sleepyrasrn

Hmmmm....anyone know what the deal is with the abrupt, last-minute change of the start date? They moved it up from June 14th to May 10th. That is a huge change this late in the game. Very weird.

I just got my letter today!!! I'm in at CAMC for 2010! I can't believe it. I've got so much to get done in such a short time. Maybe I'll see you in class this year Greezball, maybe next year. Congrats either way!

it's amazing how much misinformation is perpetuated by "would-be crna's" and other misinformed persons. i was told by more than one person (in another forum) to avoid west virginia's camc program since you are unable to obtain prescriptive authority with the doctoral degree that is awarded upon graduation. out of concern i contacted the head of the program to see what she had to say on the matter and found the answer very enlightening. (long story short: ask programs directly about any concerns you have about their validity or how their program is run. relying on third party information is liable to get you into trouble). i was given permission to post the response so any commentary on the subject is greatly appreciated. (i asked permission to post this response to applicable forums and dr taylor sent the following response). :yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah:

The deadline for applications is Feb 1, 2010 for the Charleston Area Medical Center DMPNA program. I'm waiting on pins and needles to hear back from them.:gtch: Has anybody interviewed or been accepted yet?

Typically programs want ICU experience. The AANA standard is a minimum of 1 year in an ICU setting with ventilators and vasoactive drips. Each program has different requirements, but in my research I haven't seen any programs that will consider ED experience as ICU experience. The reason is that they want you to have some experience with management of vasoactive drips, hemodynamics, swanns, etc. And to be perfectly honest, the type of ICU experience you have really makes a difference. A cardiothoracic ICU setting in a large teaching hospital is probably the best experience you can get for boosting your chances. I've seen one program that accepts neonatal ICU experience, but most don't and PACU is typically not considered ICU experience. Otherwise, Medical ICU, Respiratory ICU, Neuro ICU, CCU are the kinds of experience that are acceptable.

I've been told (by CRNA's that I work with) to stay away from Mayo's program since they don't allow their students to do regional techniques. Is this true? Thanks for the heads up about the clinicals. It's good to know Mayo has intense rotations. I learn best in the moment when I have to figure things out myself. If I have someone constantly hovering and telling me the answers all the time, pointing out what to do in every situation, I am less likely to learn from the situation.

Thanks for the reply. I've heard many good things about Cal State's program and I'm considering applying there. Can anyone speak to Barry's clinical experience in Florida or Charleston Area Medical Centers rotations now that the doctoral program has been started? Thanks a ton!

Thanks for the input. When you say "students from other programs" would you mind sharing which programs you mean? I'd like to avoid (if possible) applying to programs that have a tarnished reputation. For instance, the other CRNA program in WV is trying to regain it's accreditation after losing it at the last review. Also, I'd like to find a program that has a strong clinical focus on regional techniques. Any ideas? This kind of stuff is tricky to research. Thanks for all the help. Anybody have any input on Barry's program in Florida?

Various schools seem to have a reputation for either strong or weak clinical components. Some give you the bare minimum to meet requirements and others provide an exorbitant amount of cases in open heart, neurosurg, and regional techniques. While I know that experiences can vary between students in the same program, I'd like to get an idea of CRNA's opinions of the program they graduated from and what their clinical experience was like. This is a time to brag about the school you graduated from!!! Please share!

I'm applying to CAMC's DMPNA program and was wondering what kind of reputation this school has. What are the clinicals like? Do you get to do much with regionals? The program puts a huge emphasis on management education which sounds very appealing but do the management courses detract from clinical or anesthesia didactic experience? Any feedback from somebody in the first DMPNA class or that knows about the program would be greatly appreciated.

I know this is an older thread, but can anyone tell me more about the VCU course. I took general chemistry about 5 years ago and very little organic chemistry was covered. Are these courses doable with minimal or latent chemistry experience? It looks like there are two courses: Foundations for mammalian physiology and foundations for medicinal chemistry. Any further input would be highly welcome and much appreciated. Thanks.

Something that is hard to grasp as a new nurse is the big picture. Cliche' as it may be it really is an area that can take some time to develop. Something that may help is to take a step back every once in a while with your patient and ask "what's our main goal with our pt and how are we going to accomplish it?" The details are important, but rather than getting hung up in the details try to discuss big picture ideas with your preceptor as much as possible." For instance: try to identify some main goals when you come on shift (such as becoming ambulatory by Saturday, achieve ideal lung function by ambulating/IS/C&DB/etc, extubate by shift end, etc) and then identify very specific things you can do on your shift to push that patient closer to their goals. Thinking this way, rather than just doing tasks all day, will really help your patient out and help you get a feel for how all the little tasks fit together to achieve an outcome. You have a huge effect on whether or not your patient progresses a little in your shift or a lot. Especially in the ICU. This isn't as much the case on the floor, but in the ICU you get a significant amount of autonomy and it's up to you to put it to good use.

Just curious what the concensus is out there with thoracic transplant nurses. I am relatively new to the thoracic specialty (8 mos thoracic, but RN for 5 years with Neuro ICU background prior) and I haven't figured out the balance between tolerating a low MAP and CI versus giving fluid to bolster the index of a lung transplant pt. I know giving fluid potentially sacrifices the health of the new lungs even when it improves numbers. I have a pt who was transplanted a week ago (relatively healthy young pt in 30's) and got a large pair of lungs...so large that they opened the pt back up for several days to allow the inflammatory process to ease before closing the chest again (after repeat periods of SVT 170's and CI

Getting into the ICU right after school is a competitive task in most states I've worked. But nursing is still seemingly desperate for bodies and the last two ICU's I worked in were staffed nearly half by RN's with less than a years experience or fresh from school. ICU's that hire new grads usually have high turnover because people go there to get experience for further schooling. Usually these are the best ICU's to work for (usually teaching facilities) and their consortium or internship is required to work on their unit. With the consortium they usually require 2 years commitment. Difficult to get around this as you are an expensive investment. I went through a program at The University of Utah when I lived there and they required a 2 year commitment or required paying back the 12,000 dollars it took to train us if we left early. Yup, 12 grande! But if your trying to get to CRNA school, 12 grand is just a drop in the bucket. And they would prorate the payment owed based on how long you stayed. If you stayed for a year then you would only have to pay back 6,000. The extra year you are going to be making money as a CRNA would more than make up for this. So, if you are dead set on getting into the ICU right out of school I would try to precept in an ICU and then apply to consortiums/internships all over the country in trauma 1 TEACHING FACILITIES. There are many good ones out West. The floor I work for here in Seattle hires new grads like they are going out of style. Then apply to school after 6 months to 1 year of experience. Odds are you won't get in on your first try (in which case you won't have to worry about the 2 year commitment) and even if you do get in on your first try most schools don't start for nearly a year after interviews take place. At least I've found that to be the case. So by the time you start school you'll have been on your unit nearly two years and can pay back the pittance amount charged you when you ditch early. Don't know if this helps but its how I've seen things done in a lot of areas successfully. good luck!

I grew up in the Ogden area as well. Funny thing. I graduated from Weber State University too. It's been 4 years ago. I finally decided to move out of state up to Seattle for a more acute working atmosphere, though. Hence, the position I am in. I'm still stalling, though. I've got some time to make up my mind before I decide on who to approach for a reference.