Outdoor1

I am all done with CRNA school so since I have been there I will answer. ENJOY EVERY MINUTE YOU HAVE ONCE YOU GET ACCEPTED!!!! DON'T STUDY OR EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. SPEND TIME WITH FRIENDS, FAMILY, ETC. GO ON A GREAT VACATION, ETC.

Every OR observation experience I ever did i thought was boring as well. Yes, there are times when you will be bored, but not often. I did consider nurse practitioner. WIth the hours that most nurse practitioners work to make their money you just soon stay an ICU nurse and work a little more and make the same salary. As a NP you will be physician dependent....I did not want this. As a CRNA I still get to interact with my patients. I enjoy the pre-op interaction explaining things, putting them at ease. Letting them know i'll be watching over them every second....VERY rewarding. If I could go back and do it all over again I would do it earlier!!!! It is well worth it! Good Luck O

1. Yes there are tons of volunteer opportunities 2. Yes you can work independently in all 50 states. The only thing that limits your opportunity is the facility you are in. 3. The only way it would be hard to switch to admin/edu is the salary cut you will take 4. The future of CRNA's is bright. MDA's I believe will take the pay cuts. I think we will remain relatively stable in salary. I think over time there will be less MDA's and more CRNA because of the cost of training. Especially if their salaries decrease. Hope this helps. Good questions O

I am not Indian, but have worked with some and understand how your culture is affecting this decision. They probably just don't realize what we do as CRNA's. I know in your culture if you aren't a doctor, lawyer, or business owner you just aren't considered successful. Maybe point out to them that you actually want to administer anesthesia, not supervise it. This is pretty much the trend today with anesthesia. There aren't many MDA's who still administer their own anesthesia any more. Good luck with your decision and convincing your folks that it's a good one. O

This is possibly the worst advice that I have ever heard given. First of all as a previous poster mentioned no one cares at all what race you are when you are delivering their anesthesia. I'd be more than happy to have someone who was purple put me to sleep if they were the best provider. The idea that they are less likely to flunk you out because you are a certain race is so ignorant. The testing in most programs is set up so that race, sex, etc do not play a role in passing or failing. If the answer is A and you put B it doesn't matter what color or sex you were when you put it. People like this poster are the problem in America today. Everyone is trying to use race, gender or sexual preference to try to get a hand out. If you want to be respected by anyone don't ever use the race/gender, etc...card. Now don't get me wrong if there is a scholarship or loan or something like that that you can get because you are a minority, or woman or single parent, etc. by all means apply for it. Best of luck getting into school! You can do it! O

As a graduate of TCU this is what I experienced as a student there...Personal care and concern. I can't tell you how many students from Texas Wesleyan said to me personally that they were disappointed in their treatment and felt like just a number. Good luck with the decision. I was like the other posters here....there was no choice. TCU hands down is superior. By the way....TCU's board pass rate is better than TWU. There is a big difference even between 97% and 100%, especially if you are in that 3%.

MJ is not such a huge loss....from someone who actually knows what goes on in that office. THe other person in there is MJ on steriods when it comes to running that place. I am sure it will take a while to train someoen new, but i have no doubts it will be just fine. This poster is right the big difference btw TCU & TWU is that TCU actually cares about you. TCU has plenty of $$$$$, so you are not just a number. Plus the TCU campus and resources are out of sight. THere is no comparison. The poster is also partially right about choice of clinical istes. If you live in X and want to do clinical there and only one school has a site there, then that's important. But just remember to check and see if you are guaranteed a site there? Sometimes the sites are not guaranteed. Just check into things well! Good Luck O

Just get into the nursing program and graduate. If you take any extra classes take extra bio, or chem. Focus on the schools that you'd like to get into and see what they require that you don't have. Don't worry too much at this time you are far away from even graduating nursing school. Just enjoy your BSN...it's a breeze compared to CRNA school. I wish I would have enjoyed it more. Good luck O

When you see both campuses, meet the staff, go through the interview processes you will not have any problem making a decision. At least I didn't. TCU is hands down a better campus, resources, etc. They take care of their students too once they get to clinicals. Just keep an open mind, but if you are like most once you get there, there is no comparison between the 2. O

I would tend to agree with the others that it would not count if you aren't fully functioning in ICU. Where I was our LVN's did everything. Best of luck O

It should count. Most places no longer allow LVN's to practice in critical care settings, but when I was an ICU RN there were a few LVN's grandfathered in who knew their stuff. Just remember all of your experiences in life count in making you what you are now. All will contribute. Best of Luck O

Doing a bunch of interviewing next week. Any tips anyone?

Excellent post Piper...I couldn't agree more. Good luck to the original poster. O

It will get easier with time for you to manage things. You are going through what we all went through our first months of school. Nothing can really prepare you for it. Just keep at it. Good luck and keep it up. O

You are correct. That is how it works. 1st semester is at TCU and the rest may be at the distance site.