Natef26

I'm interviewing with Raleigh on Dec 3 in the evening. Good luck to everyone.

I highly recommend the Kaplan GRE Math Workbok and the Kaplan Verbal Workbook. I diligently worked through each workbook over like 2 months (could have did both quicker) and I scored a 1240 on my first GRE attempt. Should run you about $35 for both.

I'm also in the market for a laptop. I was initially leaning towards HP but I quickly changed my mind when I read the reviews of their horrid battery life. 2 hours 15mins or so if you are lucky and very stingy with screen settings, etc. I HATE to have to be tethered to a plug so I've been leaning heavily towards Dell now. They seem to get great reviews for the most part and the price is right. Good battery life too. If you can afford it, get one with a little extra memory for faster running speeds especially when running multiple applications. It seems the new Vista operating system sucks up precious memory so get a 2.O dual core Intel processor at a bare minimum. Having come from an AMD processor on my home desktop I will be staying away from AMD for the laptop. I had lots of heat problems with the AMD at home even with the side panel off and this is in a semi large computer case. Imagine all that heat in the tiny confines of a laptop case. Ouch!

The unit stood up back in early April IIRC. They do mandate that you have 1 year of being a nurse before they'll let you join. I won't be joining afterall, due to some personal reasons. Pretty bummed about it as it looks to be a great unit. If you want the recruiter POC let me know. He is a very gung ho guy and takes care of things quickly to expedite the process.

Well, how you choose to use your "5 minutes" is of course up to you, but for someone so seemingly frustrated and hell bent on measuring education levels ad nauseum, I would think some down time would be healthier. Maybe go outside and breathe some fresh air or listen to some calming music via an iPOD. Have you always been so caustic, or is this an outgrowth of unhappiness elsewhere? CRNA's have been here and will continue to be here long after your gone.

Ditto. I can only WISH I had the free time DocHolliday apparently has!

I'm a CRNA wannabe and trying like crazy to get the final loose ends of my prereqs done before applying this fall for next fall 09 start date. I have 10 years prior enlisted military experience (Air Force) in an ancillary medical field (clinical lab). I'm curious if this would help me at all with increasing the odds of success with getting admitted? I will have the following when I apply: 80 hours of CRNA shadowing time ICU experience: 1 year 4 months at application and 2 years 4 months just before school starts Nursing GPA: 3.795 Science GPA: probably 3.7 *Cumulative GPA: 3.1214 (this is counting OLD OLD course work not applicable to nursing. from 1991-1992 when I was a complete idiot) GRE- assume 1100 CCRN ACLS/PALS/TNCC/BLS Applying to Kaiser and Texas Wesleyan Thanks everyone for the feedback!

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I'm interested in applying to Kaiser-P Anesthesia at Cal-State Fullerton. I watched the info video and it definitely looks like alot of travel for clinicals. Curious how long each of these sites rotation typically is and how does housing work while at these sites. Surely there isn't commuting every day 100+ miles from home base in Pasadena/Fullerton. How long is the Hawaii assignment and does everyone go there as well or only the top students? Any negatives about the program I should know about? They mention community service on the video. How much have you all found that they want of this? What are the chances of acceptance assuming you exceed all qualifications but your ICU experience isn't from a Level I teaching hospital? Level II here and no MD residencies. How much can I expect to spend for rent for myself if I do and do not get a roommate during the program? Are there monthly or weekly rental options readily available for the month long clinical rotations? I despise sitting in traffic and have no intention of adding 5 hrs to my already long clinical day for round trip commuting to home base.

I would echo what others have said and definitely get into an externship into a local ICU for a capstone course. This will give you invaluable face time with a prospective employer/unit and allow you to really see if ICU is for you. I had a very similar GPA, and did a 64 hour externship/capstone in an ICU during my last semester in school and I got the job. We had a 6 month orientation into the ICU for the job and so they want to really make sure that the both of you are compatible together. Try and get into Sigma Theta Tau as well. You definitely have the grades for it. Looks great on a resume IMO. Another thing I did was take an elective critical care course at my school and made sure to do well in that as well.

I'm a new ICU nurse and nurse altogether and I'm planning to take the CCRN exam this Fall. Curious to see just how doable it is with my limited experience? I am studying a CCRN review book I purchased which seems great. The test is $325 so hoping to pass on the first go round. It seems many nurses are deathly afraid of it. Some say they studied for 1 year prior to taking it and this with 5+ years of experience in ICU. What say you? Any tips? Words of wisdom? TIA!

I'm currently trying to wrap up a few things to get myself ready to apply to CRNA school for the Fall 2009 start date. Given my family situation though I would need to find a school that offers a split type arrangement with clinicals and class or a distance learning option. For instance I found Texas Wesleyan in Ft Worth has students go the 1st semester to the actual university for didactics and then after that the student can go to their choice of a list of clinical sites for the remainder of the program. This would work great for me as it would allow me to do clinicals in my home area ( Are there any other programs like that that have sites in Denver, Colorado Springs, or Pueblo? I was looking at Mountain State Univ in Kentucky and while I can do the didactic at home I would have to do the clinicals in the vicinity of Kentucky. Wouldn't work for me unfortunately. Oh and Sumner Health in Denver is not accredited and the online only format isn't for me. TIA for any help with this.

Thanks Mark! Hopefully I get a response.

I'm also interested in applying to Sumner for the July 09 start date. They seem very willing to help with any info needed. I live in Colorado so the program was a Godsend in terms of family stability for me. Moving for my whole family is not an option for me. There will at least be one year of student feedback available to me before I would begin. $$$ but hopefully worth it. Would love to hear more details of the interview from you! :) Thx! Nate

Hi everyone, Becoming a CRNA has been my goal even before I started nursing school. I am now an RN coming up on the end of my 1st year in ICU. I am hoping to find a CRNA in Colorado (Denver, Pueblo, Colorado Springs area) that would be so gracious as to allow me to shadow them. I am guessing I would like to have maybe 24-36 hours of total shadow time. Hoping to submit my CRNA school application in by the end of this year. If anyone would be able to help I would be grateful. Please PM me if you can. Thanks so much! Nate

I'm a CRNA wannabe myself, and it looks like you would have been accepted if only you had the minimum 1 year ICU experience that is required by all the programs I have run into. 12 years of Tele is great, but 5 months of ICU doesn't meet the minimum yet. I don't think your grades from 1995 are the problem. Thats a fantastic GPA. Maybe call or email the school and ask nicely what was their rejection criteria for you. If need be, maybe you could take a chem class and or a stats class to show you've "still got it." Would be a great refresher if nothing else. But really I would bet its simply the lack of ICU exp. Best of luck! Hoping to apply to CRNA schools,myself, later this year.

I am looking to get accepted into a CRNA program and start in summer/fall 2009. I have a BSN (graduated in May 07), and coming up on 1 year of ICU experience. I plan to have 2 years ICU experience before starting program. I am married with 3 small children and have a wife who is very supportive in my goal. I'm looking at the "family friendly" programs to include: Sumner Health, Texas Wesleyan, Mountain State Univ. My family needs to stay here locally. Here are my concerns: 1) How heavily do CRNA schools look upon OLD college work? For instance I am 35 years old and when I started comm. college at 18 years old I BOMBED the first 46 sem hrs (as in C's, D's, and gasp F's) Since that time I went into the USAF, matured a great deal, and took alot of health science related classes and ultimately got my BSN. When counting all course work after that horrid comm. college experience I have a 3.8 GPA (nursing/sciences). Only 2 B's total if memory serves, the rest A's. 2) I realize most schools want you to have shadowed a CRNA. As my city is largely CRNA unfriendly, can you tell me tips for connecting with a CRNA mentor? Denver and Pueblo both use CRNA's, but I'm unsure really how best to go about it? How many hours of shadowing do you guys recommend in general? My programs of interest don't seem to specify. 3) I haven't taken the GRE yet. I'm curious to see what is usually considered the best review book for taking it? I feel I need a heavy review in math and verbal. How long is generally recommended to study before taking the test? I assume its all computer testing now? 4) Any good anesthesia books you guys/gals have found that would be helpful for some newbie learning and to further my inspiration towards the field and maybe help me to buckle down and do well on the GRE? I see lots of references to "M&M" (Clinical Anesthesiology---Lange) I assume? Maybe I'm a geek, but yes I do like technical reference material. Thanks so much in advance for your time and advice!

I am a new grad RN and currently 8 months into my first RN job in ICU. I started RN school with the intention and desire to be a CRNA. I have fantastic grades, will have the requisite ICU experience but I also have a family. (wife and 3 kids). As I live in Colorado, and there aren't any CRNA schools here I would have to move out of state while in school. My wife has a fantastic job here and would be the primary breadwinner while I am in school. I've read that Texas Wesleyan in Houston has a partnership with some Denver, CO hospitals. Curious to see if other CRNA schools also offer this for the Denver or Colorado Springs area. I think that would make it more manageable in that I could "be home" for a few months each year instead of gone for all semesters. Would love to hear of other's experiences with spouses, kids, and having to live separately (out of state) while in school. Any tips, stories, gripes are most welcome! TIA Nate

As a new grad nurse myself I think the purpose of the rotation is more of one to expose you to a different area of nursing rather than med-surg. I got a job as a new grad in the ICU and just finished a 6 month orientation. Now I am "on my own." This is a misnomer because even the nurses I work with with 25-30yrs of experience collaborate with each other whenever they have a question. There simply are no true "know it alls" in ICU. Breathe and just absorb the experience for what it is. It is an exciting place at times. And most importantly try and ask questions. There are no stupid questions and more than likely the nurse you work with will be more than willing to show you the ropes. Have fun and let us know how it goes.

I know typically ICU nurses get 2 patients standard. I'm curious how it is on your MICU unit? At my hospital I would conservatively estimate that a good number of the MICU staff have 3 patients 65-70% of the time.Staffing is generally the pits.

I know typically ICU nurses get 2 patients standard. I'm curious how it is on your MICU unit? At my hospital I would conservatively estimate that a good number of the MICU staff have 3 patients 65-70% of the time.Staffing is generally the pits.

Ok I got the straight scoop. I called USAFSAM at Brooks AFB and spoke directly with the registrar (Andrew). He informed me that yes ,the flight nurses will be going to the full 18 day SERE course at Fairchild AFB beginning after September 2009. Yes, 2009. Should be able to get in before the transition. :w00t: My reserve squadron will be at Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs. Its a brand spankin new unit set to stand up on 4 April 2008.

Oh lovely. Yes, if you could confirm or deny that this is true that would be great. With my civilian job I am hoping to limit the amount of time I am away for training schools. Thanks.

Would like to hear from the USAF flight nurses out there regarding their experiences at the Flight Nurse school at Brooks AFB. (good, bad, etc) Also, how is the survival school that flight nurses and medics must attend? Its not the same one that other flight crews goto in Washington state. Where in Texas is it? Thanks!

I am a new grad (May 07), and just got a job in an ICU. I was told I would also have to sign a contract for 2 years and $10,000. The clinical manager told me this during the interview but cupped her hands and whispered that she doesn't believe it is "enforceable", legally. I would like to go CRNA or flight nursing down the road. All the hospitals in my city have a 2 year committment for ICU. I chose the one that offered a 6 month orientation program vs the other that had a 3 month one. For a 2 year committment then 6 months training would be the minimum as I see it.