Independence Health System currently enrolls approximately 30 students
each year for its 36 month program. Students come from a wide variety
of settings, including CCU, ER, ICU, NICU, PACU, PICU, TICU and SICU.
Classes begin each January, with competition for the positions extremely high.
Students work closely with the faculty at the school, as well as with the
CRNAs in clinical areas to develop their skills. The school currently
offers more than 20 clinical sites, ranging from small community facilities
to large trauma hospitals. The variety of settings allows the student
to become familiar with multiple ways of administering an anesthetic in
a wide range of situations. Students are required to perform 600 total
cases by graduation, with most of our graduates completing well over 800 cases.
Students experience a “family” type environment with individualized
support from staff, clinicians and their cohorts. Competition here is
driven from within the individual, not among students. Faculty advisors
are provided, as well as mentors from the junior class to offer a supportive
environment for learning.
Excela Health anesthesia students are well recognized in the field as professionals
who are well-prepared and ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s
health care world.