Qwiigley

20 years ago I did part of my residency at the Kaiser in Honolulu. The people there were amazing! I loved working with them! I know some CRNAs who currently work there. They are happy.

I've been a RN for 25 years and a CRNA for 20 of those. There are so many different kinds of opportunities with a RN license. If one doesn't fit you, try another. LVN/LPN jobs are the low man on the assignment schedule and jobs. You will have many more opportunities as an RN, better assignments and with extended education, the best opportunities. Don't give up. It's worth it. No matter where you live, you will find a job.

Don't bother getting your MSN. Your school will incorporate that portion of you schooling. I would do things as a critical care nurse to make me a better candidate. Do leadership and skills and committees.

I bet you are glad you don't have the huge student loans you would have had! Now you can have a life, too!

Perfect anesthesia, in my opinion, is when the last stitch is put in, the patient is breathing on SIMV with good Vt, ETCO2, and RR and ready to pull the ett/lma. Drapes come down as the dressing is placed and the gurney is brought in. The team moves the patient to gurney and we are off! Efficient OR utilization.

I took the exam and now I have to complete the Core Modules. They are soooo tedious! I first purchased the AANA set. They were beyond horrible. So now I bought the APEX. They are better but still ridiculous. Does anyone have any experience with these and hints to speed up the torture? TIA!

Zebra F301 fine point in black all the way. I've had the same pen for 7 years now (refilling as necessary). I love it !

Seems like if you have 5 cases scheduled and you cut off 10 min from your turn over time, you only gained 50 min. Right? Not enough time to add another case. Where is the money saving? Yes, there are sometimes more cases, but not in every room and not every case is around an hour long. (actually most are not.) JMHO

Remi; That's pretty harsh and completely untrue. My class had 800 applicants, they accepted 30. (and that was 7 years ago) The "old timers" are retiring at a pretty clipped pace; therefore they need for CRNAs will be EXPANDING, not shrinking. Along with states governors who are signing the MediCare Op-Out clause allowing CRNAs to practice without anesthesiologists supervision there will be a big need. The Master degreed professionals that are graduating now will are dynamic and talented. They will find jobs. (after this recession cools a tad). IMHO. I agree with the statement:... if you are going to be a nurse only to become a CRNA... Maybe you should look elsewhere, there is no guarantee you will be accepted into a program or that you will qualify. you must be the best of the best to even get into the schools.

No way to know at this point. Don't be discouraged. Try us again when you have completed your BSN. You will be able to kow if you can handle the stress of critical care and response with quick critical thinking skills and not panic. Good Luck!

Depending on the location of the patient and the surgeon/doctor it can be done under conscience sedation (I'd go really heavy propofol gtt) or under general. I doubt it would be under a spinal except for special circumstances. Anesthesia is an art. There are many ways to perform the needed pain relief. A femoral block is also a posibility, depending on the anesthetists experience with regionals. I do not do them, because it has been 5 years since I was trained and I do not feel comfortable doing something like this without more experience. But it is possible and in some settings preferred. (like the Navy etc.)

Personally I hated the nursing part of my MSN degree. The anesthesia portion was much more interesting and relevant to what I wanted/needed to learn.

I liked nursing, but then I think it was because I immediately went into a Level One Trauma Center for pediatrics in the PICU. I could have never gone to a floor or (gasp) a community hospital. Anesthesia is wonderful and I love the challenge. I would suggest you try to get as much experience as you can in critical care and see if that is for you. After 2-3 years, if its not, go to medical school. (if you think you will ike it). My concerns would be over socialized medicine and Obama in relation to the $125,000 of debt from medical school you will incur only to be told you can't make more than $100,000 a year being a doctor. (speculation). I feel so sorry for the doctors I know who went through all that extra education and work and money, only to potentially be told where to work and what they can make. Sucks if you ask me. Also, your malpractice insurance is high (stupid public thinks doctors are rolling in money). Just my 2 cents!

Good questions, though. Many people can learn from questions like this, especially students. Ask away. There are so many CRNAs who are very experienced on this site. Remember, there are no stupid questions when people's lives are at risk.

Most schools (I've heard) will listen to their student requests, but mostly assign their students to many different clinical sites. One of the interview questions at Cal St Fullerton is what you feel about traveling/commuting. The clinical sites out here are from Idaho, Hawaii and So Cal. The So Cal ones are from Woodland Hills to San Diego. For those not familiar with California that is about a 4 hr drive. Add to that traffic and it can be greater than 6 hrs. Flexibility is what you must have when going to anesthesia school. Flexible in what the school asks of you and flexibility in what you preceptors want to tell you. (and every one of them will tell you that you are wrong, where did you learn that?, etc.)