Having a difficult time finding shadowing opportunities? This is for you!

Say you’ve exhausted the usual ways to try to shadow a CRNA, i.e. reaching out to your hospital’s anesthesia department. Or maybe you’re a traveler and don’t feel comfortable doing this. OR you’re like me and you didn’t want a single soul in your hospital knowing you were applying to CRNA school (*eyeroll* at the toxic workplace that doesn’t support our goals, amiright??) I’m here to give you some ideas on how to gain some shadowing experience and tell you about my completely non-traditional way of how I gained mine!

Why Shadowing is Essential for CRNA Applicants

When I was in the early stages of forming my applications for CRNA school, I knew that shadowing would be a vital piece of the package. Not only did I want to showcase to potential programs that I was serious about the profession, but I also wanted to ensure this was exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life! Afterall, anesthesia school is a huge commitment – 3+ years of your life, hundreds of thousands of dollars… okay okay I’m not here to talk about the demands of CRNA school (that’s for a different post *wink*) But what I am here to tell you is that gaining shadowing experience IS possible, even if you seemingly have no connections or leads.

As I mentioned earlier, I chose not to shadow at the hospital I was working at due to fear of backlash. Another reason I decided against trying to shadow at my hospital was because they did not hire CRNAs. I knew that I wanted to at least start with shadowing a CRNA to give me that familiarity and insight to the exact path I wanted to take before I (if ever) reached out to MDAs.

Non-Traditional Methods to Secure Shadowing Experience

1. Contact Your State Nurse Anesthesia Association

• A quick Google search for “[State] Nurse Anesthesia Association” should do the trick. I scoured the webpage for information for students and prospective applicants and emailed them via the Contact Us page. They were able to provide me with some information on people and places I could reach out to for shadowing opportunities.

2. Reach Out to CRNA Programs

• There were 2 schools in my state that helped facilitate shadowing for prospective applicants. This is an excellent route, especially if one of the programs is in your top choices!

3. Research Local CRNA Practices

• I literally took this to Google! These were far and few to come by given my geographical location, but I reached out to almost all of them. I even found emails on job board postings for CRNAs via Google jobs, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter. I also looked on the coveted GasWork.com site to see if they listed any places that were currently hiring CRNAs, and then reached out to those organizations. THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is how I landed my (first) shadowing experience! Instead of cold-calling places, I cold-emailed them, and I still LOL whenever I say this term.

My Personal Journey

While this list isn’t overly extensive (or exhaustive by any means), these were the steps I took to finally gain some shadowing experience. And the best part? I gained 2 additional shadowing days at another facility seeing different types of anesthesia, all from that first day. One of my letters of recommendation to the school I was later accepted to was even from one of the CRNAs I shadowed!

Conclusion

All this to say that shadowing can be difficult to obtain sometimes, but there are ways, albeit some non-traditional, that can help you on your path. The greatest takeaway from shadowing for me was that it provided GREAT experiences/talking points for my essays/personal statements and interviews.

So, get out there, put yourself out there, and start shadowing!