Expert: JM Starkman, MD - 7/17/2009

Question
Hello, I'm not sure if you can answer my questions but I hope you can! I'm 20 years old & I have no nursing school yet, I start next May on the road to become a CRNA, every since I had a spinal block when I had my son this field has highly interested me. Now the benefit I do have is that besides the year or two required to work in a Acute care setting I don't have to work the next 6/7 years while I attend school, now my questions are- 1- What are the steps to become a CRNA? Because every website tells me something different, I'm not worried so much if it takes 7 years I just want to know my plan & what I have to do. & 2- How does insurance work? Do you have to carry your own or does the hospital carry it? & I'm also worried because this lady I talked to once said she wanted to sue her anesthesiologist because her sciatic nerve was pinched from a epidural, & it seems like everybody tries to sue everyone now a days so how likely is it to be sued?  Thank you so much for your time, hope to hear back from you soon!


Answer
Quite the exhaustive question! You are doing the right thing now to line up your concerns and begin understanding the ups, but more importantly, the downs of any career decision you undertake:

1-A Baccalaureate nursing degree and considerable experience in an ICU setting is the usual prerequite for CRNA school matriculation.

2-Liability insurance varies, and in most cases the employer buys the policy.....i.e. if YOU are the boss, you'll buy it, if you're the employee you will be covered under your company's global policy. Hospitals are usually not the employer, but there are many exceptions, contract deals, etc...

"Likely to be sued?".....as long as doctors and nurses have fat liability policies whose coverage numbers ($$$) attract plaintiffs attorneys there will be a high likelihood of getting sued.

Best wishes and the best of luck in your future:  you're quite young----shoot for the long term and stick diligently to your goals, they may change along the way as you become more knowledgeable and more convinced about what exactly you wish to pursue.