Icu Knowledge Base

[godsgem]

Hi everyone,

just wondering, I have been in the ICU for a little over a year now and it seems like the more I know the less i seem to know...

i am applying to CRNA school next Nov/Dec, i was going to apply this fall but decided against it because i wanted to be balloon pump (IABP)trained at my job (i am open heart trained), get my CCRN, CVS etc ( i have a "path to CRNA checklist) so i wanted to get a good base of knowledge before applying so i would have two years. because i wonder how many 1+ year nurses run codes, most are run by the charge or resource so its cool that i know it in theory and go to all the codes, but i have never run one, i often plan it out (scenarios) in my head just in case but i have never gotten the chance. I sometimes feel like duh so i read a lot to enrich my base. How do those who apply not even a year into ICU do it? i know they teach u all you need to know from scratch but i am like gosh......

[gasmaster]

Sounds like u are on the right path. I agree that it can be a little frightening thinking of someone becoming a CRNA that never even really learned how to care for an ICU patient! Most programs say 1 year min. experience, but I know that those applicants often get weeded out unless they are really, really excellent nurses who do extremely well during interview, have top notch grades, etc. So I really believe that those nurses who are in programs with the min. experience are probably an elite group or they wouldn't have made the cut.