites in Louisiana, California,
Florida and Alaska.
There are 20 rotating, or specialty, sites. The primary sites don’t all
offer every procedure that students need to learn, so they often are
sent to a rotating site to learn and practice a particular skill.
Much of the collaborative efforts for the School of Nurse Anesthesia
take place with the clinical coordinators who oversee the students
at these clinical sites. Sanders explained they spend time formally
and informally with each of the coordinators. Either Sanders or Hylda
Nugent, clinical education coordinator, visits each site at least once a
year to discuss issues and new ideas.
“I collaborate with clinical coordinators, clinical facilities and
anesthesia groups on an on-going basis,”Nugent said. “Credentialing
processes at clinical facilities can be very different and frequently
change. Making sure the residents meet the requirements at a
facility can be challenging.”
The school sends all clinical coordinators to the Assembly of School
Faculty, a national meeting for all anesthesia programs in the country.
In addition, Sanders and Nugent use video teleconferencing units
at all primary sites and most rotating sites to visit with students,
faculty and staff and the clinical coordinators to work out any issues
or problems.
“Mutual trust, respect and communication are vital to ensure the
clinical sites are providing the needs of the school and the residents,”
Nugent said. “At the same time professionalism and cooperation is
required of resident nurses as they learn the art of nurse anesthesia.”
Sanders points to the key to her success when she says, “Collaboration
comes naturally when the people who are your clinical coordinators
are either alumni or people you have worked with in state or
local organizations.”
Sanders is also very conscious of the importance of the clinical sites.
“I would like to have the hospitals and the facilities know how much
we appreciate the quality of their work with our students. We could
not have a nurse anesthesia programwithout our collaborators. They
are essential in the clinical education of our residents.”
COLLABORATING
UNDER ANESTHESIA
By Jim Hudson
“MUTUAL TRUST, RESPECT AND COMMUNICATION
ARE
VITAL TO ENSURE THE CLINICAL SITES ARE PROVIDING THE
NEEDS OF THE SCHOOL AND THE RESIDENTS,” NUGENT
SAID. “AT THE SAME TIME
PROFESSIONALISM AND
COOPERATION
IS REQUIRED OF RESIDENT NURSES AS
THEY LEARN
THE ART OF NURSE ANESTHESIA.”
FEATURES
The Harris College Magazine
- 2013 ·
9