srna2008

you just call housekeeping to clean up everything..........just kidding, in the ICU, the RN cleans up the vomit, crap, blood, and any other fluids that may find their way out of the patient

I would focus on critical care nursing materials for now. That is the base to build upon later as you prepare to apply to CRNA school. There are alot of good books out there, but most would probably be a little beyond what you need right now. All through RN school, anytime I was in the OR, I would definitely get up at the head of the bed next to anesthesia. Talk to them while you are in the OR, get advice about a good ICU in the area to try to start out in. Once in an ICU, after you start to feel competent and meet the time requirements, start studying for CCRN. Studying for that exam really helped in the interviews. Good luck with the adventure

lists are attached... Local anesthetics.doc Machine Checkout.doc Abbot Drugs.doc

Try and enjoy the next few months because school will take much of your time once you begin. Make sure to get your financial aid lined up ASAP. I don't really see any point in brushing up on info before school, you will learn it in class, but if you feel you must read, I would probably read up on ANS. congrats on being accepted

I got pre-punched paper, seems really simple, but it will save you some time when printing out all that material

One of my interviews was clinically based. I just pretty much studied the CCRN materials and it went pretty well.

Like SBCHEV99 said, Organic is a different animal. I too was pre-med and took O-chem I & II. It is pretty much memorization, just put in time and you should be OK I took O chem not having had general chem in about 7 years and I didn't have a problem with it.

contact program directors and ask them

Dobutamine, on the other hand, has alpha properties as well. So you will see vasoconstriction and an increase in SVR. Good luck. Hope that helps I am pretty sure you meant DOPAMINE, it has alpha 1 agonism at higher doses.

Know info that you studied to pass CCRN, that seemed to help me at TWU last year.

I would work in a civilian ICU. The Air Force needs will come first and you are not guaranteed an ICU slot. In the AF, you would also have to spend those few years in Med-surg (that would suck). Find an ICU that takes new grads and go that route.

I have studied more in the first 5 weeks of CRNA school than all of nursing school. They don't compare. As far as chemistry, it is just a crash course in general, organic, and biochem. The Chemistry at my school doesn't seem to be too hard yet, the class average on the first test was very high.

get into CRNA school

Those lists in World News don't mean too much. If you want to know how much each program is, check out the programs web site, most list it for you or you could call and just request that info from the program

Try to find a friend or co-worker from your unit that has recently taken the test and see if they have the Gasparis dvd. I borrowed it from a friend and spend a few weeks watching, took questions from PASS CCRN and did very well on the test

I used kaplan math & verbal books over the course of about 2 months, did OK enough to get in. I wouldn't spend all the money on the Review Course because if you do get into school, money gets really tight--start saving up as much now.

Don't attempt CRNA school if you are not 100% committed. Your post leads one to believe you just want a higher salary. A NP will probably make more than a RN, just for your info

CRNA school is a very large commitment. You need to look at what a CRNA does and not just the fact that they make a good income. After you look more into the field, you need to decide if you are willing to pursue becoming a Registered Nurse and hope you get a chance to go to CRNA school. There are a ton of nurses that say they want to go to CRNA school, but most of them never go. It is difficult to get into any program, and if you do get it, the programs are very demanding physically, emotionally, and financially. It sounds like working as an RN may be a step back financially for you, so you need to decide if you are willing to go to nursing school realizing you may never get a chance to go to CRNA school. If you do go to nursing school, after graduating, you would need to begin to work in an ICU. You can sit for your CCRN (which is required by some programs) after you have enough clinical hours (about 1-2 yrs of working 36-48 hour weeks). You would also have to take the GRE (that test sucks really bad), get letters of recommendation. You would have to contact CRNA program directors to see how many years of experience they required if you did work as a RN part time, because they require about 2 years of full time in ICU. I don't know how hard it would be to juggle your other job and nursing, but I don't see any way you could work a full time job and go to CRNA school. If you are willing to put in the work and time, I say go for it, but really assess your whole situation. I have only been in CRNA school for a month and I have probably studied more in the past month than I did through all of nursing school. School also takes a toll on your family; I have a wife and 3 small children and my wife has pretty much taken over running our house (my job is to finish school over the next 2.5 yrs). You have to make sure your family is behind you, because it is a huge sacrifice. Good luck

Start by shadowing a CRNA to help determine if this is something you want to devote alot of time and effort to. After you get your RN, get into a busy SICU or Open Heart Unit. Get the GRE knocked out as quickly as possible and after you have met criteria, get your CCRN (all schools don't require it, but it really looks good)--studying for the CCRN is also a great prep for interviews. good luck

You get a score after you take the test, I can't remember if the highest you can get is 120 or 130.

I never heard anything about my scores on GRE, CCRN scores did come up though.

I was in your shoes. I only had about 20 hours to finish by BS in biology, so I decided to go ahead and finish that and apply to nursing school. I had about a 3.5 with my biology degree (I took all the math, physics, organic, biochem, and biology). I got into CRNA school and I believe that background helped. One thing you need to consider is that you will be making $0 while in school, so you need to plan how to pay the bills while in school. My wife is also an RN and I took out some loans. I externed in a SICU while in nursing school and they hired me after graduation. Try to get into an ICU as soon as you can. Good luck

I took alot of practice tests

You will need critical care experience (vents, gtts, swans), you will not get those in a stepdown unit.

I took my exam about a month before my interviews and I believe it really helped in my interviews. If you have time, I would at least study the material on CV and Resp.