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BS General Science, Post Bach Teaching Cert, just over half an Education MA, BSN, and CRNA school in the fall! I took the long convoluted route. :) I know plenty of folks that went the ADN- BSN route. I think they were smart. A friend of mine went and did her ADN, applied right to an ADN-BSN program, and got right into the ICU. She applied to CRNA school the same month she graduated with her BSN and got in. Smart chic! She got 3 years of ICU experience under her belt and wasted no time. Took her just 5 years, which is how long it takes most just to complete their first undergrad degree. Food for thought. Good luck!

I began nursing in the ICU as a new grad, and found out I was prego about 2 weeks into my internship. Your feelings are completely normal! You will be forgetful, you will be tired, you will throw up at work, and you will cry. You have a lot on your plate. You will appreciate being a nurse after the baby is born though. You have so many options as to the shifts you work etc. that allow you to maximize your time with your family. I remind myself of that when i am having a bad shift. Plus, there are so many career options within nursing that you should research whats out there before you totally give up. Congratz and good luck! It will all work out. :)

It is funny that you mention that. My husband and I were just talking about how people are going to assume he is still the breadwinner when I am done with CRNA school for the very reasons you mentioned (I am a nurse/female and people don't know what a CRNA is for the most part... let alone know how to pronounce anesthetist:uhoh3:). I do all the work, guy gets all the glory! Oh well, I guess he is helping put me through school over the next 28 months, so he should share in the spoils a bit when it is all said and done...lol. After all the loans are paid off that is...yikes!

I am talking about Beaumont... Going over to the dark side I see? I thought we were going to be classmates at OU in the fall!?! j/k... lol. Congrats! The two girls from my unit are awesome people so it sounds like you are off to a good group come fall. One of them switched from UM to UD much like you did. I went with my alma matter as well (I have my BSN from OU). It is all about the comfort zone, especially if you can have a leg up with knowing the hospital and the school. A few less things to worry about having to cram into your head over the 28 months of craziness. Congrats again and good luck!

Two of my friends on my unit got in. Awesome people. Congratz!

I often question whether I am prolonging life or prolonging suffering. The solution to my frustrations is to go to grad school and get into an area of nursing where I don't get so attached to my patients, and for the most part will deal with healthy people. I found myself getting too upset when my cute 90 y.o LOL (little old lady) had her final wishes to pass at home trampled on by families who just don't know any better. You can't blame them, their greiving is just too new. They think only about how they feel, not their loved one. So grandma is a full code, broken ribs and all... it really started to get to me. I am so pleased when families let someone go with grace and dignity. I am ready to move on after 3 years in the ICU, but I wouldn't trade my time there in for the world. I have learned so much about nursing, life, and what it means to love and respect someone. It is truly an awesome experience and I give so much credit to nurses that make it their career. They are truly the unsung heroes.

Your post made sense to me... I have noticed there are some serious reading comprehension issues on this site. lol. Good luck with your educational pursuits!

I did Oakland's 1 year accelerated BSN program so I can't speak from experience about the RN to BSN program. I will say that the faculty and clinical opportunities was awesome in my opinion. I have a number of coworkers that just finished up at OU for their RN-BSN completion and they have been very happy overall with the program. If you are working as an RN, your time definitely counts. You just need your BSN and you can apply. People get in with MICU experience as well. I know they say SICU is preferred, but there are students in OUs anesthesia program class now with PICU, MICU, and NICU backgrounds.

In the ICU nurses do total patient care. The job is cerebral and physical... You get home some days (not everyday, but I want to let you know what you are in for) and your brain is fried and your body feels like you just worked 12 hours of construction. Techs/aides are a luxury for us (at least where I work). You will have patients that are stooling, vomiting, weeping thru their sheets, leaking strange fluids from random orifices, and requiring dressing changes that once exposed can be disturbing to say the least... It can be a messy job, but we do it and somehow get up the next day and do it all over again. It is a very rewarding job, but you need a tough stomach and a level head. I made sure to shadow in the ICU before I accepted a position to be sure it was for me. I had many classmates that went into nursing solely to become a CRNA, but they had no clue what the ICU was like. Unfortunately, it ended up not being their cup of tea. The critical thinking component and workload were not what they expected. After shadowing, I saw it was a challenge and I was hooked. Once you get a couple of years in the ICU you should definitely shadow a CRNA. You will know if it is for you by then. ICU nursing is no walk in the park, but when your past patients come back to the unit to visit you and let you know how much they appreciated your hard work and compassion, you know you have one of the best jobs in the world. As for working as a CRNA, I will let you know more when I am done in 2011. I know I will love it for all of the same reasons I love being an ICU nurse. :heartbeat

I start in August, and I will have a 2 yr old and a 6 month old baby. My husband is behind me 110% and I have my mother in law to nanny for us 5 days a week. We bought a house 2 blocks away from the hospital that houses my program as well. I feel confident because I have a great support system and have done some serious preplanning. I have back ups for my backups. Everyone I have talked to that is in school or working as a CRNA has stressed that a support system is key. Make sure you have a plan before you even interview because they will ask about it. They did in my interview. I feel like if you can have your cake and eat it to... why not? I love being a mom and my husband and I were ready for kids and the responsibility. My husband and I both come from a family where our parents worked and went to school while we were kids. We had great childhoods and admire the example our parents set for us. It is totally doable from what I hear... I will have to let you know more when I dive in head first in the fall. Say a prayer or two for me...lol :heartbeat

I think Eastern is a fine school. Get good grades and get involved with activities that will make you stand out. After graduation, get into a good ICU at a teaching hospital (A Level One facility is a good thing as well). The one advantage to attending a school that houses an anesthesia program is you can really get your name out there and make some great contacts. I personally have a BS from Michigan State, and then my BSN from Oakland University. I am starting anesthesia school this fall at Oakland. Good luck!!!

See you guys at OU in the fall! I am looking forward to a good crew of people to spend way too much time with over the 28 months! :) Congratz!!!

ASA actually helps prevent/lessen the reperfusion injury associated with an MI when blood flow is restored to the ischemic area. Very important! It puts the A in MONA. :redbeathe

When I go to Bath and body works I buy some of the small sample size products and use them on my pts (I ask them/their families of course). I work SICU, so for the most part these pts are tubed, in pain, and in definite need of a little aromatherapy. I bought some dollar store hair brushes and keep hair ties and detangler as well to keep the ICU bed head at bay. On the unit we also have these hair washing shower caps that are heated and rinse free so I massage it in for awhile. Pts love it. I think it helps the pts to feel fresh and put together. I think it is good for the families to see their family member/friend clean and smelling fresh as well. In some cases this could be some of their last interactions with their loved ones alive, so I try to make the sensory component a little better. :redbeathe

Congrats! I interview at OU on 10/22 as well. Good luck to everyone!!!

We throw a Bair Hugger warming blanket on the pt, crank the heat in the room, and use a ranger fluid warmer for IV infusions for hypothermic pts requiring fluid boluses. I work SICU though, and I dont know policies for other units as far as when the pt should be transferred from an RMF to ICU. If the pt was stable and just needed warming up, I don't see the issue as it is normal for a pt to come back cool from the OR. I guess I would need to know more about the pt to know, but every unit has their protocols and they vary quite a bit.

Depends on the type of rash. If it is simple irritation I find A&D ointment has worked great. Anything that protects the skin from moisture is good. Some diaper creams actually sting a bit when applied so that is something to consider. If that rash is a yeast rash (yeast from stool can cause a yeast infected rash) OTC yeast infection cream works wonders. My son had a bad one that wouldn't go away, and after research, I tried the clomitrazole cream you or I would use for yeast irritation, and it cleared up the rash quickly. As mentioned above, let your baby air out their bum a bit. If my little guy is calm I let him sit sans diaper for awhile. If he is running around I usually get the diaper on quick to save the carpet. lol. My son has only had a couple rashes in his 17 months and I think it is due to letting him air out, frequent diaper changes using wipes for sensitive skin, and applying A&D a couple of times a day (especially before bed).

I got my post bachelors teaching cert and decided while still student teaching that I wanted to go into nursing. I did a one year accelerated nursing program, which I had all of the prereqs for because of my general science degree so it was really just one year total. It was the best decision I have ever made. I heard it all from people. "You wont have summers off, you will have to work holidays, weekends, etc. etc.". What people don't realize is that as a teacher you have no set work hours (I often worked 12 hour days) and a "concerned parent" can monopolize your time and continue to do so for an entire year. You have a room full of 25-30 kids at all different levels of ability and behavioral/social dispositions. Your work comes home with you and cuts into your family time (aka report cards, tests to check, weekly newsletters, lesson planning etc.). I love kids, I just don't like teaching a room full of them. Love one on one tutoring. The classroom was too nerve wracking for me. People don't realize that you can't have a "bad day" when you are a teacher. With nursing, I work weekend cadre midnights. My son is without me for two hours, two days a week because he goes to bed at 9 and I work from 7-7. I have a set schedule and work stays at work. I am constantly learning and constantly challenged. I plan to return to teaching (nursing) in the future, and just applied to a masters program. I think my problem was two pronged with choosing elementary ed as a career. I like to learn and am very into science and math, and teaching the same material, all content areas, year after year was not my cup of tea. I wanted the challenge of learning complex material. I also think I chose the wrong audience. I want to teach college level because I think I enjoy adult learners more so. I respect the craft and art of teaching and I wouldn't trade my education for the world, but I am so glad I found nursing when I did. (I do miss the look in kids eyes though when they finally "get it", but I have my son now and he fills the role quite wonderfully!) Really research your options. There are so many opportunities in nursing in so many different roles. That is what is great about it. It isn't like teaching where your options are pretty limited as to your scope and role (I felt like you got your masters and you stayed where you were, or you went into curriculum planning aka slim positions, or you went into admin). In nursing you can end up doing totally different jobs from bedside nursing, research, homecare, nursing education, pharm. rep, school nurse, to running clinics. There are advanced practice roles where you can work as an NP working in a doctors office or acute care setting providing a wide range of care to specific populations. You can become an anesthetist and administer anesthesia to surgical patients. The opportunities are limitless!!! I love what I do (hence the long crazy post), and I think that is so important. I would be a miserable person if I had just decided to stick it out in teaching. Do some soul searching before you take the dive, because it would be unfortunate if you got all of that education only to find out you wish you would have stayed with teaching. Good luck with everything! It sounds like you must be going through a lot right now. Do what makes you happy, because if you are happy your kids will be too. :heartbeat

We use the color system where I am. It is kind of reminiscent of "A Brave New World"... Oh look they are in OR blue... they are Alphas... And the people in ceil blue, the Betas. lol. It does help though. I like that all the RTs wear red and I can quickly ID them, because there is no consistency with RTs on the units because they kind of float around the ICUs. It is kind of heirarchial though... we all aspire to wear the hospital issued scrubs. Ha:bow:

My mental health has definitely declined...lol:coollook:

He sounds like a keeper...lol. Sorry, but he sounds like one of the people I kindly remind of the visiting hours ending soon. It really bothers me that so many people in the general public think nurses are unskilled laborers that exist to clean up bodily fluids all day. Sheesh. I am sorry he is not supportive of your career aspirations, and it is too bad that he doesn't see the big picture. I would love to see him try and manage his mothers care for one hour, then maybe he would appreciate the skill and care of the nurses working with his mother around the clock. He sounds like he might have some disfunctional coping he needs to work through.

My mom is a manager in a cardiac progressive unit and they have the Nursing assistants do hourly rounding, not the nurses. It is too heavy a unit as it is, and the nurses don't have that kind of time to get every cup of water and put pts on the bedpan etc. (not that they shouldn't if asked of course, but you get my drift) That all falls within the realm of a nursing assistants scope. Our hospital did roll out a somewhat scripted intro system that requires a certain intro and a written goal list in the room. RHOCC is the program/system our institution uses. I work ICU, so I cant really comment from my personal perspective on hourly rounding because I live in my patients rooms, but the patient satisfaction scores have improved on my moms unit and the nurses like it because their patients are more content for the most part. Maybe you could make that suggestion to your manager.

We actually did a trial and analyzed the pros and cons of 11 different ett tube holders our institution used utilizing set criteria. We now utilize (after trialing) the AnchorFast ett holder and it is great. We had a pt that due to her cond. required an ett for 20 days. No breakdown and had on the original holder!!! It was awesome. It stays clean and dry, easy to rotate and do oral care. Our self extubations are nil. RNs and RTs love it. Sorry if I sound like a rep or something, but it is a great product. Good luck!

We use nxstage. No effluent bags to speak of. We have dialysis drains that the effluent line drains into (love that feature! we used to use prisma). Can be hairy to set up, but once it is up and running there are usually few problems other than routine bag changes.

Let people know. I had the same concerns as you when I found out I was prego with my son (second one is due in Jan. ) Even if you don't tell now, it will come out eventually when you find out you are supposed to get an admit that has shingles or CMV. I found out I was prego during my orientation, and I ended up having to tell my preceptor because another nurse kept asking me to help her boost her pt with shingles. It became impossible to keep it a secret. Plus the charge nurses have a funny way of giving you a tech/NA more often than not, which is great (especially in the later months). lol. You will make do. Just be sure that you take your breaks, drink your water, and put your feet up as much as you can. Congrats! Motherhood is so much fun!!!