Each year, Texas Wesleyan University welcomes clinical coordinators to a conference focused just on them. While the location of this conference has changed year over year, the subjects continue to focus on topics related to Resident Registered Nurse Anesthetist education. The clinical coordinators are typically CRNAs with the occasional MDA, who practice full-time at a clinical site and then volunteer to coordinate student activities such as daily case assignments, evaluations, and the occasional personnel issue.

These coordinators have the heavy responsibility of determining readiness to graduate. The annual clinical coordinator meeting is not only a venue for imparting new COA regulations or solutions to common challenges but also gives the university a way to strengthen relationships between the school and the clinical site.

This year’s topics included an overview of the clinical coordinator role, AI in anesthesia, having difficult conversations in the OR (between students and staff), stress and burnout among RRNAs, and working with students. Experienced coordinators often pitch in with “words of wisdom” for the newer coordinators.

Two students also presented their research from their Doctoral Scholarly Work class. These students were Great Oguejiofor and Christina Del Rosario. The program is also excited to announce this years Clinical Coordinator of the Year: Dr. Donald Ivy and to recognized coordinators with multiples of 5 years of service: Dr. Eric Evert, 20 years; Dr. Jason Jarrett, 15 years; Dr. Kirk Cason, 5 years and Dr. Greg McDonald, 5 years. Texas Wesleyan is blessed to work with so many wonderful clinical coordinators! We couldn’t do it without you!