Claudine Agcaoili '03

School of Nurse Anesthesia

agcaoiliI'm from Denver, Colorado, and I received my B.S.N. from Northern Illinois University. In May 2003, I graduated with a master of science nurse anesthesia from the University ofNew England.

My interest in nurse anesthesia stemmed from working in the Surgical/Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Denver Health Medical Center.

Through my ICU experience, I began to appreciate the interaction between nurse anesthetists and a variety of health care professionals. What sparked my interest in nurse anesthesia were the autonomy, decision-making capacity, accountability, and professional respect it can afford. I was content as an ICU nurse; however I wanted to take my education in the medical field much further. Nurse anesthesia is a natural choice, as I enjoy nursing, but desired additional responsibilities.

Supportive Atmosphere

What I liked about the M.S.N.A. program at the University of New England was the flexibility that the anesthesia department had with our class. All the professors are practicing C.R.N.A.s or physicians, and it really helps to hear their practical/clinical experiences in anesthesia. In addition, we had a great class; everyone was very supportive of each other. Coming from out-of-state, it really helped to have a cohesive group.

My clinical experience may have been different from the other students in my class. First of all, my primary site was at Boston Medical Center where I worked with anesthesia residents as well.

The anesthesia department treated us as if we were residents. We had a conference at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (trauma conference) and discussed anesthesia-related topics for a half hour (our room had to be ready before conference). We were in the O.R. all day and then had afternoon anesthesia conferences on Wednesdays and Thursdays with the residents. Our week could be educationally overwhelming to say the least!

Best Education Possible

My working knowledge at a Level 1 trauma/teaching hospital provided me an opportunity to receive the best education possible while working with a variety of experienced health professionals and enabled me to obtain a first-hand view of the importance of a teaching environment. Through endless pages of reading and discussions with our anesthesia department, I enhanced my knowledge in anesthesia and the teamwork it entails, as well as an independent atmosphere.

I also rotated out of my primary site for a total of four months. I had two wonderful and amazing rotations out to Cottage Hospital in Woodsville, N.H. (lots of regional anesthesia experience) and Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, N.H. (cardiac-vascular). Amazing rotations!!!

I enjoy practicing anesthesia, and I am very excited that I am in a professional career that I love to do. I do believe that the University of New England offers its students a challenging and rewarding curriculum. The strong program prepares graduates to fill the many roles required of a nurse anesthetist in today's health care system.

As far as my future plans, I will be headed back to Denver for a little while and will mainly focus on studying for boards and spending time with my family. But I have accepted a job at University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle.    
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