Single SRNAs..

TraumaNurse · Feb 9, 2005

I'll remember that! Most graduate students I know, including medical and law, have lives outside of school. I don't know any SRNAs offline but if they can do it we certainly can.
Traumanurse, can you give us the outline of a typical week? How do you plan so everything (important) gets done?

First of all it makes a difference of whether you are in an integrated program or a front loaded. My program is integrated so I can only give you an example of a typical week for me. Maybe someone from a front-loaded program can give an example of one of their weeks.

I get my schedule for each week on Friday afternoon prior. I usually look at what I have to do for school and figure out which days I can fit things in like the gym, errands, movies and study.

If I start my week on Sunday, it goes like this:

SUN: I play with the kids in the am (wife is sleeping since she gets home at 3 am). When wifey gets up, I will usually study/read for about 2 hours before she has to go to work again at 3pm. I make dinner for the kids, give them a bath and then they usually watch a movie before bed. In the hour that they watch a movie, I will often read or work on a project. After the kids are in bed by 8:30-9pm I will study more if I have a test or watch TV.

MON: This semester I am in class from 7:30 until 3pm. I try to get to the gym for an hour before dinner with the family. After dinner, I will either read for a couple of hours and/or prepare care plans for the next days cases. I try to go to bed by 11pm and I always wind down for an hour before bed with no study (Just to avoid anesthesia school nightmares! :chuckle )

TUES: Up at 4:45, in the OR by about 5:50am. Prepare my room, drugs, etc for 7 am start. I am usually out of OR by 3. This semester is a tough one because I then leave the hospital and drive over to the university for evening classes 4:30-7:30. I will either go to the gym after or go home and prepare for clinical.

WED: Same as Tuesday without evening class. I will put in 2-3 hours study in the evening. In the afternoon, I will play with the kids and hand out until after dinner.

THURS: We have 1 rotating day off so if it is today I would study for 3-4 hours in the morning. Evening classes at 4:30-7:30. Watch TV or spend time hanging out with the family.

FRI: Call day. I study in the am and maybe hit the gym again (If this is a good exercise week) Go to OR by 3pm and am in-house call until 7am sat. If I am not on-call, I take Fridays off and spend with the family. This is my "date night" so when we can get a babysitter, we will go out.

SAT: Sleep if I didn't get any on-call. I spend the day with the kids as the spouse is working again, study while they watch the pre-bed movie and kick back and relax for some "alone" time when everyone is tucked in.

Since I am in an integrated program, my weeks vary. Some I am busier than others. If I have a bunch of exams I may skip the gym to spend an extra few hours studying. Some weeks, I hardly study and watch a lot of movies. After this semester, I will have no more evening classes and only anesthesia classes 1 day/week with no rotating day off. I will be in the OR 4 days a week for the remainder of the program plus my call shifts (16 hr weekday and 24 hour weekend). The seniors from my program all say they have more leisure time now that they are getting into their last few months of the program.

My advice, take it week by week. Don't overwhelm yourself with the amount of work you have to do in the semester and plan your time well. As others have said, DO NOT get behind.

We had to complete "time studies" for school to assess our time committments. This semester I am averaging 10 hours/week study, 12 hours class time, 30 hours clinical. Some people in my class put a lot more time reading than I do, but then again, I am not obsessed over being a straight 'A' student. I like to find a good balance in my life between being successful in school, clinical, being a dad and husband, and finding some alone time for me whether to work out or just relax playing guitar or surfing the net (hanging out at allnurses). Sorry if this is lengthy, but I hope it helps.

CougRN · Feb 9, 2005

Speaking from a front-loaded program I will tell you how my first two semesters have been.

First semester we had 19 credits. We only have classes on Tue/Wed/Thur. So these were long days starting normally at 8am and going until 4pm except one day was until 8pm. Most of us don't study on school days, just try to absorb what we learn each day and maybe review notes. The other four days are ours to do what ever with. I would say that i averaged 6 hours studying for 3 of these four days. If i had an exam then i would study about 6 hours a day for all four days but if not then i had one day off for myself. Also, in my program we have an "observation only" clinical day every third monday so we get used to being in an OR and pick up a few things along the way.

Second semester we have 16 credits and that is making a huge difference. We still have one late day that goes until 8pm but most days don't start until 9am and we are done often on thursday by 2pm. Now I study about 4-6 hours on two of my days off, unless i have an exam. I will study on school days now just to fill in time between classes. Learning is more self-directed now too and I try to review material from last semester too. I'm trying to learn drug dosages and review them often to keep them fresh. But I do have more time for myself now too. Once clinicals start in April it will all change though.

We have clinicals 5 days a week then. In to the OR around 6am until 3-4pm. Your week starts Sunday night when you get a patient to do a care plan for that night that you will have in the AM and we do this every night Sun-Thur. So our only true day off is Saturday where we try to review all the stuff we didn't know in clinical that week. So it's a lot more time consuming when clinicals start but I can't tell you how bad it is until later this year.

sway · Feb 10, 2005

This seems to have become one of the most useful and interesting threads in a while. Thanks to those who took the time to write as much as they did...

MORE, MORE!!!!

Pete495 · Apr 5, 2005

I found this thread somewhat useful as well. As someone already said, it is all relative. My dilemma is a little bit different. I've been with the same person for a little over a year now. I've been making arrangements for school, and this will require a move 2-2.5 hours away. she kinda wants to come with me, but we're both not sure it is a good idea as I will have to move back here to my current inhabitance to fulfill a contract that is paying for my education (unless i pay off the contract and bolt).

My dilemma is that I realize how difficult school will be, and even though she is a nurse too, I don't think she realizes the time I am going to have to put into this. I'm not the kind of person things come easy for, so I do not think I will be home a lot. But I also realize there are others out there as well who will have to study as much as I. we couldn't have gotten where we are now through easy channels. In any case, she doesn't want to move without some sort of commitment. Even if I could afford a ring right now, which i can't, it wouldn't happen for at least 3 years. I'm not anticipating a ceremony is feasible during school, with money and time being an issue. Her parents are devout catholic, and would disapprove of us moving together, which makes it twice as hard, and she is an only child, so is quite close with her parents, actually more so the other way around, but it's still difficult.

all that being said, we have some hard decisions to make before it all goes down. I've been looking for a place to live, one that is big enough for two people, but I guess we will have to wait and see. I think it comes down to what we both want to do.

On another front, I'm looking at buying a house now instead of renting. I am hoping for more responses in the other thread about buying a house.

By the way, this board is a valuable asset for school. Keep coming back!

jewelcutt · Apr 5, 2005

Pete, it's as simple as this:

If your girlfriend understands what you've put into just getting accepted to school and the real committment that you understand you need to have in school then she will be supportive in realizing that she may not see you much for the next few years. I know significant others, boyfriends, girfriends that get through the program with each other because they're meant to be together. However, I also know a few who broke up first semester because they were selfish and ultimately didn't belong together. Don't get married, move in, etc unless you're ready to, it sounds like it by your thread that you're not. If she wants a committment she'll have to wait, if she wants to see you then she'll have to drive out to see you, if she truely wants to live with you then she'll move in with you and tell her parents to deal with it. If someone can't sacrifice for two years to let their loved one achieve their dreams then that person isn't worth being with. Anesthesia school is really going to test your committments, it helps when people are understanding and help you out along the way, this also goes for family members, friends, etc.

Athlein1 · Apr 6, 2005

Jewelcutt is right. Married CRNA here with a very strong relationship and a spouse that I would do just about anything for. But, I can tell you honestly that these past two years have put phenomenal strain on our relationship. There are ups and downs, of course, but I don't think we could have weathered the rough patches if we didn't have an established marriage.

You will be working so hard at school. Think long and hard about how much "work" will be required of you outside of your scholastic endeavours, be it in a relationship, with kids, at a per diem job, etc. Because at the end of some days, you have one functioning neuron and half a nerve...

saminde · Apr 14, 2005

I experienced a very similar situation a few years back during my RN program. I was basically the only single person, out of 20 in my class. One really annoying thing I noticed was that people with families (especially kids) were constantly being granted exceptions to assignments, due dates, etc. They were always cut a bunch of slack because of their kids...getting to leave early, arrive late, absences excused, etc. I always thought this was totally unfair to me, since I see children as a life choice, and I choose not to have them but to do other things. Why should my preferences be treated as less important than theirs?
Do any of you single SRNAs notice this type of discrimination?

Wow... What school do you attend? I'm a married, mother of a preschooler and a toddler in an accelerated BSN program in Virginia... there are only 2 married people in my class, and we get screwed over! They schedule classes whenever it's convenient for the traditional students (for example, all classes in 1 day even if they run until 9 PM- when daycares have LONG been closed!!!). Honestly, I find myself having to fight to get a daytime clinical because I have no family here except my husband, who is working 24/7 to support us! Seems the grass is always greener...! Sorry to hear that all of you are lonely; I'm sure it would be nice to have someone to encourage you when you're getting frustrated. I think no matter what side of this thing you're on, it's hard to go to school as an adult. Money is always an issue. For my spouse and me (he's a police officer... you can imagine the pay with 4 of us living off it!!!), it's been one sacrifice after another. And NOW... I've discovered a passion for anesthesia and have been talking about grad school in a few years. I'm absolutely going to drive my husband insane with my educational goals. Good luck to all of you! Thanks for the interesting reading! :)

PROPOFOL · May 1, 2005

Try being single in the same program as your ex-girlfriend, who decided to brake up with you a week before school started. You both moved to a strange city where neither knows anyone but each other, you have to see her every day for the next 2 1/2 years, and now you don't even talk to each other anymore. How awkward is that? Your classmates notice this unusual dynamic and you can't even talk about it. It' a small tight knit group and everyone knows everybody elses business. What are the odds of a couple both getting in the same program first of all and then this happeneing. It really adds to the list of stressors in the life of a sRNA. Thankfully my passion for become a Anesthetist has prevailed and I am approaching the end of my first year with a strong performance. Oh by the way did I mention she is dating someone else and I'm still single...

Gump · May 1, 2005

Now that is an awkward and stressful situation...

It's cool that you are handling it well...

Don't worry too much about how you think your classmates view this. Just continue to be nice, sociable, and take it one-day-at-a-time...

I find it pretty suspect that she broke it off with you a week before classes started, but will not assume anything... I'm of the belief that things happen for a reason. God has a plan for all of us and we are not supposed to know what it is.

Be positive and stay sharp!

-gump

PROPOFOL · May 1, 2005

Now that is an awkward and stressful situation...
It's cool that you are handling it well...
Don't worry too much about how you think your classmates view this. Just continue to be nice, sociable, and take it one-day-at-a-time...
I find it pretty suspect that she broke it off with you a week before classes started, but will not assume anything... I'm of the belief that things happen for a reason. God has a plan for all of us and we are not supposed to know what it is.
Be positive and stay sharp!
-gump

Thanks Gump, I appreciate the words of wisdom. I also find it suspect and your guess is as good as mine. However, its all water under the bridge. It's now time to pass gas and get paid for it.

apaisRN, RN, CRNA · May 3, 2005

I;ve found this thread very useful in imagining how my life will be as an SRNA and picking up strategies to make it all work. I have two questions in particular for current students:

1.) What do you do for stress relief/anxiety management? Meditation, yoga, sports, alcohol (kidding!)? I need to get some help with relaxation techniques before school starts, because I'm already a spaz NOW and this is just packing and moving! I am finding exercise very helpful, especially in preventing insomnia, but I have to really kuck myself in the butt to do it.

2.) What are your study techniques? Do you read the text and take notes as you go? Do you copy your class notes over or record your lectures so you can listen later? I really need to polish up my study skills before I arrive at school and find myself drowning.

Also - any advice about marriages? We've been married a year, together for 4, and everything is great - but I'd like to anticipate the possible stresses if I can head them off.

lifeLONGstudent · May 3, 2005

" but i'd like to anticipate the possible stresses if i can head them off"

b i r t h c o n t r o l

lifelongstudent

(just an attempt to be funny - sorry, but i was ready to pull my hair out this morning with my hormonal 7yr old girl. she goes from to :crying2: in 25 milliseconds, we can be :argue: in the morning about hair and then she give me :kiss in the car before i drop her off at school. the swings making me :eek: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! , but i still love the :kiss)