Dakkon76

Yeah I was surprised that my ADN didn't require chemistry. It was suggested for A&P and Micro, but not required. I'd always done really well in chemistry so I had plenty to get me through those classes. I knew I'd need to take it eventually but every semester I kind of put it off... then before I knew it I was accepted into my RN program and there was no taking extra classes once I got in... none of them fit with my screwed up schedule :/ As far as shadowing, yeah I've put in lots of time with the CRNA's here. Now that I'm on the floor I see them quite a bit and they say hi every time they see me. One of them actually came and grabbed me and said "Hey, come watch me put in this Thoracic Epidural on an MVA pt!" ... so that was pretty cool. Well at least Physics isn't required that's one less... but it sounds like I'd better get cranking on my Chems :) Thanks for the info both of you. I still need to actually CALL an anesthesia program... I'm hoping they'll be a bit more eager to answer questions if I actually call rather than email.

This is why I swore I'd never work med/surg! I hated being on the floor. I felt like all I had time to do was rush in and get vitals, pass meds and rush back out. I wanted fewer patients with higher acuity. I'm on a PCU right now, and our max is 4 and soon to be 3 once we increase our acuity. I'm running my butt off all day long, but at the end of the day I feel like I actually KNOW what's going on with my patients. So even though it's stressful, I still know I'm practicing the way I should be practicing. I'd say don't second guess yourself. If you're not liking where you're at, then it probably isn't for you. Just because you don't like it there doesn't meant you aren't a good nurse

So I'm almost finished with my BSN and I'm working in a tele unit until I can get into the CICU that I want - they do transplants here too! Anyway, I've emailed a few CRNA schools asking about prereq's and they all come back really vague. I'm concerned because by the time I've got my BSN I'll still have NOT taken: Chemistry (of any sort) Physics Algebra and my statistics class was only a 3 cred instead of 4 What should I do? Do I need to get working on these ASAP while I've got a good schedule? I guess that's the good part about being 12 hour shifts... I can still do a 4 day/week class :/ Are there any others I'm missing?

I was in the situation you are a few years ago. I knew I wanted to head for CRNA but didn't know whether to do ADN first. I chose to get my ADN, just graduated this May. I worked on my RN-BSN classes concurrently and now I've only got 3 classes left. I don't see any problem doing it this way, and it got me working faster :)

Sugary sweet or not... you missed my entire argument... kind of ironic considering the spirit of it was ineptitude. Thanks for your concern though... believe it or not, I'm a very mushy, squishy person :) I just don't tolerate ignorant people who don't mind telling 60+ students to do something that could cost a patient their life, not to mention someone's license. It's not about a question... it's about principle.

I don't have a problem working somewhere else. I also don't have a problem working on her unit... what I DO have a problem with, however, is ethics and incompetence. The fact that she is badmouthing me for sticking up for what I knew was right and then having her give me a bad reference for doing exactly what a TRUE advocate should do... that goes against everything a nurse stands for in my opinion. I won't be badmouthed for standing up for what I believe in... especially when I do it in a professional matter and end up being right. I guess I forgot to mention the fact that the answer she stood so fast beside... could end up costing a patient their life... which is what I was so adamant at pointing out :) Anyway, I'll go for the throat in a case like this if I have a leg to stand on... not just because I don't like her, but because it's ethically and morally wrong as far as I'm concerned.

Ok, so I've got a pretty big issue with a former instructor of my RN program and I'm really wondering if I can get a lawyer over it!! To start out, my second semester in school, she had a question that I felt was incorrect. I followed protocol to petition the question, a senior instructor even agreed that my evidence proved the question was incorrect. The long and short of it... because of her ego, she ended up YELLING at me in her office and refused to drop the question. I wouldn't let it go, so I brought it to our head of nursing. I never heard anything back, but low and behold... Fall semester of the 2nd year rolls around... and that instructor no longer teaches there. However, she is still "staff" and oversees a few clinical groups. So, she's still affiliated with the college. Well... now here's the problem. Keep in mind, I never had this woman for my clinical instructor, just for lecture a few times. Now she is a nurse educator at the hospital I applied to. My friend works on the floor that I applied to, the ACU. I gave the supervisor my resume at an open house and filled out their online application. Everyone had heard back and gotten interviews, but not me... not a word. I talk to my friend, and he told me that he'd talked to his supervisor and she said "Oh, he had a great looking resume, I'm going to get in touch with him." ... well, two weeks later, he asks her if she's called me and she says she's gotten a bad reference on me. 1. I never gave out references 2. EVERYONE who's ever worked with me absolutely LOVES me 3. This former "instructor" is the only person who works at the college AND the hospital So, I know it was her and so does everyone else. The problem is, how do I prove that she said something. More importantly, how do I make sure I'm not blackballed by this HACK of an instructor ... who *shudder* is now a nurse educator at the facility I want to work in. What do I do??? ... besides hire someone to kneecap her in the parkinglot, of course.

I hope you're not saying by "pass/fail" that if you fail your IM or transfer checkoff that you're booted out of the program. That would just be ridiculous. I don't care who you are or how much experience you've got... if it comes down to getting kicked out of a program you've been working your butt off to get into, you're going to be way too nervous. At any rate, the more you practice, the better you get at the routine... and more importantly, the more confidence you'll get with checkoffs in general... so by this time next year a checkoff will be just another day in the lab. Good luck!

I would think that the problem with piggybacking would be that you're ONLY running at the secondary rate... so nothing is going out of the primary bag. In contrast, when you run them on 2 pumps, then you're getting the NS at say 25cc/hr at the same time as the Cardizem at 5cc/hr, thus resulting in a total of 30cc/hr, rather than just 5cc/hr if you were doing a piggyback. Not to mention the problem that Angie brings up... you'd end up pushing a whole line full of Cardizem once you're primary kicks in at the end at a faster rate if you're running a classic piggyback setup.

We've got a guy in our class who has been an EMT for a few years and ED is doing all they can to recruit him. If you're comfortable starting in the ED, then I don't see why you shouldn't. Just make sure you start somewhere that offers a great education program. I was at the NSNA conference in Anaheim and went to the Emergency Nursing Association conference. The guest speaker stressed education and asking questions about the unit. She said if anywhere offers anything less than 16 weeks, run for the hills. /dak

i had it shown to me and it made sense... grab a 3-way on-off connector and hook up a 10cc to one spot, then a 3cc at the 90 degree so that both can be open at the same time... then push one while resisting the other... you would think it would be the other way around but as omermero mentioned... when the diameter of the syringe is increased, but the opening (tip) remains the same... then you're going to have to exert more pressure to push that fluid through the opening... which translates to a larger-diameter syringe producing less pressure. go grab a t from the icu and try this... it'll impress your instructors and the others in your class as well :) none of my instructors could explain why, so like you, i was left to figure it out on my own. once you set up this little demonstration you'll be amazed at the difference.

Ok, so I just have to vent because I'm mad as hell!! I thought my interview went great. I knew what the job was, the types of cases they handled. I told them the things I studied up on... meds, IABP's, VADs, Art lines... they didn't ask me any questions about any of the content but they looked impressed that I'd taken the initiative to prepare. I told them I was dedicated to continuing education and that I planned on having to spend at least 20 hours per week studying and that I was excited about it. Told them I planned on getting my CCRN as soon as I could sit for it, etc. Well, a girl in my class got the offer for the job. I'm not mad at her, because it isn't her fault... but I can't help but be really fired up at the decision. The girl that got the offer didn't even know what CICU stood for. She just applied for all the jobs she could on their web site. Now she is wondering about taking it or a med-surg job and the ONLY thing that is making her lean toward the CICU job is that it's 12 hour shifts. She was talking to me about it and asking me if I thought it was going to be a hard job. She has no idea what she's in for and I just don't get how she made such a better impression than I did. I just don't know if I did something wrong in the interview or what. My friends have said they probably had their mind made up by the time they interviewed me and they were just going through the motions. Every answer I gave them they looked really happy with and it's just frustrating, you know!? I know I can't get frustrated, but when something like this happens it's really hard not to... Thank you all for your help (and crossing your fingers, toes, etc!) though, the words of encouragement definitely helped me out!

Well I had my interview with the CICU supervisor and the nurse educator for the unit. Both of them were really friendly and I think the interview went well. They asked where I turned to for the answer if I didn't know something and I mentioned this forum as one of the places. Said that I asked a bunch of questions on what I should study before going into the interview and I think they were impressed that I came prepared :) I'll know by the 19th, so keep your fingers crossed!! Thanks again for all of your help!

I've been perusing a job at a large hospital here that does heart transplants and they're hiring 2 grads to work in their CICU. It seems like this would be a much better experience than working in a medical ICU somewhere, but how do the CRNA schools see it? I talked to one CRNA who said he started out in CICU but then he moved to MICU. He said CICU was where he learned his cardiac meds and rhythms... but he didn't say why he switched to MICU.

Aim high! I graduate in May and I've interviewed for a CICU position at the largest hospital in the region. I don't know if I'll get it or not, but I'm giving it all I can. I want CRNA as soon as possible as well, so I'm trying to hit the ground running. Just do what you're comfortable with. If ICU scares you right now, then stay in the ED or move to a stepdown until you feel you can perform well in the ICU. With your background, you'd probably be comfortable in the ICU.