CRNA school

New CCU RN · Mar 20, 2003

I'd love to hear the questions. Congrats to you on getting accepted!!! That is awesome. I wish I had good fin aid info for ya, but I am just a SRNA wanna-be right now :)

susan124 · Mar 20, 2003

Congradulations and good luck. I would love to hear the questions also. I am just now deciding that this may be the direction for me to take in my "new life". I am recently divorced and find my self with a 5 1/2 yr old and a 1 yr old to raise alone. I plan to pick up where I left off 6 years ago when I quit school to get married. I was almost finished with my BSN. I hope to complete it within a year or so and want to be working towards the next goal during this time.

The hospital where I work offers 18,000 a year scholarship. You do not have to work during this time but do have to sign a contract to work upon completion.

Reg911 · Mar 20, 2003

I had just bought the PASS CCRN book, thanks for the input. Also, I would love to hear the questions.

Thanks

icumac · Mar 20, 2003

The questions that I got asked on the CRNA interview pertained to invasive monitoring, hemodynamic issues, as well as ACLS protocol. The interviewers are more interested in knowing that you can provide more than just a memorized answer. You have to know why you are providing that particular answer. A lot of these questions are like an oral CCRN exam. I got a lot of support from the peers that interviewed before me, which I think is important in the long run.

Passin' Gas · Mar 20, 2003

Wow. So how are you going to get through anesthesia school? Ask upperclassmen to give you test questions??

As a CRNA you have to not only know WHAT you are doing but more importantly, WHY you are doing things.

These type of interview questions are used to assess depth of knowledge. It takes a thinker, not just a doer to be an independent CRNA.

PG

Passin' Gas · Mar 21, 2003

Kudos to ICUMAC! :) He/she originally posted specific questions on the BB but has edited the posting to be more general.

:specs: Studying CCRN material is the best way to improve your knowledge base and you will be a much stronger ICU RN. The next step is taking that knowledge and applying it to particular patient situations...understanding the hemodynamics, understanding how drugs work, etc. Making that connection takes critical thinking skills. And that is the difference between an ICU nurse and a GREAT ICU nurse!

yoga crna · Mar 21, 2003

I have never been an ICU nurse, but have known a lot in my lifetime. My sense of most nursing is that they really want a "recipe card" for what they do and are not as interested in knowing why or how. I have done some lecturing to nurses on conscious sedation and they get furious because I won't give them doses of drugs and say things like "titrate to effect". Of course this is generalization, and I am sure that many of you are confident in knowing why things work. But my point in bringing it up is, in anesthesia, you don't have an "order" for every drug you give or change of a ventilator. You need to, very quickly, make an assessment and proceed with intervention without reviewing a dosage chart.

My suggestion for preparing for anesthesia school is: improve your observation skills, look for the reason why for everything you do in the ICU and get in the habit of reading professional literature. I check medline on a regular basis for information about medications my patients may be taking and new research and concepts that are interesting or relevant to my practice.

I would also set up a good filing system, both hard files on on your computer, so you have a good mechanism for reviewing the masses of information you will be receiving. Then I would make sure you have good ways to have a balance in your life that will take you through school. Join a gym, take up Yoga (I had to say that), read non-anesthesia books and find a way to have fun.

Yoga

jewelcutt · Apr 9, 2003

It took me a while as a nurse tech and as a new nurse in the icu to understand "titrate to effect" until I got hands on experience. Of course it helps to know the basic doses and maxes, but the beauty of titrating is critically thinking what all these drugs do to hemodynamics. That's what I love most about the CVICU

Calhobbes · Apr 9, 2003

congrats on your acceptance!! i would love to review those interview questions. thanks for sharing!! good luck to you.