upstateRN

agree with what premedbosna wrote. i sent you a pm pumpkin. take a look when you have a moment.

i wrote a whole big write-up and then lost it, thanks to the great editing box here.. i'll give you the digest.. i got into school with a MICU background. I haven't started yet, so can't comment on the utility. However, the experience you get is only good if you take from it that which is important and apply it to school in the right way. MICU usually offers a variety of experience and exposure to different patient populations. I believe this to be important for a CRNA. Your previous experience will come in handy as well. your best litmus is going to come from someone on the adcom or an instructor who knows what their particular school is looking for. I believe deep down you know the answer to this question. Look at your quoted message above. that's basically what it all boils down to.

hollyhox, and jls189 how did you like the advanced patho class? any insight into the class? i could not find a syllabus on the information page. i am looking into doing it at umass. thanks

University of New England has online Organic Chemistry II. University of New England - COM - Online Education - Online Organic Chemistry II contact information is on the page. costs are below: Tuition & Fees Credits: 4 Tuition: $1040 Registration: $10 Materials: $240 Total: $1290

UNE has Organic chemistry II as well. University of New England - COM - Online Education - Online Organic Chemistry II Tuition & Fees Credits:*4 * Tuition:*$1040 Registration:*$10 Materials:*$240 * Total:*$1290 Registration and books are non-refundable. Tuition is partially refundable for the first four weeks. Please see the syllabus for details. Other details and contact person on link above. --- Mo

I find our practice in my hospital is similar to detroitdano's. Generally we give 2 weeks and attempt weaning.. After that if the patient continues to fail trials the discussion about trach begins. If there is obvious need beforehand, then attempts are made to start discussions earlier.. Very rarely they will give someone an extra few days or a week if there are musculoskeletal issues that may improve with specific treatments and need time to respond.

rnmama3, I agree with Class2011 that calling the school to find out specifics on what you could have done to make yourself a more competitive applicant. From what I have gathered here, schools usually like this. The information can be helpful for future attempts. It also gives you a chance to perhaps stand out and have familiarity with the board the next time around. Your stats seem good, save perhaps for the GRE. One option is to retake it or seek out schools that do not require it. i am not sure what the situation is with the schools that you are attempting to go to. I agree with questionsforall that you may want to attempt taking some more advanced science classes which will aid you with schooling, regardless of the route you take. However, I would emphasize that you should not be discouraged. It would be a shame to give up because of not getting in on your first try. The fact that you were granted an interview is a big step in the right direction. Something about your application, be it references, experience etc made them want to talk to you and give you face time. Sometimes the interview and reaction are what accepting boards base their final decisions on.

I did the ER to ICU route. I joined a new grad program which was 1 year in the ER, combination of hands-on and classes. I then transition to the ICU. I think the ER gives you valuable experience with drips, and vents. It helps you to think on your feet and react appropriately based on what you are being presented with. As TLLCRNA said, you learn to handle unstable patients and how to multitask. Many times you really are starting from scratch. A patient might come into the ER in serious distress and needs to buy a tube quick, but there is no access for drugs to be given. I think this environment prepares you later on to react to "emergencies" on the floor and codes etc. Going to the unit will be a substantially different sphere of experience. The focus is completely different. You will appreciate the training in the ER as it will show you how disease progress. Normally we don't get to see what happens long-term in the ER with the patients as we are more concerned with the stabilization and hopefully a quick transfer to the unit that will help the patient best according to their needs. If you really want to get the ER experience to add that to your belt, then by all means go for it. It is a very marketable asset, especially depending on the hospital/type of ER it is. If all you really want to do ICU though, and that is really where your heart is, you can always just for that and then try to cross-train in the ER to get that experience too. Hope that helps.

I am in agreement with the above. Appropriate sedatives and pain relief if not already running an infusion. Also, having the extra fluids and a bag of pressors at the ready are excellent suggestions too. It's Murphy's law, and many times they are needed. I have seen patients drop their pressures fast depending on their reaction to the agents that are given. An additional note, we are in a teaching hospital, our policy mandates a critical care fellow be at the bedside. Depending on your facility, you have to make sure those things are in place as well. Of course, always ensure there is a consent in place before anything is done. Sometimes people get trigger happy and some of the fundamentals have not been addressed.

Hi Millie09, Where did you take your online classes?

I enjoy reading all the tips and suggestions for the road ahead. I think this is an awesome idea. I used a digital recorder to get through my nursing program. It sure helped to always have the lectures available electronically for ease of access and use.

As far as I have seen through this site and have heard from others, there is no bias against having completed an online BSN. As long as the school is accredited there should be no issue there. On account of having finished a BSN from the school's program, that may factor in somewhat. However, I think that as long as your credentials are up to par, you should be able to get an interview and have the opportunity to sell yourself.

Kolt, could you please send me a copy of your sheet as well? I am orienting in MICU right now and trying to find a good, consistent way to manage info. For now I use the back of the report sheet or an index card for meds etc. Thanks in advance. -M

Sorryfor not addressing your question directly with school choices.. but here goes... I don't think there are any direct RN -> CRNA programs per se. I know that Columbia for one, up until this past summer '07 had offered an Accelerated Masters Program (AMP) for ADN prepared nurses which gave you your BSN in between applying to the masters program of your choice. The fall '07 was the last accepted class. I don't know of any similar programs off the top of my head. I am not sure if that is along the lines you were thinking. You would have to check with individual schools to see how they structure their Masters level degree programs from ADN status.

FlyinScot, I agree with your response regarding the use of the pumps. Being able to calculate the dosages manually is a great way to double check that everything is OK. Guardrails/Pharmguard is a good tool to have but like any other machine, it relies on the soundness of the programming, and who is to say the machine's fotware will be 100% correct and free of bugs. To OP: That being said, I think the method of calculating what you have on hand using the factor label method (dimensional analysis) where you figure out what you have on hand and what you want at the end will help you arrive at the right destination with the correct units. It might be tedious, but it will help you with the thought process. from a quick google search i found some links that might be helpful. check out these sites for examples: http://www-isu.indstate.edu/mary/tutorial.htm http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/8517/Quiz/quiz.htm http://home.sc.rr.com/nurdosagecal/

You revived an oldy:) I think it means who cares about the grade. You can graduate from NSG school with a C and get your RN, hence C=RN

congratulations!!! all that hard work finally paid off. it's a great feeling. now can you just breaathe:) :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons:

I haven't taken my test yet, but we did have a live review from MedsPub as a requirement for our school. I thought it was a very good review. Turns out too i had actually bought the review book they used for the program beforehand thinking it would be a good tool to use in my studies. There were 2 different instructors and I think they presented the material in a good, straight and matter-of-fact kind of way. I am doing other things as well to study. My date is early next month. Hope that helps

Of the people going to the NY programs, what made you choose one particular program over the other (for those who had a choice)... and what background/experience did you get before applying (which ICU, how many years etc)? I am interested in going on to CRNA school in the near future. I am set to graduate from an ADN program in May '06. I was leaning more towards Columbia because of the AMP program they have there. I am curious as to your experiences at each of the schools. Also, did anyone look across the river in NJ? I know UMDNJ has a program there as well. Any thoughts or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks:)

Hi there. Dimensional Analysis is not quite that bad. you just have to work through a few of the problems. As long as you understand what's going on within the problem itself, the dimensional analysis will just fall into place and help you achieve your end result. Basically all the middle terms/units will cancel out and allow you to get your answer i the correct units. take your example: A post-operative patient is to receive 200 mg of intravenous antibiotic every 4 hrs. a 1.00 litre bag of IV solution contains 1000 mg of antibiotic. What drop rate (in seconds) of IV solution is required for the patient to receive the correct dosage of antibiotic? thanks so much for your help. there's always extra fluff in there. just read through and ask yourself: What do they REALLY want? and then WHAT do they GIVE ME? what they really want is the drop rate (ml/Sec) your patient is to receive 200 mg of IV antibiotic every 4 hrs (200mg/4hrs) so start with that: 200 mg/4 hrs you now need to get rid of the mg so what they give you is that there are 1000mg of medication in 1liter (1000 ml) so now add 1000ml/1000mg next in the dimensional analysis. then you must convert the hrs into seconds. step by step.. this becomes (1 hr/60 mins) x (1 min/60 s) putting this all together, you get ml/s = (200 mg/4hrs) X (1000 ml/1000mg) X (1 hr/60 mins) X (1 min/60s) doing units first, the milligrams cancel, as do the hrs and minutes. that leaves you with ml/s which is your desired unit. math-wise: go through and cancel/reduce what you can: the 1000/1000 cancels, leaving you with 200/4 X (1/3600) cancel out the 2 zeros on top and on bottom, leaving you with 2/4 x (1/36). if you finish out the math, it becomes 1/72 = 0.013888, rounded, becomes 0.014 ml/s i hope that helps. i know it's hard since it's on the comp, but if you write it out on paper it should make a little more sense.