Career change

Specialties CRNA

Published

Hello everyone. I just wanted to introduce myself and say thank you for the discussions. I have been a nurse for about 10 years and have worked mostly med-surg/adult health. I started out in med-surg but hit burnout after the 4th year. I was miserable! :crying2: I left the hospital to do home health, Hospice, clinic work, dialysis, nursing home, LVN/LPN clinical education, and management. (Which I found I was frustrated with because I couldn't make any changes for the nurses.) I returned to med-surg...God knows what possessed me...and have already started with the s/sx of burnout again. I have been floating to ICU lately, and have found that even though the patients are more critical, the patient load is more manageable. I have decided to transition into ICU full-time. Anyway, what brings me here is a recommendation from an MD that I should become a CRNA. I never considered this career field, so I am just gathering information at this point. I know I'll need to work critical care for year or more before applying to schools. I have a highschooler I want to get closer to college first anyway. My questions are concerned with the actual work of the CRNA. What is your work routine like? What do you actually do in your position? Do any of you place central lines or PICC lines? What hours do you work? Rotating schedules? How about call? I plan to shadow a CRNA here in the next few weeks if I can work it out. Thank you for your time and assistance. Julie

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i think one of the most valuable things you can do is to approach someone in the anesthesia dept and ask to shadow for a day or so. this will give you more information on what crna's do more so than anything anyone here can tell you.

but i'll try

depending on the case, you manage a patient's anesthesia and analgesia and amnesia. anesthesia is done through, general (ett / gas / narcs)

spinal, epidural, or other regional block, or some level of deep sedation.

analgesia is through pharmocologic intervention.

amnesia the same.

you manage the patients airway if you need to render the patient apneic.

there is preop assessment

intraop inerventions, monitoring of all vs and hemodynamics

emergence

transfer to recovery.

each portion has a myriad of different levels, but this is the overall quick synopsis.

d

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