AdonaiLoveable

Spode, Nurse Anesthesia school is doable with young children. I have two children and they were ages 2years and the other just 9 weeks old when I began my program in Fall '08. There is another mother in my class with three children at the start of the program who delivered her fourth child near the end of our first semester and will deliver her fifth baby near of the end of our last semester! So YES, it is possible. In many ways, I think going to school while our children are so young is easier than waiting until they are older because they don't attend school or have many extra curricular activities that they need to attend. My husband works full-time so we have had a live-in care-giver for the children and that has been a super huge help! You might consider a live-in nanny or an au pair, or daycare if its available and has hours that will work for you. I strongly suggest that one of the main things you do is look carefully at the scheduling and clinical sites of programs you are considering. The program I am in has all its clinicals in one city so I don't have to relocate every time I need to rotate to a new clinical site and I never have to be away from my children overnight. The hours I am in class or clinical are pretty much the way a full-time job would be, but then after class or clinical I do need to put in some study time, which I often do over a couple of hours right after class or clinical and then again either after the children go to bed or early in the morning before anyone in the house wakes up. I gotta get back to studying, but PM me if you have any other questions. Adonai

Try emailing the Georgia Association of Nurse Anesthetists. I got a contact for someone in my area to shadow by doing that. Good luck!

Though I find it generally somewhat distracting to wear my precordial for entire cases (balancing all the OR chat, monitors beeps and buzzes, and the sounds of the patients heart and lungs can be a lot), I find it really helpful to use it at least intermittently during all pediatric cases and during LMA or mask general cases for adults. Don't forget to label the tubing with your name, email/cell phone number in case it gets separated from you...like when you drop off your patient at PACU and you leave the stethoscope there with them.

I sort of agree with both posts...certainly the level I trauma would look great on your applications, but I think admissions committees also tend to recognize that Level II's and smaller (but still high acuity) ICU's can give you excellent experience. I'd make sure that the SICU at the Level II place will still offer the type of experience you are hoping for (vascoactive drips and drugs, vents, etc). The idea of the previous poster to take the job closer to home and do some prn shifts at the Level I place further away a few times per month might be pretty cool. Then you could personally compare the experience you are getting at each place and decide if you should continue with the Level I + the long commute or do the Level II SICU job. I think the experience itself is ultimately more important than the Trauma rating of the facility though. Remember your application is going to be a total package that represents you. Your experience is one of several variables considered. Your previous grades, previous work experience, GRE scores, recommendations, personal statement, etc. all play an important factor as well. Best, Adonai

Good point! Thanks, Adonai

I also have a family and didn't think it would be very easy to attend clinicals all over the state. So I applied to programs that had all their clinical sites within reasonable commuting distance from the school. Examples, Wake Forest, Virginia Commonwealth, Mercer, Raleigh, Ohio, University of Alabama, etc. There are several programs like this, you just have to really seek them out. Hope this helps! Adonai

I don't think you would be at any significant disadvantage by taking the job closer to home. SICU is great experience for anesthesia school and I think you'll develop relationships within your first year there that will serve as the source for your recommendations. You could probably still request a recommendation from your supervisor at the ED you currently work at that will attest to characteristics about you and skills you developed while there (where they knew you longer), and an additional letter from the SICU supervisor/co-workers who will be able to attest to your ICU nursing skills. Even though most programs do not count ED experience alone as sufficient for "Critical Care" experience, surely at the place you are now some of that experience would be considered really valuable and only add to your skill set as an ICU nurse. Plus, 40-45 minutes is a very long commute after a 12+ hr shift! Adonai

Hello Everyone, I am seeking advice/opinions about what important things to be looking for in my first job out of Nurse Anesthesia School. A little bit about me: I am married with two preschool-aged children, I will graduate 12/2010 and my oldest will start kindergarten the following fall. Ultimately, we'd like to settle in The South (maybe Florida, coastal GA/SC, or Charleston, SC area), but we're happy to stay here in the area where I am in school for the next couple/few years at least. I'm thinking that it may be best to stay here and seek a position with one of several anesthesia groups in the area where I am currently in school. They serve as clinical sites for my program so I've had a chance to see them from the inside already and I think any of them would be great places to start out as a new CRNA. I'd love to get opinions about starting out as a staff CRNA at teaching hospital (with residents and SRNAs) versus an employee of a private anesthesia group. I'd also like to hear from current CRNAs on how important it is to get certain types of work experience: Regional Blocks, Hearts, Neuro, Transplants, etc., or do you think starting out even in an ambulatory setting with ASA I/II patients would be fine? (Or should I be looking to get lots of varied experience off the bat?) It seems like the teaching facility has great cases, but residents do all the blocks, hearts, and lines and since they also train SRNAs, I might be competing for the experience I'd like to get with current students/residents. However, the scheduling is great (no weekends, holidays, call). The other thing I wonder about is whether or not I'd gain skills in the "speediness" I'll need for quick turnovers in an academic setting that I would need in a private facility in the future. The private groups have various scheduling and call options, and I want to make sure I ask the right questions so that I'm not working 50+ hr weeks every week when I've got two little ones at home. What about starting out in an ambulatory facility? Any ideas/opinions/advice is greatly appreciated as I try to wrap my brain around the job search. Also, if you have ideas for how "early" I should be trying to sign with a group/facility, I'd appreciate hearing about that as well. I am in no big rush...can afford to forgo a signing bonus for the right position at the right time. Thank you! Adonai

Congratulations to you on your acceptance to Nurse Anesthesia School, as well as your many other accomplishments. I am a currently in Nurse Anesthesia school and I have two kids (1 1/2 and 3 1/2 years of age), but my situation is quite different in that I am married and my mother moved in with us for anesthesia school to help care for my kids while I'm in school fulltime and my husband works fulltime. (My youngest was just 9 weeks old when I first started the program!) The obvious things for you would be to have an excellent childcare setup before starting your program. If you are new to the area, try a website like "sittercity" or "care" to identify babysitters that you might try out. I have found two on the latter site that regularly give us a hand with our little ones -- including a high school senior who only charges $5/hr to entertain the kids, do light housework/laundry, and prepare simple meals. Sometimes I've even had a sitter come over while I study! I know you can do it! You may have to sacrifice some sleep at times and study after your child has gone to bed or get up early in the morning to study before they wakeup sometimes just so that you can make sure you spend some quality time with them during the afternoon/evening. Best, Adonai

Also take a look at these: Florida International, Barry Univ., Wolford, Raleigh, Univ of Maryland, Middle TN School of NA, UT Chattanooga... I'm not sure that all of these schools have clinicals in one local area, but I seem to remember that they were also on my list of places to consider. I made up an excel spreadsheet of all the programs I was looking into and one of the columns indicated which ones had clinicals in one local area, but I can't find the document anymore...sorrry :-( I'm at VCU and it is working out well because so far all my clincals have been within 20 minutes of home...except one place which is like a 50 minute drive away. But you don't spend more than 6 weeks at one spot so I won't have to make that commute for long.

I am a current SRNA and I have two young children. When considering Nurse Anesthesia programs, I only considered programs that had all their clinical sites within commuting distance of the campus so that I knew I'd be coming home each night (no out-of-town clinicals for weeks at a time). You might take a look at Univ of Alabama, Mercer University (which has all its clinicals at one medical center!), Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Wake Forest, etc. At the time I applied, all their clinicals were within easy commuting distance of the campus. Hope this helps! Adonai

Look carefully at the applications of the programs you are applying to. Several of the ones I applied to were mainly concerned about your gpa for you last 60 credit hours of coursework. Also, since your work experience, certifications, most recent grades, letters of recommendation, and GRE scores are (or will be) wonderful, it seems like your application would really demonstrate that you are ready for graduate level work. On the few applications were the gpa was not really explicitly defined, I used my BSN gpa which was a lot better than my combined gpa with my previous psych major, or my gpa for the last 60 credit hours. Congratulations on the fabulous gpa you've got going on your BSN. Thats awesome! Hope this helps a little.

There are many fine nurses who have turned their lives around from what they used to do way back when. I think you've got a great shot at nursing. Though I'm not very knowledgeable on this topic, I've heard a couple of things that might be helpful: 1) I've heard that the governor of your state may be able to pardon you from your previous infractions and have them eradicated from your record. I think you have to write to your governor and ask for this. (Sorry I don't know details, but might be worth looking into). 2) Definitely approach the nursing school you are thinking of applying to and speaking with the Dean about your history and how to approach the state board of nursing ahead of beginning coursework for nursing school to see if you would be a viable candidate for licensure. The last thing you want to do is spend time, money, and brain power getting a nursing degree and then not being able to get a license. I wish you well. It sounds like you'd make a great nurse. Adonai

I am an SRNA and African American. I do not believe that my race or gender had any impact on the admissions process or how I am treated in the clinical setting. I feel like I'm treated fairly, like anyone else in my program, in those settings -- however, I do believe that I have encountered some racially motivated differences in treatment from one of my academic professors that seem to be founded in ignorance. I am not the only person who has noticed this professor's treatment towards me, so I don't think its all in my head. I don't find it to be a big problem -- you meet ignorant folks frequently life and you don't let it distract you from your goals. I really support the Diversity in Nurse Anesthesia mentioned above by "Spoiled1". I have been in touch with the CRNA who founded it and she is great! She moderates a Nurse Anesthesia thread like this one at the Minority Nurse website.

Have you had a talk with your program director? At my school, those who failed the exit exam had a process of remediation that helped them prepare to take the exit exam again. If you failed it twice, I think they evaluated what you were having problems with and had you retake a specific class or classes or do specific directed-study for an extra semester then retake the exam. You may be able to work something like that out with your program director. Our school did not pay for a review class, but they did allow the Hurst Review course to come into the school and helped facilitate us being able to take it on campus. That class was a huge help to many of us, I am sure there are similar courses out there if that one doesn't come near your school. It might be hard to transfer to another nursing program and have credits transfer, especially if you didn't leave your old program in good standing. It might be best to try and work something out with your old program. I hope something works out for you. Adonai

All our classes take place in one room, 2nd floor of the old West Hospital Building. Our teachers come to us. The exception if 1st semester when you have Physiology class. Everything else is in West Hospital. I recommend taking Physiology before the program starts if you can, that way you have more time to devote to that one class. It sucks up a lot of study time.

I'm one of JenniferCCRN's classmates. I just wanted to say that it is certainly possible, though not easy, to manage a family while being an SRNA. I have two kids (2 yo and a 4 month old baby that I am still nursing). Like Beedog, I do a good bit of studying during the early morning hours. I think that if you're going to have a family while in school, its important to look at the structure of the programs you're considering. I specifically investigated programs that had clinicals in one local area so that I would never have to commute long distances or be gone from my little ones overnight. The first semester course schedule also works well for me here...we're out of class usually by Noon or earlier on most days and we can study for the rest of the day. Difficult, but doable... Adonai

I interviewed at Wake Forest last Fall. Their interview can be somewhat intimidating as they do a panel-style interview...only the panel has about 20 people on it! They have you seated at the head of a rectangular table setup sitting next to the Director of the program. There were about 20 people sitting along the other sides. Be sure you've read your application thoroughly, in particular your responses to the essay answer questions. They want to know your responses more in-depth. They ask you typical questions, why you want to become a nurse anesthetist, why study at Wake FBMC, what is your work experience like on your unit, tell us about an interesting patient scenario, what are your weaknesses, strengths, etc. I did not get any technical questions about specific drugs or treatments, although some applicants did get such questions. I think that if you mention a drug or treatment (perhaps in an attempt to sound intelligent), they will ask you further questions going down that road. Unless you are super hot stuff and can go down that road, don't even bring up such things! Most interviewees at Wake and at other places, take that as an invitation to test your knowledge. Be honest and complete in your answers, but be concise. The Wake Forest interview is quite brief. Relax. Don't be too nervous. You'll do great! Adonai

I liked Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE best.

I bombed my first Kaplan practice test too. Just to give you an idea of how my first Kaplan practice went and how far I improved with study...I did around 750 or so on my first practice test and did just under 1400 on the real thing. Study pays off!!!! I used Princeton Review to do most of my study and used Kaplan just for extra practice questions -- I really liked the Princeton Review Study Guide. Princeton Review practice tests and the ones on the ETS CD more accurately assessed how I would do on the actual test. My Kaplan practice scores were ALWAYS way lower. I found its easier to raise your score with study on the Quant than the Verbal. Adonai

Emory University Hospital Cardiovascular ICU Emory-Crawford Long Hospital Cardiovascular ICU St. Joseph's Hospital - Atlanta, Cardiovascular ICU Piedmont Hospital Atlanta - Cardiovascular ICU Emory University Hospital CCU Emory University Hospital Neuro ICU These are all units where many new grads are getting great experience and moving on to CRNA school relatively quickly.

I chose Virginia Commonwealth University located in Richmond, VA. I applied to many programs, received interview invitations to all but one of them, but I only interviewed at the first two programs that I was invited two as they were already my top two choices. I was so highly impressed with both Wake Forest and VCU and was quickly informed that I'd been accepted to them both, that I just picked between the two of them and turned down the other interviews. I loved what I learned about both programs during the interview process, but I felt so positively about VCU after getting to meet and speak with so many of the faculty during the interview process that I decided it would be the best place for me. In the presentation given prior to the start of the interviews, both VCU and Wake Forest are honest and open with you about the rigor of the programs. It will not be a walk in the park! But both programs had successful students with families in them which gives me an indication that getting through and doing well can be done for students with families. I think if you prepare yourself and your family as best you can, it is doable. For example, in my situation, I have a toddler and an infant, my husband works from home (so his job + his benefits will move with us when I attend school), and my Mom is actually making the huge sacrifice of moving with us to Richmond to care for the children and help keep the house together while I'm in school. I'm already planning for things like meals by using one of those frozen dinner companies like Super Suppers, and the home we rented is close to the school, in a great location for getting to clinicals, only a miles or so to the interstate, and within a mile or so of all the shopping and banking resources we'll need. I am so happy with my choice. Both the program and the city seem pretty family friendly. Adonai

Some schools are not calculating your overall, cumulative GPA, they are looking at your science GPA, nursing major GPA, and/or your GPA for the last 60 credit hours. Since you did you well in your Junior and Senior years, you should look at the schools you are considering and see if they are primarily concerned with your GPA from those years as well. Your GPA for applications based on those last 60 credit hours from your Junior and Senior years may not be quite as bad as you think.

I will not begin my program until August, but in my initial search for programs, I looked at clinical site location as a more important factor than front-loaded vs integrated. I focused on programs that had all their clinical sites at or near the school, or all within one metro area so that I wouldn't have to worry about being away from my small children overnight or weeks on end for clinical on the other side of the state from where my school is located (Examples of schools w/local clinicals: Mercer, UAB, Wake Forest, VCU). The program I'll actually be attending is didactic during the first semester and integrated after that, so its sort of a mix between the two (front-loaded & integrated). Adonai

First, congratulations on obtaining your ADN!!! That is awesome, especially given that you're raising two children on your own. I have taken some online and some on-campus courses while pursuing my BSN. Both were taught through a local state university. You might consider looking into your local state university since many of them are now teaching RN to BSN courses online or in hybrid format. In many cases, the tuition will be significantly less expensive at these schools than it is at many of the completely online, private schools. One idea is to take your time with the BSN by taking in-person courses on a little bit more of spread-out schedule, such as taking it over 5 semesters instead of 3. This might allow you to take the courses on-campus (which is how you seem to learn best). If pursuing a degree in Nurse Anesthesia is your ultimate goal, you'll need to do well in your BSN courses. If you can't do well in them taking them online, then doing so would be pointless. So it could be better to do it on-campus a little more slowly than to do them online and more quickly.