BRobison

Tia: RE: CCRN exam: I say, go for it! If nothing else, you get some "practice" preparing and taking a national certification exam. It looks good on your application. It boosts your confidence a bit (job well done kind of thing) Some facilities even pay more for CCRNs. Nothing to lose by taking it. There are review courses, and there are review texts specific to the test. Good luck. Oh, and as for the interview; well, I think almost any job-related question is fair game, but rudeness and disrespect; not acceptable. I was asked some questions (this was long, long ago!) that I thought were rather odd, but I answered them, and after acceptance, found that they asked the "out there" questions to test my ability to think on my feet and respond to the unexpected. Not bad character traits in a SRNA/CRNA.

well, sometimes, that anecdotal medicine has some value; I've never seen any studies that "prove" the histamine thing, but I've seen it happen enough that I believe it, enough so that I prepare for it, anyway (but maybe hives, etc, just show up more easily on fair skin?) and when I myself tried to bleed out after a normal non-complicated delivery, I decided to believe the bleeding part, too. But the pain thing...hadn't heard of or seen that. And yes, it's a darn small N to draw much of a conclusion from, other than "may merit more study." Oh, and NurseDennie, I suggested to the OB nurse that I'd color my hair before any future deliveries, and she wasn't amused......Go figure. Ok. Back to more serious work/topics!

Ok, have any of you students or practitioners heard (or seen?) this one? Supposedly, according to a study (only 20 women, hardly merits the term "study" IMHO) at the University of Louisville, "red hair is the first known visible genetic trait that indicates how much anesthesia a person needs." The redheads needed about 20% more anesthetic than brunettes...supposedly "because of a genetic variation that produces red pigment also triggers higher levels of the hormone that increases pain sensitivity....." Now, I know we "reds" are histamine releasers, and bleeders....but come on!

Just FYI: Gonzaga University graduates earn a "Master of Anesthesiology Education" degree. Some of the brightest, best anesthetists I know have graduated from that program. All programs have their strengths and weaknesses, though; try to find one that best suits your needs and interests. Oh, and Spokane is a great town! Been there, done that! :)

I am a Gonzaga grad....good program....I don't know why you'd need another Master's though, as you already have an MEd, so I would think you'd already meet the "degree" criteria to teach........

with that in mind, (allies, not enemies) there is a good treatment of that very issue on this site: http://www.kana.org/anesthesia.htm which someone on the crna list at yahoo posted (thank you to that person!).

I'm getting such a kick out of the posts at the future docs site! I wonder how mad they'd get if I mentioned that one of my CRNA buddies made upwards of $275K last year? Unsupervised. Nah, not worth mentioning.

Kevin: Are you going to take on this amazing question? ("amazing" because it seems to be asked with sincerity, "amazing" because these people don't KNOW the answer to that!)(actually, maybe that's more "scary" than "amazing!") "Are you of the opinion that in a clinical environment, CRNAs can do everything that an MDA can do? Do you think there are circumstances when only an MDA should be allowed to run the anesthesia (i.e. very complex, serious cases) or do you think CRNAs can handle (on their own) absolutely anything that the hospital can dish out to them? I'm referring to the average CRNA vs the average MDA, with years of experience being roughly equal."

Hey Kevin: On behalf of "dumb nurses" and CRNAs everywhere, THANK YOU for your well thought out, very well-stated, factual response to the age-old debate currently going on at the student-doc BB. Cheers to you for weighing in in such an intelligent fashion. You did the profession proud!

WOW....I'm alternately fascinated and furious reading the posts on the residency board. Good thing I don't have hypertension. I was amazed by the venom in some of those posts. I don't have anything to add to what's been said, really, except perhaps this: This issue will NOT go away. You will be faced with it throughout your practice, unless you have the fortune of being a solo provider or part of a CRNA group in a small town that MDs haven't discovered yet, or that doesn't appeal to them. Even though anesthesia was a nursing speciality long before it was a medical speciality, the docs now claim it is "medicine." They are protective of what they consider to be their "peice of the pie." I know this personally, having the misfortune to live currently in an "MD-only" town. The most frustrating thing is that you cannot educate them or change their minds with words, research, logic, conversation, or FACTS. The ASA itself relies largely on fear mongering and propaganda. AND, in worst case scenarios, MDAs can convince the surgeons that they are at risk if a nurse is at the head of the table. We can only hope that "in the real world," as someone on this board mentioned, they will miraculously realize what CRNAs are, what we do, how we got to be where we are, and that we do deserve the right to be there in that capacity. But even then, it is rare that a doc will admit that. They just aren't so hostile anymore! SO, study hard, learn everything you can, do not ever STOP learning, and don't be surprised if you need to be prepared to defend yourself and your right to practice your chosen profession.

Brett: Great article, thanks for posting it. What was the original source? I'd like to keep it on hand for future reference (I live in an "all MD" town) Thanks