How many of you went to Nursing School with the sole intention of becoming a CRNA?

cortrn · Nov 24, 2003

I can't say for others, but for me my desire to become a CRNA has fueled my efforts to complete an associate degree in nursing with the highest grades possible. I plan to put myself through critical care "school" in my area and get busy completing the RN-BSN transition.

For me, it has helped having very distinct goals..........I know exactly what I need to do to become an attractive applicant.

Thanks,

etherchick

zrmorgan · Nov 25, 2003

went to adn school soley to be crna

did not do bsn route (was premed for my bs in physio/psych)

did 2.5 years icu experience

starting crna program in jan

some instructors in my nursing program probably wanted me to focus a little more on nursing in general (ie care plans/basic care) and have less enthusiasm for critical care/ anesthesia so early

cortrn · Nov 25, 2003

Thanks for posting........so they like to see more basic care, not specialized care? Hmmm.

Did you go directly into CC? I had a BSN nurse friend tell me I should spend 2 years in med-surg before going into CC. Probably decent advice.

Knowing how your nursing instructors feel about basic care, would you do things differently if you had it to do over? What's your take on their advice?

gaspassah · Nov 25, 2003

i did but ti took longer than the minimum icu time to get in. kids, getting a bsn, just getting an icu job (my area wasnt hiring new grads at the time) took time. for me i was an rn for 6 years before i got all my ducks in a row.

Diprivan/Vented · Nov 25, 2003

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deepz · Nov 25, 2003

Good thread. I realized in high school, working as an orderly, that the CRNAs at my local hospital make good money (nice cars!), enjoyed considerable autonomy, and were the only ones privileged to sit through surgery. Then my Army instructors made me stand the whole time. Oh well. I had a LOT to learn.

Only much later did I reach the realization, much as Dip/Vented says previously:

"....I even had the satisfaction of talking to a couple of them as I dc-ed them to the floor a few weeks later. They had no idea of who I was or what I did, but that didn't matter. I knew."

i.e. the realization that, due to the cloistered nature of anesthesia practice, I alone could truly appreciate just how much good I did do for people. Sorry if it sounds smug, but only the initiated can understand the private and intimate relationship we enter into when we take a patient's life in our hands, safeguard their homoestasis, and then return their reflexes, their consciousness, and physiologic independence to them at the end of a case.

It's our big secret. And CRNAs' importance is the biggest secret in American healthcare. You cannot expect external validation. (Expect quite the opposite from the majority of our physician competitors.) As with other aspects of professionalsim inculcated by our training, such as the life-long INTERNAL drive to continue learning, improving, evolving, CRNAs who excel will internalize high standards of care and -- pardon the expression -- will practice self-gratification. Lack of public recognition is a given. We can work on that. Meantime, doing the right thing for the right reasons has to be satisfaction enough.

deepz

MICU RN · Nov 25, 2003

In regards to dip/vented comments: Personally, I never gave myself that much credit for the outcomes of my patients. Especially in the ICU setting where it usully takes a long time for really sick people to get better at least in the micu setting, I realize from my brief time in SICU that the window for more faster outcomes can occur, such as recovering a heart or a major organ from transplant. ANd from when I worked in the ER it seemed that you had more of a chance to perform life saving interventions.

In addition, I have always realized that I as a RN am part of a team ( MDs, RNs, RTs ect.) and that I was not even the leader of the team, after all the MD dictates the medical plan, I may play a big part by staying on top of things and informing them when I feel they need to intervene. And I made it point to always give it my best, so no matter what the outcome is I don't have to take all the blame or credit. Because anyone who has ever worked at big teaching hospitals where the sickest of the sickest usually end up will tell you that many of the patients will not have good outcomes no matter what you do and not always anyones fault.

And getting back to the initial thread, I went into nursing with the goal of being a crna one day. But it didn't stop me from trying to be the best ER nurse I could be or MICU nurse I could be, even though I had always thought of it as just something I had to do to get to my ultimate goal of becoming a CRNA.

Now that I am finally in crna school I will do my best to be a good student and ultimately the best crna I can be. ANd as someone else mention on this thread, I am not expecting plenty of recognition or prestige, because we know that most of the public as no clue what services we really provide, they either think we are an anesthesiologist or jsut another RN in the OR who is allowed to give certian drugs, but can't function independently.

cortrn · Nov 25, 2003

I really appreciate getting to know what makes y'all tick. People come to the realization they want to be CRNAs for different reasons.............they're ALL valid. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with knowing what you want to do on the front end and then getting your "ducks in a row".

Too, I applaud those of you who took a longer route in getting there. It takes courage to see that you're not where you want to be and then change it.

etherchick

hbscott · Nov 25, 2003

I went to Nursing School with the sole intention of marrying a doctor!

Just kidding of course but as a former Surgical Technician that was my goal but by the time I was ready for graduate school I changed my mind and chose a major that took me out of nursing entirely.

And I have been happy every since. Yeah!

FlyingED · Nov 25, 2003

I tried dating doctors, but they are just to difficult to deal with professionally let alone personally. So, I married a fellow nurse. Now we commiserate.

smogmatt · Nov 26, 2003

Began with the end in Mind

Started as an Orderly in the OR, fell in love w/ Anesthesia, I thought they had the best job in the whole OR!!

picked my ICU and BSN program based on which would give me the best experiance with quickest path to CRNA school,

just finishing the 1st semester, and I love it, very fullfilling, rewarding and enjoyable (and hard).

good luck