Getting CAA shadowing hours
Shadowing is the single clearest signal that you understand what a CAA actually does. Committees read zero shadowing as uninformed motivation. Here's how to get hours and turn them into a stronger application.
Why shadowing carries weight
CAA programs interview pre-professional applicants who haven't worked clinically in anesthesia. Documented shadowing shows you've seen the role up close and chosen it deliberately — over nursing, PA, or medicine.
It also gives you the concrete material that makes a personal statement and interview answers specific instead of generic.
How to find opportunities
Start with your network: ask professors, advisors, and anyone you know in healthcare for an introduction to a CAA or anesthesiologist.
Contact anesthesia groups and hospital anesthesia departments directly, and use the AAAA to find CAAs practicing in your state. A short, professional email explaining your goal goes a long way.
Make the hours count
Log every session with the date, location, supervising provider, and a few notes on what you observed — an induction, an airway, hemodynamic management, the team dynamic.
Those specifics become your best interview and statement material. Track totals so you can report them accurately on CASAA.
How much is enough
Meet any stated program minimum first (often around 8 hours), then keep going — depth across multiple sessions reads better than a single visit.
Quality matters as much as quantity: a few well-understood, well-documented experiences beat a large number you can't speak to.
Put it into action
Track prerequisites, score your candidacy, and plan your CASAA timeline — free to start.
General guidance — program requirements vary and change. Always confirm specifics on each program's official page and on CASAA.