how to prep for anesthesia

blee1 · Oct 11, 2004

Hello everyone, I'm kinda new to this site, I just wanna quickly say that this site is the best and that I've learned sooo much just from all of your experiences.

Ok, my question is basically, how do I prep for anesthesia school. I'm currently working toward my undergrad (I'm not even in a BSN program yet, but I'm planning for the future, faaaaar future). I think I read that O-chem would be good. What about other sciences. I'm planning to take gen chem, ochem, and physics. Are there any others that I should consider?

athomas91 · Oct 11, 2004

blee1-

don't go out of your way to take extra classes unless the graduate school you are planning on requires them. You have quite a way to go - just focus on your undergrad and understanding everything you can - then as a nurse - seek out learning experiences - learn your meds etc... these things will be of great benefit to you later - you will forget the ochem, physics etc.

athomas91 · Oct 11, 2004

blee1-

don't go out of your way to take extra classes unless the graduate school you are planning on requires them. You have quite a way to go - just focus on your undergrad and understanding everything you can - then as a nurse - seek out learning experiences - learn your meds etc... these things will be of great benefit to you later - you will forget the ochem, physics etc.

louloubell1 · Oct 12, 2004

In addition to what athomas91 said, keep in mind that if you take those science courses that are required too early, you may just end up needing to retake them to get accepted. My school have a five year window, so if your required physics or whatever is older than that, you have to retake it.

louloubell1 · Oct 12, 2004

In addition to what athomas91 said, keep in mind that if you take those science courses that are required too early, you may just end up needing to retake them to get accepted. My school have a five year window, so if your required physics or whatever is older than that, you have to retake it.

maturner · Oct 12, 2004

Why is it that nurses continually tell other nurses not to take a class unless it is required. Nurse anesthesia is grounded in scientific principles and a strong core science background should be mandatory. It is the possession of a strong science base that allows one to not only comprehend the big picture but to truly understand the subtle nuances and the ART of anesthesia. Physics and organic chemistry are core sciences and fundamental building blocks in understanding scientific knowledge such as physiology & pharmokinetics.

As a profession do we want to be technicians in anesthesia or do we want to be professional anesthesia providers. Our Anesthesiologist and AA colleagues are required to take these core science classes, shouldn't we? As our profession evolves, so should our educational requirements. We moved to the Masters degree for this reason and we should move to requiring more core sciences as well.

maturner · Oct 12, 2004

Why is it that nurses continually tell other nurses not to take a class unless it is required. Nurse anesthesia is grounded in scientific principles and a strong core science background should be mandatory. It is the possession of a strong science base that allows one to not only comprehend the big picture but to truly understand the subtle nuances and the ART of anesthesia. Physics and organic chemistry are core sciences and fundamental building blocks in understanding scientific knowledge such as physiology & pharmokinetics.

As a profession do we want to be technicians in anesthesia or do we want to be professional anesthesia providers. Our Anesthesiologist and AA colleagues are required to take these core science classes, shouldn't we? As our profession evolves, so should our educational requirements. We moved to the Masters degree for this reason and we should move to requiring more core sciences as well.

maturner · Oct 12, 2004

Why is it that nurses continually tell other nurses not to take a class unless it is required. Nurse anesthesia is grounded in scientific principles and a strong core science background should be mandatory. It is the possession of a strong science base that allows one to not only comprehend the big picture but to truly understand the subtle nuances and the ART of anesthesia. Physics and organic chemistry are core sciences and fundamental building blocks in understanding scientific knowledge such as physiology & pharmokinetics.
As a profession do we want to be technicians in anesthesia or do we want to be professional anesthesia providers. Our Anesthesiologist and AA colleagues are required to take these core science classes, shouldn't we? As our profession evolves, so should our educational requirements. We moved to the Masters degree for this reason and we should move to requiring more core sciences as well.

I would recommend to any aspiring CRNA or any college student interested in the sciences for that matter to take as many core science courses as possible. Including physics, organic, and biochemistry the classes are challenging but then so is anesthesia school. You will never regret taking classes that are beyond the minimums although you may regret not taking them later on. I remember dreading these classes but am so glad I did the work and have a foundation that will take me wherever I want to go.

maturner · Oct 12, 2004

Why is it that nurses continually tell other nurses not to take a class unless it is required. Nurse anesthesia is grounded in scientific principles and a strong core science background should be mandatory. It is the possession of a strong science base that allows one to not only comprehend the big picture but to truly understand the subtle nuances and the ART of anesthesia. Physics and organic chemistry are core sciences and fundamental building blocks in understanding scientific knowledge such as physiology & pharmokinetics.
As a profession do we want to be technicians in anesthesia or do we want to be professional anesthesia providers. Our Anesthesiologist and AA colleagues are required to take these core science classes, shouldn't we? As our profession evolves, so should our educational requirements. We moved to the Masters degree for this reason and we should move to requiring more core sciences as well.

I would recommend to any aspiring CRNA or any college student interested in the sciences for that matter to take as many core science courses as possible. Including physics, organic, and biochemistry the classes are challenging but then so is anesthesia school. You will never regret taking classes that are beyond the minimums although you may regret not taking them later on. I remember dreading these classes but am so glad I did the work and have a foundation that will take me wherever I want to go.

Kiwi, BSN, RN · Oct 16, 2004

Why is it that nurses continually tell other nurses not to take a class unless it is required. Nurse anesthesia is grounded in scientific principles and a strong core science background should be mandatory. It is the possession of a strong science base that allows one to not only comprehend the big picture but to truly understand the subtle nuances and the ART of anesthesia. Physics and organic chemistry are core sciences and fundamental building blocks in understanding scientific knowledge such as physiology & pharmokinetics.
As a profession do we want to be technicians in anesthesia or do we want to be professional anesthesia providers. Our Anesthesiologist and AA colleagues are required to take these core science classes, shouldn't we? As our profession evolves, so should our educational requirements. We moved to the Masters degree for this reason and we should move to requiring more core sciences as well.

Because, organic chem, biochem, and physics are already incorporated into some Anesthesia school curriculums. I took some science classes this summer and really regretted doing that instead of an internship. You know what I learned about in physics? Wavelengths and frequency and pulleys with weights. And as far as the pre-organic chem class I took, we spent ONE day learning gas laws and the like.

maturner · Oct 16, 2004

Because, organic chem, biochem, and physics are already incorporated into some Anesthesia school curriculums. I took some science classes this summer and really regretted doing that instead of an internship. You know what I learned about in physics? Wavelengths and frequency and pulleys with weights. And as far as the pre-organic chem class I took, we spent ONE day learning gas laws and the like.

These classes are incorporated into all anesthesia courses as a requirement for AANA accreditation. Learning core sciences prior to admission to CRNA school ensures that students have a solid scientific foundation from which to build an excellent and proficient clinician. If you arrive knowing physics, biochemistry, and organic chemistry then programs can simply review the information and spend more time teaching students how to apply the science Y O U already know to the A R T of anesthesia. Coming prepared does nothing less than set you up for success!

Being that SpO2 monitors are based on measuring how two wavelengths are absorbed between oxygenated Hemoglobin and deoxygenated hemoglobin someday will be glad you learned about irrelevant wavelengths. By the way, you will need remember this for the AANA boards.

Being that as an anesthetist you are responsible for patient positioning someday you will be very glad you learned about levers and pulleys and how to decrease the amount of physical work it takes to move patients especially many of the types of patients seen in the OR.

What is a pre organic chemistry class? A pre organic chemistry class should be called general chemistry 1 and 2 and they should go into substantial detail regarding are good friends Boyle and Charles. If you take an Anatomy and Physiology class you should spend adequate time learning about Fick's law of diffusion.