KsMICT

All I have to say is I challenge any posturing macho a**hole to survive one shift on my floor (especially a shift like last night's when the sky started falling around 5 am.) We'll then SEE who the REAL man is!

You write that you study, read, etc the material. My question is do you actually understand the material you're studying? Are you able to apply it to real life situations or are you trying to memorize too much? The key to understanding medical knowledge is to rationalize what you're learning to a given situation, not simply regurgitating it. Try studying with someone who can quiz you on the material. It's a good way to get away from your notes and determine if you truly understand something. It took me nearly 2.5 semesters to finally realize that. And yes, no more all nighters. The brain does not work when it's tired.

Well I'm back again with the " end of the class lazies". Exam 2 is on May 11 and the final is on May 20th. I can't bring myself to read another word in my text book, and I'm doing terrible on my practice nclex exams. Oh what to do ? What to do? I know exactly how you feel. I have two tests on the 11th, a bunch of ATIs throughout the week and a final on the 18th (my last day of 3rd semester). My advice-- go somewhere you will be totally undistracted and the only thing you have to keep yourself occupied is studying.

Med-surg RNs probably don't get the respect they deserve because everything nicolegrow wrote is true. There sometimes just are not enough hours in the day do get everything done. The other day I worked with an RN on a transplant floor and I don't think I've ever seen someone so busy: her phone was ringing NON stop, she had to do a time-consuming admission because the clerk was not there for some reason, a surgeon came by and needed lidocaine to drain an abscess, and of course she had to administer meds, chart, and do everything else that seemed to appear out of the woodwork that day. Being busy like that certainly keeps you on your toes and makes the day go fast but at some point pt care is going to suffer.

I saw this posted on a blog today. "I am a physician in the Portland area. We are seeing more and more people unable to pay their bills. Today I wrote off two patients' cost for a surgery. Both mom and dad have lost their jobs, their insurance ends this month, and they are losing their house. You can't bleed a turnip. Colleagues have been cutting staff. My office wants a raise but our revenues are way down. We feel keeping wages stable and not cutting hours is generous in this environment. People can't pay their copays, many are opting out of surgery because of financial uncertainty, and hospital OR cases (the lifeblood of the hospital) are way down. I have been busy filling out forms to try to get free medicines from the pharmaceutical company for patients who can no longer afford them. It is getting ugly here." Are any of you CRNAs seeing a decrease in the number of cases you do these days?

I just finished mine. I hated it not because of feeling uncomfortable or anything. The nurses and patients were great and I learned a few things. It was just so BORING! The patients were all very stable and pain controlled. Several, of course, were not new time mothers so the experience was all old hat to them. The worst part was the careplans we had to write: My instructor took them WAYYYY too seriously.

Well, didn't get in. I don't know what it takes to work in their hallowed halls because I thought I had most everything they could have wanted.

I applied. Here's hoping I get in.

You can ask this question over on the CRNA boards but from what I've read there over the last few years it wouldn't matter where you got your BSN. (By the way, why don't you think you'd get into the BSN program at UM?)

I agree that the RN-to-paramedic route is the way to go as far as certification. However, as a former medic turned nursing student I can attest that there was a lot I learned in paramedic school that is not taught at an equivalent level in nursing school. I think the difference between the training is medics are taught how to think independently because afterall, you're it. YOU make the decisions of how to manage a patient in that short (but potentially critical) time you're with them. In nursing, you're taught the same overall assessment skills but the assumption is the M.D./ARNP/P.A. will make the ultimate tx decisions.

Well, this thread is currently very relevant to me. Here's my story- former paramedic, current BSN student (3 more semesters to go), B in General Chem 1 and am currently exposing my very masochistic self by taking Chem 2 this SUMMER with the idea of making myself look more attractive once I begin to apply to CRNA schools. It's not that I can't "get" chemistry but, boy, I wonder some days if I'll make it through without first suffering an MI or a stroke. Am I smart or stupid?

To one in particular- you are completely incapable of teaching. You do one thing really well- reading (from the PowerPoint slides, that is). You have no ability to convey the information required for the ridiculous tests you put together.

We can take this discussion to a more appropriate forum on this site but let me just say that as a paramedic-turned-current-nursing student the theory !%@# makes me want to puke! I believe it is in the curriculum to keep a few too-posh-to-wash Ph.Ds employed, and nothing else.

I am 22 now, and I calculated that by the time I am done with CRNA school, if all goes as planned, which rarely happens, I would be about 32 when I graduate.. Someone once told me "Well youll be 32 anyways, why not be a CRNA". The fact that you are 22 and have an idea what you want to do with your life- and can stand the sight of blood- is a godsend. Trust me. When I was 22 I had a vague idea but was, in general, quite lost (as are most 22 year olds). I am 31 now and in the 3rd month of a BSN program with CRNA dreams. I've worked as a paramedic but my new goals give me a totally new reason to stay motivated. One thing I've discovered, though, while working in health care is that it's a meaningful line of work. It's not easy. It can be stressful, humbling and exhausting. But it's a better than what a lot of other people have to do for a living.

"Bump the pay down to about $140-150K but it then I could work lochums in other places every third week." Is there any reason an employer would frown on a CRNA (or MDA for that matter) doing locum work? I mean, common sense tells me no. (It's not as if you're "stealing" patients. And I'm sure as long as you're not overly preoccupied with your locum work it would be all right.) This is just a question I haven't seen posed on these boards (unless I missed the thread).