What was the rationale for establishing a minimum total case number requirement of 600 cases, rather than the proposed 650 cases in the first draft Standards?

In establishing the minimum total case number requirement, the Standards Revision Task Force (SRTF) carefully assessed over a 3 year period the clinical requirements of other accrediting agencies such as the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirements for anesthesiology residents, comments from the community of interest obtained through 4 Calls for Comments and 8 Hearings and Focus Sessions held on the draft Standards, 2 surveys, and the analysis of NBCRNA transcript data.  The SRTF considered various options in establishing the minimum total case number requirement. This included a review of the literature related to clinical competency and the use of a benchmarking process. In addition the COA established a minimum number of clinical hours. This new requirement recognizes the value of students providing anesthesia care for longer and more complex cases versus an increased number of less complex cases (refer FAQ below).