The group of nurse anesthesia students with two of their professors before attending the AANA Annual Meeting. From left to right: Manuel Tolosa, assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesia; Amanda Hughes, Marian Santos, Kate Olsen, Vickie Stephens, senior nurse anesthesia majors; Alescia DeVasher-Bethea, chair of the Department of Nurse Anesthesia; and Michael Kuria, senior nurse anesthesia major.
In August of this year, five students travelled to San Francisco, Calif. to attend the annual meeting for nurse anesthesia students and certified registered nurse anesthetists.
At the meeting, which is conducted by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), the students attended lectures about current anesthesia practices and met anesthesia professionals. The meeting also gave them a chance to get a foot in the door in the industry.
“You have employers and recruiters from all over the country so it was a good opportunity to network,” says Michael Kuria, senior nurse anesthesia major.
Not everything at the event was business though, and this year one student from Adventist University of Health Sciences had a unique opportunity.
Amanda Hughes, senior nurse anesthesia major, participated in the AANA annual college bowl.This year, Amanda Hughes, senior anesthesia major, was the first ADU student selected to participate in the annual Anesthesia College Bowl. She joined a team of students from around the country and competed to answer anesthesia-related questions.
For Amanda, it was a fun way to step outside of her comfort zone and gave her a great reason to restudy all the anesthesia-related material she’s learned in her classes. “It was exciting to be asked to represent the school and show what we’ve learned,” she says. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
While her team did not make it past the first round, Amanda and the rest of the students that attended left the event with something better than winning a competition.
Manuel Tolosa, assistant professor in the Department of Nurse Anesthesia, described their excitement upon returning:
“They came back and shared their experience, it was motivating for them and their classmates.”
-by Sarah Crowder
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