hello all crna's! i am currently in nursing school for my bsn and thought that i wanted to become a crna. however, the nurses that i have come into contact with have raised the following points, which have me thinking that perhaps this isn't the path i want to take. please let me know what you think so that i know whether or not i should explore this option further!
1--it is a VERY boring job. you just do the pre-op health assessment, administer the anesthetic, and sit and wait........for hours......
2--you have to deal with surgeons which are some of the most difficult doctors to deal with.
3--you don't do much "nursing" since the patient is asleep for most of the time.
4--the reason that the money is so good is because there is lot of opportunity for mistakes and a lot of responsibility but not much reward.
5--you deal more with machines than people.
please let me know what your experience has been as it would really help me with deciding on my career path! i plan on shadowing a crna during my winter break if i can to see what it is really like, but i'd enjoy your input as well!
I plan to go the CRNA route in the future after I have some good experience under my belt, but I wanted to share my experience as a patient under the care of a CRNA during my c-section in 2002.
I felt I got more care from my CRNA than I did once I got back to my room with my new baby. My CRNA was more attentive to my needs during surgery and helped when my BP was crashing. He talked me through some complications that were going on during the surgery and took the time to explain what was going on because the Surgeons just act like you're not even there while they're cutting you open and yanking your baby out.
Before this surgery, which was my 2nd c-section by the way, I never knew that CRNA's even existed, and after looking up at whom I thought was an anesthesiologist and reading his name tag, I was shocked to see his title. I thought to myself, well no wonder he's so attentive, HE'S A NURSE, not a doc! I knew right then I was going to look up information on this career path. And in doing so I decided to try to go this route later on.
That's my 2 cents,
Marie
hello all crna's! i am currently in nursing school for my bsn and thought that i wanted to become a crna. however, the nurses that i have come into contact with have raised the following points, which have me thinking that perhaps this isn't the path i want to take. please let me know what you think so that i know whether or not i should explore this option further!
1--it is a VERY boring job. you just do the pre-op health assessment, administer the anesthetic, and sit and wait........for hours......
2--you have to deal with surgeons which are some of the most difficult doctors to deal with.
3--you don't do much "nursing" since the patient is asleep for most of the time.
4--the reason that the money is so good is because there is lot of opportunity for mistakes and a lot of responsibility but not much reward.
5--you deal more with machines than people.
please let me know what your experience has been as it would really help me with deciding on my career path! i plan on shadowing a crna during my winter break if i can to see what it is really like, but i'd enjoy your input as well!
couldn't you present your questions in a more tactful manner? christ...I can't believe anyone even bothered to respond to this.
Wow gotosleep, did someone bash you when you asked questions about your future occupational endeavors?? I mean, trying to decide what you're going to do with your life is a pretty HUGE decision and Tamm's comments were legitimate concerns. People DO say those things. Of course they are not true, but I don't doubt that she has heard every single one of them exactly as stated. I heard the same stuff. Give her a break. People come to this site for advice, not to be criticized for the way they phrase things.
Thank you EVERYONE for your advice, input and for sharing your experiences with me! it does sound as demanding and fulfililng and rewarding a career choice as i had hoped! i will definitely try to find a crna to shadow this winter to continue my education!
as for the others, thanks for stickin up for me! i just wanted to put the info i had heard out there to see if it was legit or if it was just the normal anti-crna talk that seems to exist for some reason (jealousy? misunderstanding?).......i had no other info to go on, so thanks for understanding and taking the time to respond!
is it possible to specialize in one area (ob, peds, etc..) or do you come out of school able to do it all and your job dictates what you do more of?
is it possible to specialize in one area (ob, peds, etc..) or do you come out of school able to do it all and your job dictates what you do more of?
Yes, you can specialize in OB/Peds. There are Children's hospitals all over that would give you the specialization you may be looking for. CRNAs do come out of school "able to do it all" and it will depend on your job what types of cases you'll be doing.
couldn't you present your questions in a more tactful manner? christ...I can't believe anyone even bothered to respond to this.
Go to sleep- That was so rude. Tamm1 was simply stating what they had been told. The problem here is the ignorant nurses who made the statements, not the curious nurse who had the sense to ask around and find out the truth. Cut tamm1 some slack!
I seriously doubt if Tamm1 was trying to offend people. She was pointing out things that people were saying about a career line she was interested in.
Tamm1, wish I could offer something new, but like the others have suggested if it's possible to shadow someone, go do that. You'll get a much better view of the field than word of mouth. Also, some people may not want newcomers in the field so someone was possibly discouraging you to become part of the field. Less competition and all that.
Do a lot of consideration, shadowing and soul searching. If this is what you want to do, then follow your dreams and go for it! Good luck!
1. It is not a boring job. You don't just administer the anesthetic and switch to autopilot. For one thing, administration of an anesthetic is not just a one-time thing. You do it second-to-second, to make sure your patients are comfortable and their condition is optimal for surgery.
2. You have to deal with all sorts of difficult people, whether they are surgeons or housekeepers. Yes, some surgeons are difficult. But so are many other people too. In my experience, the type of response I get depends a lot on my attitude. Good attitude = good reponse in 98% of cases.
3. What do you think nursing is? My patients don't need to be wide awake and alert for me to provide nursing care. I guess I am confused as to your definition of nursing. Do I sit down and have a heart-to-heart with them for a couple hours before surgery? No. But I am acutely aware of their vital signs, hemodynamics, lab results, and the progress of the surgeon so that I can intervene immediately if something is amiss. That's nursing to me.
4. The reasons that CRNAs are paid so well is because they have to have a huge amount of knowledge stored in their brains to be pulled out at a moment's notice. CRNAs are worth every penny they are paid, if not more. I know that every ICU nurse thinks that their patients are the sickest, but truly, a patient is at their most vulnerable time when they are in the middle of surgery and not in control of their most basic bodily functions. That's what CRNAs do: provide an environment optimal for surgery while at the same time providing for the maximum safety and stability possible for the patient.
5. Yes, we do use some machinery. But that machinery is attached to our patients. We use the data from the machines to help make decisions regarding patient care. However, nothing is a substitute for good old-fashioned assessment. If your assessment skills aren't good enough that you could provide an anesthetic without monitors if you had to, then you shouldn't be doing anesthesia.
I am curious. You say that you wanted to go to school to become a CRNA after you complete BSN school. What made you decide on anesthesia? It doesn't sound as if you know exactly what a CRNA does. I would follow the advice of some of the posters before me - shadow a couple to see if it is really what you want to do.
Very, very, very well put! I am a new BSN grad in the ICU and can't wait until I have the opportunity to attend CRNA school. I did have the opportunity to shadow a CRNA and now I know for sure that's where I want to be (hopefully, in about 4 years)! Thanks for the great post!
I too have encountered dissuasion from certain nurses when speaking of pursuing a career as a CRNA. In fact, the tension has become so bad within our area that new grads wanting to enter the ICU CAN NOT even mention that they are considering CRNA school - 1) You may not get hired (because the hospital spends a lot of $ to train you; then you leave). 2) You become an outcast among some of your peers.
In our hospital, there are many ICU nurses leaving the bedside to attend CRNA school and as they do, some nurses ridicule them (behind their backs, of course ). I say that those who ridicule and speak poorly of nurse anesthesia are either envious because they do not have the means to pursue the career or uneducated/misinformed.
Fortunately, I have had many encounters with CRNA's and have also had the opportunity to shadow; therefore, I highly encourage you to do that. Tune out all of the negativity from those who are inexperienced so that you can make a honest decision on your own. Also, if your area is anything like mine, (unfortunately) you might want to keep your aspirations of becoming a CRNA on the "down-low" when trying to get a job on the unit following graduation.
). I say that those who ridicule and speak poorly of nurse anesthesia are either envious because they do not have the means to pursue the career or uneducated/misinformed. 
CapeCoralNurse2be
89 Posts
I plan to go the CRNA route in the future after I have some good experience under my belt, but I wanted to share my experience as a patient under the care of a CRNA during my c-section in 2002.
I felt I got more care from my CRNA than I did once I got back to my room with my new baby. My CRNA was more attentive to my needs during surgery and helped when my BP was crashing. He talked me through some complications that were going on during the surgery and took the time to explain what was going on because the Surgeons just act like you're not even there while they're cutting you open and yanking your baby out.
Before this surgery, which was my 2nd c-section by the way, I never knew that CRNA's even existed, and after looking up at whom I thought was an anesthesiologist and reading his name tag, I was shocked to see his title. I thought to myself, well no wonder he's so attentive, HE'S A NURSE, not a doc! I knew right then I was going to look up information on this career path. And in doing so I decided to try to go this route later on.
That's my 2 cents,
Marie