CRITICAL CARE EXPERIENCE
Many people have questions about just what type of work experience will fulfill the requirement for "critical care experience".
Obviously, any of the intensive care units will qualify:
- Medical
- Surgical
- Neonatal
- Pediatric
- Cardiovascular
- Cardiopulmonary
- Others
But this is not an all inclusive list.
Many different types of work environments may qualify as a critical care setting. Applicants' individual work experiences are reviewed by the admission's committee.
The committee will be looking for evidence that the applicant has developed independent decision-making and psychomotor skills along with the ability to interpret advanced monitoring techniques based on physiologic and pharmacologic principles.
What
if I don't have ICU experience?
Even
if you have never worked in an intensive care unit,
there are other types of environments that offer similar
opportunities for growth.
These may include
When
describing your unit in your application, remember
the things the committee will be looking for (see
above).
Many
anesthesia students come from non-ICU backgrounds
and do well in school and on the certification exam
(boards). BUT, statistically, as a group, students
with ICU experience have higher grades and higher
first time pass rates on boards.
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