e14lopez

well, i am only trying to relay the correct information. the program is expensive and i would be very upset if i were going there and this was occuring. so, i was only giving what i thought would be the appropriate response. believe me, researching anesthesia schools is extrememly important before deciding where to go.

anyone have any advice that they might like to share on how to survive anesthesia school. i am almost done with my first semester and i feel that i have studied more in these 4 months than in my entire 4 years in undergrad. dont get me wrong i am enjoying it, but it is exam after exam after exam, and non stop studying to get B's. my confidence has completely hit rock bottom and now they are telling us that our next semester is even worse. any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks

Hey, just a little warning! before you apply to UM do some research. The whole nursing school (anesthesia is part of nursing) was placed under probation for cheating. board passing % is low. so just keep heads up!! wouldnt want you applying and getting in without looking into this.

well, this is because i was accepted to another program which started on january 8 and i needed to know ASAP so the director called me to tell me that i was accepted before the other program started.

Just be yourself and try not to be so nervous. I know this is easier said than done, but truthfully, it will help if you are not so nervous. be prepared to take a 10-25 question test. all schools (from my experience) give you an ICU test, so that they can determine what you know or dont know. Dont let this bother you too much. I did horrible on my tests and i was accepted to all of the schools that i applied to. Look professional and just be yourself. Dont be afraid to ask them some questions. they are not only interviewing you, you are interviewing them as well. (if you ask questions it will look good). some questions that i was asked on both of my interviews were why do you want to be a CRNA? What do you know about the role of a CRNA? Give an example of a difficult situation that you have experienced with a coworker and how did you handle it? what are your strengths and weaknesses? what accomplishment are you most proud of? why did you apply to this school? if you have any other questions let me know good luck and let me know how it turns out

Hi, you will have some questions about the type of experience at your NICU. Most schools will give a "test" and its all based on adult ICU, but i wouldnt worry so much about it. Both schools that i applied to gave a test during the interview and i did not do very well and got in to both. they do take into consideration that you only have NICU experience. interview questions are mainly about personality and scenarios (but not really medical related). They just want to get to know you a bit. hope i helped somewhat

Hey again, If you really want my advice, i would tell you NOT to go to baptist. Dont get me wrong it is a wonderful place to work at and they treat their employess well, but if you want experience Baptist is surely not the place. I did my rotations there. They have a childrens' section but they are not really a childrens' hospital. any tough patients get transfered to miami childrens. likei said, it is a great place to work, my husband works for baptist, but you wont get the experience you need there. i volunteered at miami childrens (PICU). i saw some pretty cool things. baptist will prob. be the better employer, but if you are looking for exp go to m. childrens. good luck with whatever you choose and let me know what you decide.

Hello again, I was working in Hollywood Florida. Joe Dimaggio's Childrens' Hospital. Miami Children's hospital has great cardiac experience. You would probably get better expereince there. where i worked i got alot of great experience, but if our babies needed any type of cardiac surgery we would send them to PICU so i did not get much exp with cardiac. Miami childrens' would be great for cardiac exp. If you like PICU, this might be better than NICU. (but if you are happy in NICU stay there. let me know if i can help you with anything else.

Oh dear!!! you are never too old. I just started the program and i am probably the youngest person there ( i am 24) everyone else ranges from 26-a lot older!!! Please, dont let money stop you from fulfilling your dreams. Take out loans for tuition and to live. Once you are done with school you will be making so much money that those loans will be paid off in no time. It is truly worth the sacrifice (all CRNA's that I know tell me this, so believe me.)

If you are truly happy in the NICU, then stay there. I am not going to lie to you, it will be of tremendous help having the adult background, but I am NOT saying that it cant be don with only NICU experience. I have 1.5 years of NICU experience and i know many people who got accepted with only Peds ER exp, PICU, NICU. Believe me getting accepted will not be the problem if you have the credentials (GPA, gre score, great letters of recommendation...). If this helps, I spoke to someone who graduated from Barry's program 2 years ago. That person had 10 years of Adult ICU and they told me that they felt the experience did nothing for them. They felt that the concept of anesthesia is the focus and all of that info is new info that is being taught. I know someone who went through the program with Only peds ER experience. That person said that the only difference was putting in more study time during hemodynamic areas. It really all depends who you speak to. I am sure it will help having adult ICU experience, but if you are motivated you WILL get through it without it. (you just have to work harder, thats all). As for my GPA it was a 3.6 but the avg GPA for this entering class at Barry was a 3.4. So some people had higher than 3.4 and others had lower. Remember when you apply they look at the whole picture. GPA, gre, letters of recommendation, experience, and during the interview they even look at your personality. So dont let one thing bum you out. Good Luck to all and if you guys apply to barry, hopefully I'll see you next year. If you have any other questions let me know. I will be more than happy to answer any questions.

Well, i may not know much about Columbia but i do know a lot about Barry. That whole weeding out thing is not true. They accept more students because they have the ability to do so. Believe me their goal is not to weed people out. ( that would ONLY hurt their reputation) the professors are always willing to help and they have an open door policy. Yes, it is true that people flunk out, but they will do so in any program. It is a difficult program but it is difficult everywhere else. They do take NICU experience. I worked in a level III NICU so we received the sickest kids. I worked with vents, and drips etc.. The only difference is that i did not work with balloon pumps, adult lines etc. Cardiac meds are completely different because the neonates dont really have cardiac issues except for analmolies. If you can move to an adult ICU, this will only help you, but if you choose to stay in NICU, it will be fine. (you just have to study harder!!!)

thanks i appreciate all the advice. I think my decision will be to stay at Barry, hopefully i wont regret this later (but i dont think i will). I have been through 2 days of orientation and a get aquainted bbq and it has been nothing but frinendly and positive attitudes from faculty and the students. The faculty truly go out of their way to make the students feel comfortable. (a feeling i did not get from Columbia)

jnmn.

Thanks for the advice. It is truly a hard decision to make. I have a lot of pressure from my family because they are telling me that columbia is an ivy and it will look a lot better on my resume. Quite frankly, the impression i got from them was not so great on my interview. I know i cant judge them soley on that first impression, but i did feel that i was treated pretty crappy due to my experience. again thanks for the advice, i think i will probably end up staying.

I applied to Columbia university's anesthesia program. I did not think that i would get accepted because the interview panel was not thrilled about my lack of adult icu exp ( I have NICU). I am supposed to start Barry university's program in a few days and orientation started yesterday. I received a call from columbia accepting me into the program. I am sure that Columbia is probably the better option, but does anyone have any suggestions of where i should go. Does anyone have info on Columbia's program. thanks