2 answers
Chijim
Student
Owings Mills, Maryland
1
Question
Updated
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Does knowing that being an anesthesiologist assistant is a very important position in a surgery procedure cause any anxiety? How do you deal the anxiety and what do you do to calm yourself down. #Fall25
Im a freshman in college and I'm trying to get started with doing the pre-requisites for the CAA program at 3 different schools.
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2 answers
Karin P.
Lecturer, Academic Advisor, Career Coach
1085
Answers
Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Updated
Karin’s Answer
Hi Chijim,
If you want to become a Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant, you need to complete a bachelors degree (4 years), pass a list of pre-requisite courses and go through a masters level CAA program (~2 years). To become licensed and certified, you also need to pass the National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants (NCCAA) exam. I am assuming that you are currently in your undergraduate program and checking out different CAA programs so you can make sure to take the correct pre-requisite courses.
Now, to your question: You are correct, the anesthesiologist assistant is a very important person during surgery. Healthcare professions come with a lot of responsibility - a person's health, possibly life and well-being is in your hands. Keep in mind though that you will go through many years of rigorous training to be competent in this profession. You also won't work alone in the OR. You'll be trained on the job, you'll learn and you'll gain the experience that you are currently missing.
You are only in your first year at university. As you keep learning, your competence and confidence will increase. You will learn the theory in the classroom and the clinical skills in the hospital. You will work under an anesthesiologist and get more training. Learn what you can at each stage, gain experience and be confident that you will be given all the tools to be successful in this job. At some point, you'll be experienced and confident in your skills.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
https://www.anesthetist.org/become-a-caa
https://www.asahq.org/advocating-for-you/anesthesiologist-assistants
https://prehealth.natsci.msu.edu/health-careers/anesthesiologist-assistant/anesthesiologist-assistant-programs-and-prerequisites.aspx
If you want to become a Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant, you need to complete a bachelors degree (4 years), pass a list of pre-requisite courses and go through a masters level CAA program (~2 years). To become licensed and certified, you also need to pass the National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants (NCCAA) exam. I am assuming that you are currently in your undergraduate program and checking out different CAA programs so you can make sure to take the correct pre-requisite courses.
Now, to your question: You are correct, the anesthesiologist assistant is a very important person during surgery. Healthcare professions come with a lot of responsibility - a person's health, possibly life and well-being is in your hands. Keep in mind though that you will go through many years of rigorous training to be competent in this profession. You also won't work alone in the OR. You'll be trained on the job, you'll learn and you'll gain the experience that you are currently missing.
You are only in your first year at university. As you keep learning, your competence and confidence will increase. You will learn the theory in the classroom and the clinical skills in the hospital. You will work under an anesthesiologist and get more training. Learn what you can at each stage, gain experience and be confident that you will be given all the tools to be successful in this job. At some point, you'll be experienced and confident in your skills.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
Karin recommends the following next steps:
Michelle M.
Actress
3276
Answers
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Chijim !
Thanks for coming here for advice. What you've stated is sort of confusing because in order to take a Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant program, you would first have to obtain your Bachelors Degree in a science major with a rigorous science and math curriculum similar to a pre-med path. You stated that you're taking prerequisites, but not what you're Majoring in. You will also have to take Required General Education classes as well.
If you are doing your Bachelors courses out of three different Universities or colleges, your first step is to visit the Academic Advisor's office and see if those credits will transfer to the graduate school you plan to go to for your CAA path. My advice is to take your Bachelor Degree courses all at one university. I don't know if you're attending two community colleges and one university or what the mix is, but most Science and pre-med majors are able to attend one college for their Bachelors Degree, take all the prerequisites and then do their graduate program. Look into doing that for next semester.
You should also apply for Federal Student Financial Aid for your Bachelors Degree which will help with college expenses. Federal financial aid, including the Federal Pell Grant, cannot be received simultaneously at three different schools during the same term due to federal regulations, so for this reason, you need to go to one college. You can also apply for scholarships to help out with college expenses for your Bachelors Degree.
As for being nervous about assisting with anesthesia, I am one to believe that people do not go into this field if they are jittery about it. CAA Students in graduate school get extensive clinical experience during their graduate school training before they assist with real patients. They do a minimum of 2,000 anesthesia hours or 600 cases, which must be completed to graduate from the CAA program. So you'd have experience before attending on a real patient. You'd have courses in physiology, pharmacology, patient monitoring, and emergency preparedness. Your hands on experience in the program would also consist of learning and doing airway management, invasive monitoring, administering anesthetic agents under supervision, and performing post-operative patient rounds. So most CAA's are pretty well educated and that makes them confident and focused with and on the work. It's a process and over-thinking it will not help. Stay in the moment and focus on your Bachelors Degree. If you feel nervous feelings about this career, it's perfectly fine to explore other careers. It is a career that will demand high levels of calmness and that all depends on the person.
I hope this is informative and I wish you all the best !
Thanks for coming here for advice. What you've stated is sort of confusing because in order to take a Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant program, you would first have to obtain your Bachelors Degree in a science major with a rigorous science and math curriculum similar to a pre-med path. You stated that you're taking prerequisites, but not what you're Majoring in. You will also have to take Required General Education classes as well.
If you are doing your Bachelors courses out of three different Universities or colleges, your first step is to visit the Academic Advisor's office and see if those credits will transfer to the graduate school you plan to go to for your CAA path. My advice is to take your Bachelor Degree courses all at one university. I don't know if you're attending two community colleges and one university or what the mix is, but most Science and pre-med majors are able to attend one college for their Bachelors Degree, take all the prerequisites and then do their graduate program. Look into doing that for next semester.
You should also apply for Federal Student Financial Aid for your Bachelors Degree which will help with college expenses. Federal financial aid, including the Federal Pell Grant, cannot be received simultaneously at three different schools during the same term due to federal regulations, so for this reason, you need to go to one college. You can also apply for scholarships to help out with college expenses for your Bachelors Degree.
As for being nervous about assisting with anesthesia, I am one to believe that people do not go into this field if they are jittery about it. CAA Students in graduate school get extensive clinical experience during their graduate school training before they assist with real patients. They do a minimum of 2,000 anesthesia hours or 600 cases, which must be completed to graduate from the CAA program. So you'd have experience before attending on a real patient. You'd have courses in physiology, pharmacology, patient monitoring, and emergency preparedness. Your hands on experience in the program would also consist of learning and doing airway management, invasive monitoring, administering anesthetic agents under supervision, and performing post-operative patient rounds. So most CAA's are pretty well educated and that makes them confident and focused with and on the work. It's a process and over-thinking it will not help. Stay in the moment and focus on your Bachelors Degree. If you feel nervous feelings about this career, it's perfectly fine to explore other careers. It is a career that will demand high levels of calmness and that all depends on the person.
I hope this is informative and I wish you all the best !