Choosing to become a CRNA requires a lot of hard work or dedication but the time has never been better to enter this profession. We wanted to get a better sense of the challenges and opportunities for anesthesia school students in 2020 and Dr. Kristie Hoch, DNP, CRNA, MS, RRT, from the University of Arizona’s College of Nursing will help us gain that perspective.

About the guest: Dr. Kristie Hoch, DNP, CRNA, MS, RRT is the Program Administrator for the University of Arizona's DNP-Nurse Anesthesia program. She chose to become a CRNA after serving with them in Desert Storm.  Kristie has years of experience as a CRNA in every practice model and setting, to include office based, critical access, academic teaching hospital and trauma centers

Check out the show notes and get additional resources here: https://beyondthemaskpodcast.com/?p=2309 

***CE CREDIT ALERT: Did you know you can get continuing education credit from the AANA for listening to this episode? Go to AANACKN.com to get the details and get your credit today! And see a list of other episodes that qualify for CE credit here. Note, some episodes are pending CE approval and may have an expiration date.

Today's show rundown: 

2:08 – Welcome in our guest Dr. Kristie Hoch, DNP, CRNA, MS, RRT 

2:33 – Today we’re focusing on students and their perspectives as they learn in anesthesia school.

3:57 – This is an important topic because these students are our future and we need to provide all the tools they need.

4:29 – What are the advantages of being a nurse anesthesia student in 2020?

6:17 – Online classes today allow Kristie to provide students the lecture ahead of time and use class for discussion.

7:24 – Anesthesia class is such a challenge so we want to make sure each student has a support system.

7:50 – Students are able to find mentorships through social media and other online sites.

9:00 – How has the demand for CRNAs affected Kristie’s work?

10:22 – How is the DNP changing opportunities for students and CRNAs?

12:20 – Dr. Hoch shares an ‘aha moment’

13:25 – The prospects for these graduating students is very bright in 2020.  

14:42 – One of the big challenges still is how costly the education process has become.

16:48 – Financial education needs to be a conversation for students throughout the process.

19:12 – We tell students to live like they did on a nurse salary for a few years to pay off debt and gain control of finances.

21:24 – Another thing students are completely unaware of is that they move up a tax bracket.

21:49 – A popular conversation we have with students is W-2 vs 1099 work.

22:38 – What are some of the other challenges are students are facing right now?

26:29 – Social media has its advantages, but it can also be very disruptive to students and their careers.  

30:25 – There’s so much negativity on social media with people tearing each other down. Why is that?

31:48 – How Dr. Hoch got into education. She shares the story of saying no to the job and why her mind changed.

33:50 – Dr. Hoch explains the unique way that she picks her travel.            

35:09 – Her last trip was to Santa Fe.

35:46 – Dr. Hoch’s final message to students about how challenging school is but how rewarding it will ultimate be.