justif99

It will get better....If you're having trouble knowing how to set up the room for specific situations, you need to talk to your instructors or other students...being preparted is the most important part of being a CRNA...would your program put you on OB call as your first call?...that seems odd to me!....just try and be confident...really prepare for each clinical day and just do your best....you can do it, your instructors believed you could. That's why they admitted into the program... Justin, CRNA

I don't miss it at all. You can find the excitement if you want it. My days in the OR seem to go by much faster than they ever did in the ICU...especially since I work a lot less and make a lot more. Justin

Jeremy, I've been a CRNA for a little over two years, and I can't imagine wanting to do anything else. I spent 4 years in my undergraduate work not knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I went into nursing because I worked in the OR as an orderly and enjoyed it very much. After working in an ICU for 2 years after nursing school, I decided to become a nurse practitioner and enrolled in school. My wife nannied for a family where the mom was a nurse practitioner and the dad was a CRNA. She told my wife that I should do anesthesia and forget about NP. Her advice as a NP was: it's very difficult to find a job, hours aren't great, and you do the work that the MD doesn't want. As a CRNA, you can find whatever kind of job you like, working easy or difficult surgeries, just doing OB, or doing a combo. You can work 40 hours a week or less, or more if you want. Right now, I'm taking overnight call and making much more money. You can definitely make $120K/year plus. Anesthesia is like learning a different language...it's very difficult in the beginning, but once you've learned it, it's very easy. I feel almost no stress 98% of the time. The other 2% is why CRNA's are paid well. Anesthesia is a wonderful career. I highly recommend it. I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have. Justin