As a first-year nursing student, Crystal Hunnicutt, DNAP, CRNA, decided to change her career track and become a nurse anesthetist. The trouble was, however, that she was in Southwest Virginia and didn’t have the resources —  or want —  to relocate elsewhere.

Then she saw an ad: VCU was enrolling its first class of nurse anesthetist students at its distance learning site in Abingdon. She applied and enrolled in the first class.

Now, Hunnicutt has returned full circle to VCU’s College of Health Professions, after a career spanning both clinical practice and education in the region. In January, she became director of Southwest Operations for the Department of Nurse Anesthesia. In overseeing the program’s Abingdon and Roanoke locations, she supports students, strengthens clinical partnerships and reinforces the school’s commitment in Southwest Virginia.

A Career Rooted in Southwest Virginia

Hunnicutt recalls being in labor for her daughter, when a practitioner came in and gave her an epidural, which reduces pain. “When everything was done, when he came back to check on me, I said, ‘Thank you so much, doctor.’ And he said, ‘Oh no, I’m a nurse.’ And I was like, ‘You’re a nurse?’”

At the time, Hunnicutt had just started nursing school. “I said, ‘I want to do what you do.’”

She also knew what it would take to get there, starting with the critical step of gaining required experience in intensive care units (ICUs). For years, she worked in critical care and built the foundation needed to apply to nurse anesthesia programs. By 2004, she was ready to take the next step, but relocating for school was out of the question.

“I’ve always been in Southwest Virginia. I currently reside in Big Stone Gap,” said Hunnicutt, a native of Haysi in Dickenson County, along Virginia’s border with Kentucky.

“I was a single mother. I couldn’t relocate to Richmond to attend, but I had completed all those steps necessary to go to anesthesia school —  because that was my dream. At the time, my options were limited because of my location in rural Southwest Virginia.”

Then she saw that ad campaign about VCU’s new Abingdon program. It offered the same rigorous nurse anesthesia education as the Richmond-based program — but close to home. She was accepted and made program history as part of the area’s first five-member cohort.

“We called ourselves the Fab Five. It was a big deal. It was kind of cutting edge. So, we were able to grow our group. We were able to grow with VCU,” she said. “I was in a unique situation.”

^{Hunnicutt, third from left, with her cohort following commencement exercises.}

After completing her master’s degree in 2007, she worked as a CRNA in Southwest Virginia before transitioning to education, eventually serving as program director at Lincoln Memorial University in the heart of Cumberland Gap. She initially started teaching a nursing class at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. 

“I ended up falling in love with teaching,” she said. “I enjoy figuring out how to best dissect information to make it easily understandable for my students.” 

Now, 20 years after first enrolling at VCU, she’s helping to lead the very program that shaped her career.

“Crystal brings deep experience as both a provider and an educator, and she understands firsthand the importance of anesthesia education in Southwest Virginia,” said Nickie Damico, Ph.D., CRNA, associate professor and the Herbert T. Watson Endowed Chair of the Department of Nurse Anesthesia.

“Crystal also recognizes how quality programs like ours are critical to developing highly educated practitioners who call this region home and want to provide the best caliber health care in their communities. It’s a rare calling, and she’s uniquely positioned to strengthen our connections with students, clinical sites and every local community.”

A New Role in Southwest Operations

Based in Abingdon, Hunnicutt focuses on a dual role that includes teaching and supporting students, faculty and clinical partnerships in Abingdon and Roanoke.

Her role provides more on-the-ground support for students and strengthens relationships with hospitals across the region.

“They’ve already built the program, but we want to continue to build those relationships with hospitals and for the students too. They do have a faculty member in the region now, and it makes them feel more like they belong.”

Investments in Distance Learning and Rural Health Care

VCU’s distance learning model has played a key role in expanding access to nurse anesthesia education in rural areas. The program allows students to remain in their communities while receiving the same high-quality education as those in Richmond.

“There are a lot of people who don’t have access as a patient to go outside the area for care. So, we have a great need,” Hunnicutt said.
By training students locally, the program helps address provider shortages in rural regions. “When the students rotate through the clinical sites in that area,” she said, “they’re more likely to stay.”

“The impact of training CRNAs in rural Virginia extends beyond education — it directly affects health care access for communities that often struggle with shortages. “VCU’s presence ensures access to high-quality anesthesia care,” Damico said. “Crystal’s leadership will help continue the program’s mission of training CRNAs where they are needed.”

Beyond Richmond, VCU offers its full Nurse Anesthesia curriculum in Alexandria, Roanoke and Abingdon. Students at distance sites take classes simultaneously with those in Richmond through videoconferencing and web-based lessons. In addition, VCU faculty provide in-person instruction and simulation training onsite.

Looking Ahead

Hunnicutt sees her return to VCU as an opportunity to build on what’s in place and to ensure that Southwest Virginia remains a stronghold for CRNA education.

“I want people to know we’re there. We’re working diligently to fulfill that need,” she said. “I feel like it’s kind of a higher calling. I have more pride when I see my students do something than if I do it myself.”