Understanding the effect of stress on Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists (SRNAs) during their CRNA school could improve the development or expansion of program structure and wellness interventions to help manage stress during school. Support by CRNA programs and faculty could improve coping strategies and address areas of concern that extreme levels of anxiety, depression, and stress can have on SRNAs. After the approval from the Institutional Review Board, a survey was created on Qualtrics and was sent out through email as a solicitation to four CRNA programs: three programs being frontloaded curriculum structures and one school an integrated program. Responses to the survey included a total of 114 SRNAs at various levels of their education in CRNA schools. Results of the survey showed that SRNAs experience higher than normal, in some cases, extreme levels of stress, anxiety, and depression during CRNA school. Education on stress and positive coping should begin as early as the interview process for future SRNA candidates and continue throughout their career in anesthesia school. Furthermore, most students participating in the survey did not feel that their school or faculty supported their mental health and well-being. The conclusion is that the development of wellness programs and mental health education is necessary for SRNAs during CRNA school. These programs should begin early to help the SRNA develop positive coping mechanisms to utilize during CRNA school. More research is needed to determine if the structure of the CRNA curriculum frontloaded verse integrated influences the stress load that an SRNA experiences during CRNA school.

Creator

• Pennington, Brigette

Contributors

• Wagner, Madeline

Language

• English

Keyword

• CRNA

• SRNA

• stress

• depression

• anxiety

• wellness program

• mental health

Date created

• 2023

Resource type

• Research Paper

Rights statement

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/