What other types of clinical opportunities are important for students to obtain in order to promote their development as competent, safe nurse anesthetists?

All accredited nurse anesthesia programs are required to develop clinical curricula that provide students with opportunities for experiences in the perioperative process that are unrestricted and promote their development as competent, safe nurse anesthetists (ref. 2004 Standards – Standard III, Criterion C17 and PDS Standard E.9). Clinical curricula are to prepare graduates for the full scope of nurse anesthesia practice; programs are required to demonstrate that their graduates have acquired knowledge, skills, and competencies in patient safety, perianesthetic management, critical thinking, communication, and the competencies needed to fulfill their professional responsibilities. The PDS Standards support the AANA Scope of Nurse Anesthesia Practice. The graduate competencies are identified in the 2004 Standards – Standard III, Criteria C21a-e and PDS Standards D1-51.