David LaChance

An orthopedic practice in Putnam, northeastern Connecticut, an hour from Boston, needed a Registered Nurse First Assistant to assist in joint replacement surgery and the pre- and post-operative phases of patient care. They offered David LaChance, a Nurse Practitioner with 17 years of nursing experience, the job, on the condition that he obtained RNFA credentials.

David had earned his RN license at Becker Junior College, in Worcester, Massachusetts, his BSN through Regents College (now Excelsior College), in Albany, New York, and his APRN (Nurse Practitioner) at the University of Connecticut. He wanted an RNFA course with hands-on experience and textbooks, not just on-line learning. With a structured one-week intensive didactic program at the University, followed by an on-line examination and written assignments, and capped by a supervised clinical internship with his employer, the RNFA course offered by the Center for Lifelong Learning (now Edvantage), at the University of Rochester’s School of Nursing, was also the most economical. “It met my needs exactly,” David said.

David drove to Rochester and stayed in a hotel recommended by the Center. He found a cohort of fellow students from all over New England and New York, many of whom have become friends, and keep in touch through an informal network. The course was co-taught by Judy Cavanaugh, MS, ANP, RNFA. David remembers particularly interesting lectures by a urologist and a general surgeon, one of whom had to go to Italy, and pre-recorded his talk on a DVD. The skills labs gave practical experience, including the techniques of tying sutures, performed on pigs’ feet, an experience that confirmed the advantage of classroom experience.

David summed it up, “the RNFA course at the University of Rochester was perfectly set up for me—it was probably one of the best moves of my life.”