u/tozli

This past June I graduated from my CRNA program. After enjoying my early retirement (aka 2 months to get credentialed and turn my brain off), I’ll be starting my first job as a CRNA in a few weeks. I’ll be working at a site where I primarily trained at, so fortunately I’m very comfortable with the workflow and staff.

However, I’m curious to hear from others, what advice would you give someone about to start their career as a CRNA?

On Monday, I was supposed to fly nonstop from Cancun to Philadelphia. Unfortunately, our aircraft had a maintenance issue, and after several delays, the flight was ultimately canceled. American provided us with a hotel for the night, along with transportation to and from the airport, which I do appreciate.

The next morning (Tuesday), I received a notification that our rebooked nonstop flight had also been canceled, and I had automatically been moved to a Wednesday departure. Rather than lose another full day, I called American and was able to get rebooked on a connecting flight through Miami that same day.

My biggest frustration wasn't necessarily the maintenance issue itself, as I understand those things happen and I'd much rather they fix an aircraft than fly one with a problem. It was the communication throughout the process. Updates were sporadic, and I often felt like I had no idea what was happening or what the next step was. For example, when we were supposed to be transported back to the airport Tuesday morning, we hadn't received any meaningful communication about the cancellation, and I was just hoping the shuttle would still show up for everyone.

In the end, we arrived in Philadelphia more than 30 hours later than originally planned. While I'm grateful American covered the hotel and transportation, it was still a significant disruption to our travel plans and work schedules.

I'm curious if anyone has been in a similar situation. Were you able to receive any kind of goodwill gesture (miles, travel credit, etc.) from American after a disruption like this? If so, what was the best way to approach it?