Am I the only one??

Nursing Students SRNA

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I am curious if there are more students out there frequently fighting the urge to quit anesthesia school. Just hanging on b/c I have loans up the wazoo!!! I enjoy anesthesia for the most part, but being a student is less than glamorous!! Didactic was fine, but clinical is a different story........Any words of wisdom from other students or CRNA's would be greatly appreciated!!!

Specializes in LTC, HomeCare.
Aw man, this thread is depressing...:cry:....did any of you guys go to school in New York?

i hope nott:scrying:

WOW, this is a very scary post.

very depressing bcos I plan on attending anesthesia school later....in which states are these schools located? u dont have to name the actual school but just the state or does this happen in every anesthesia school???

Specializes in ICU.

No offense to anyone but if you have PTSD from attending CRNA school maybe it just wasn't meant to be. That is just crazy to hear that people get that upset over people bad mouthing you or hazing you like I've heard in this forum.

Specializes in Emergency Medicine.

No, you are not the only one. It occurs in paramedic clinical rotation too. When I have asked why I am being treated this way preceptors tell me they were treated this way and it will toughen me up. I stand up for myself and refuse antics like asking me to get out of the truck so I can be left on some dark lonely road in the middle of nowhere. Embarassing me in front of patients is standard procedure. There are preceptors who will not afford me the professional courtesy of seeing their written assessment of me. Degrading, discouraging comments are the norm. It takes multiple requests to even get put on the schedule. Preceptors are saying they won't ride with me because they feel I challenge them. I am learning to keep my mouth shut and not ask questions. I probably learned that lesson too late. My clinical time is running out. If I am not given the go ahead to test soon, I will be out of the program. I am losing heart. I got into this business to help people, but I am told that I am too nice and nurturing to the patients and that this is a numbers business and I better speed it up, assess, treat, and move on to the next patient. I get told I would make a better nurse than medic, which is probably true, but in order to get into an RN bridge program I need my certification. Why does healthcare clinical rotation have to be so adversarial? I never expected this.

Since there have been so many negative posts I just wanted to add my two cents on a more positive note. I have been in clinical for a couple of months now and I find most CRNA's to be totally nice. If they're not that nice it's because they are indifferent or just annoyed that they have a student with them. They're not always polite when you do something incorrectly. Many of them are attached to their own personal way of doing things and can't see past the end of their nose to see that there are many acceptable ways of achieving the same outcome. My attitude when someone is rude to me or making it difficult for me to learn is to try my hardest not to take it personally. All of these clinical instructors were in your position at some point and they all messed up sometimes and they know it but many will never admit it. You just have to be confident in yourself and know that you are an intelligent reasonable human being that is perfectly capable of performing anesthesia and you will learn what you need to know whether this person is on your side or not. When these clinical instructors are mean to students it is just ridiculous and they just seem socially retarded and unprofessional. Use the support of your fellow students and helpful teachers to get you through the rough days.

I don't think the intention of anyone is to be negative, but rather to express frustrations. I do think it is important for people who may be considering this training to understand what they may be in for. I have never witnessed or experienced any physical abuse or attacks on personal character that I have seen reported so I do not think that is the norm.

What I can speak to is my own experience and that of some of my classmates. It is a humbling experience to go back to anesthesia school. Most people in these programs were very good critical care nurses and prided themselves on their knowledge level. Once you get to school you go back to the bottom of the ladder and know NOTHING again. Being back in a clinical setting as a student is not comfortable for most of us. We went from being preceptors to being the slow, awkward student who is often in the way. The transition is not easy. Also, the program is so long that you are in this setting where you feel like you don't know enough and are not good at anything for at least 2 years. On top of that add that anesthesia school consumes your entire life. You lose touch with friends and family and activities you once enjoyed. I go days at a time without seeing my own husband. Then let us not forget the academic demands with learning and retaining an enormous amount of information, writing papers, taking tests, doing research projects, etc.

All of theses things combined with the multiple types of personalities you face in clinical setting could lead anyone to frustration. Honestly there are times when I don't know how I'm going to get through the next week or month. Then somehow I do, am fine for a few days, then get overwhelmed again. Anesthesia school is difficult and exhausting. I know many people will at some point or another reach a breaking point and question their intentions. For me is has been reassuring to read some of these posts because I feel like I am not the only one feeling this way and somehow I muster up the strength to keep going. Good luck to anyone now in school and those about to start!

Wow, I am so glad I found this thread. I know this is an older thread, but this is exactly how I feel. It is nice to know that others have experienced this too. I feel like I can't see the end yet for it is way too far away. Everyday I ask myself why I am doing this? I have straight A's, but clinical is just brutal. I try my best, but there are just some CRNAs that are plain mean and rude. There are things that I need to work on in clinical and everyday I try my best. I have many more months to go and I am not sure how I am going to endure this any longer. My only saving grace is that I change clinical sites. I am optimistic it will be better there.

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