hell000nurse

I remember reading/posting in this thread almost 2 years ago now, before i had even applied to anesthesia school. and all the things people were saying scared the living daylights out of me! made me doubt myself and my ability to do this! now...i can ONLY speak for myself (i am 26, single/unmarried, no kids, no morgage or car payment)...but what i want to tell anyone who is considering anesthesia school and reading this to get some insight into what your life would be like....TAKE ALL OF THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. i promise you, YOU CAN DO THIS. all these people who are making this out to be like a nazi concentration camp, its NOT (again im sure its a lot harder if you're married and have kids but its still doable!!). you go into this KNOWING its not going to be a piece of cake. if it were, everyone would do it. so yes, its a lot of work and takes time and effort and sacrifices....but its all SO WORTH IT if this is what you're passionate about!! end rant. that being said...i am starting my 3rd semester next week. i am in a 30 month program and have done about 7 months so far. i started in january with didactic and then start clinical the end of march. here is a typical schedule for me. Monday - up by 5am, in the OR by 6am (i walk, only a few blocks away) the first semester was pretty easy compared to the second. second semester i was studying 2-4 hours almost everyday after class/clinical. but you get used to it and its no big deal. relax, you still have time to eat, pee, sleep, have sex Tuesday - clinical again. 6-3 but they usually let us out between 2-230 depending on the cases Wednesday - class 830-noon. then study for a few hours. Thursday - lab 830-noon Friday - class 8-1130 im still per diem at work. i work about 2-3 days a month. a few people in my class still do 3 days (i think they do it on weekend nights or something). ive had time to hang with my friends, go on trips, etc. you just have to buckle down certain weeks when you have exams. typically ive had about one big exam each week. certain topics require more studying than others, as you know. i wouldnt say im a 4.0 student. my undergrad GPA was 3.5. so far ive managed straight A's my first and second semesters and ive excelled in the clinical area. im LOVING it and never regret my decision. again i just want to say...this thread scared the crap out of me. but now im living it and its so doable. so GO FOR IT!! you wont regret it! put your fears aside...i was worried about money, not having enough experience (i had 4 years nursing experience, only 1.5 unit experience). but it has all worked out!! :):)

So I start school in January 09. I've been approved for the full amount of the stafford loan, so now I am just trying to figure out how much to ask for from the gradPLUS loans. Has anyone else felt like its IMPOSSIBLE to try to estimate your expenses for a YEAR?! I'm having a really hard time! So far these are the monthly expenses that I can think of to add in: rent, utilities, cell, car insurance, food, misc/toiletries. I cant think of any other ones! My credit cards will be paid off and my car is paid off, so that wont be included. I have NO idea how much I'll spend on food in a month! Does anyone have any tips of how they went about this? Or the numbers they used for food and misc.?

Accepted for January 2009 GRE waived because of GPA GPA 3.6 1 year and 6 months of busy Medical ICU experience at time of interview. Will be 2 years and 2 months by the start of school.

No benefits? Do you get them through your spouse?

a good friend of mine just started there 2 weeks ago, she likes it

Jefferson, Jan. 09! You?

I dont know what my schools policy is on deferment....if i got in for this year, and decided i wanted to wait a year, would i have to go through the whole application process again?

I truly appreciate these responses! Your input, along with a long conversation I had with a trusted friend who is 219 days away from graduated I have decided to GO FOR IT. He corrected a few misconceptions that I had. First, I thought it would put me so far behind that I had only taken one class. The reality is, only 2-3 people in his class had taken 1-2 classes before the program started. Second, the majority of people in his junior class had 1-3 years experience...which puts me smack dab in the midddle with 2 years experience. I'm going for it! I feel so much better, thanks all!!

I am having a crisis, and I need some serious advice! Here is the situation: I've wanted to be a CRNA since college. I've been a nurse since 2004. Gained most of my experience in telemetry, was a traveling nurse, and have now been in the ICU 2 years in November. I applied to a university here in Philadelphia months back, just to get my foot in the door. I had heard all the horror stories about the interview, and wanted to get at least ONE under my belt so I could see what I was dealing with. When I interviewed, I truly did not expect to be accepted. Like I said, I wanted to see what the interview was going to be like. In the back of my head, I was thinking I'd have another year to save money, take classes, etc. I was crazy excited and shocked to find that I had been accepted. So of course right away, I sent in my deposit and started working overtime to pay off bills. Then I took an online health policy class. In the past week, my mind is suddenly working overtime. I am starting to think that maybe I should wait another year to start school. Here are the reasons why I feel it may benefit me to wait another year: 1.) Money - I am single, so I dont have an OVERWHELMING amount of debt...maybe $5000 or so. I am working hard to pay it off right now, and my car will be paid off before I'd start in January. But since I didnt really except to be accepted, I have basically no savings. NO SAVINGS! I would have help from my parents but still! 2.) Classes - There are I believe 6 classes that non-matriculated students can take before the program starts, to get them out of the way. Things like health policy, role of the APN, etc. Considering this is SUCH an incredibly rigorous and demanding program, doesnt it make the most sense to make things as easy on myself as possible by taking ALL of these B.S. classes BEFORE the actual important anesthesia material begins? I only took ONE! 3.) Experience - I know a few people who have been accepted with 6 months-1 year experience in the ICU, so I know this is not unheard of. And obviously the school felt I was eligible as they did accept me. But I know that generally, people have anywhere from 8-15 years ICU experience before they begin this program! I have 2 YEARS. I am not saying that I don't think I would be able to get through.....but obviously the people who have 8 years experience will have it a lot easier than I do. This is intimidating. Does it make sense to put myself through this? Or do I get another year of experience? Obviously this is such a hard decision. On the other hand I am SO excited to start school, to begin my 'life' in essence. To learn new things, make new friends, get my butt kicked. I already even told my job when I am leaving, and everything is basically in place for me to go. HELP!

and is it hardcover?

is this the right book?

thanks for the link. i am PRAYING, because i cant see myself getting rid of this phone. people say its just because of the 'cool' factor. but thats because they dont have one. its one of the most amazing toys....and the fact is, its NOT just a toy. its SO useful! im waiting till the LAST minute to get rid of it

I start school in Jan. 2009. I am working my a$$ off trying to pay off my bills and save money....I am going to quit my full time job the end of november, go on a vacation with my boyfriend, go home (4 hrs away) and spend the holidays with my family! december is going to be my last month of freedom and relaxation.

this was a pretty informative post. but i just wanna say one thing regarding the iphone. do you have an iphone? have you ever even used one? ive had one for almost a year and im completely obsessed with you. do you really think its faster to open up a palm or any other 'smart phone', take out your little plastic pointer thingy and type things on it, versus using the touch screen on the iphone?! youre mistaken. if you know anything about the iphone, or more importantly if you become an avid user of it, you would know you get VERY quick with the touch-typing. its not slow by any means. yes, you do look cool with an iphone but youre right, the program compatibility is just not there yet. but it will be, i have faith!!!!

I am so depressed to have come to the realization that I will have to get rid of my iphone

oh my gosh! this is darn near a disaster for me to hear this!!! i LOVE my iphone!!!!! it never leaves my side and i use it for EVERYTHING! and i mean everything. say it aint SO!!! i start in january of 09.....all i can do is pray they come out with some new software. but its not sounding promising :(

Any SRNA's using the iphone as their PDA? not sure if its compatible with all the software/programs yet that anesthesia students are using. any input?

Wow, 223 views and not one response...I'm starting to get a complex I'm looking into H.R. 1932 for my paper....any opinions/information would still be much appreciated!

Hey all. I'm taking a health policy course now in preparation for starting CRNA school is Jan 2009. We are required to write an 8-10 page paper on any policy issue relevant to our clinical or educational interests. Since I will be entering anesthesia school I've very interested in learning about what the latest and most talked about/controversial legislation/issues are surrounding nurse anesthesia. In my research I know I have seen a lot about medicare/medicaid reimbursement and about reimbursement parity with CRNAs and MDA's. I would love to get some perspectives/information/opinions from CRNA's who are currently in the field and directly effected by these types of things. I've tried reading about it but its still all a little confusing to me as far as HOW exactly are CRNA's reimbursed, and how is that different/similar to MDAs? Thanks for much in advance for all your help! Andrea

i believe they accept 25 people? the interview was nowhere near as bad as i thought after reading peoples experiences on this site!!! first its a powerpoint presentation, then you interview one on one with the director and then the assistant director. then you go to lunch. then you interview with 2 of the clinical coordinators. most important thing in my eyes is to be CALM, CONFIDENT. i was laid back, i made them laugh, i was calm (although i wasnt calm on the inside!!) now i think they switch up the way they do the interviews, so dont go exactly by what i say. but know your pressors and how they act. they actually didnt ask me ANY of those prepared questions, but i know other people who DID get asked those questions. so prepare for them. i am 25. ive been a nurse for about 4 years. i have 1.5 years of ICU experience....so by the rtime i start school i will have had a little over 2 years experience. i was very worried about my experience being a negative thing...especially since 3 of the people i was interviewing with had 7-10 years experience. they also went over my undergrad grades...they pay attention to your science grades mostly. thank god mine were good. other than that, a lot of personal questions. why you wanna do this, why you think youll be good at it, they ask all about your current ICU and the kinds of things you see/kinds of patients you treat...so prepare yourself for that. hope this helps!

i only applied to/interviewed at one school, which was my #1 choice, and i got in. so i dont really have a lot of 'interview' stories to tell, just the one that i went to :) so did you apply to jeff? for jan 2009? PM me

you cant even apply to an anesthesia program without your BSN

i really liked starae's post...i liked how you broke down your day by the hours, hehe. really gives me any idea of what my life will be like!! anyone else who can post their daily schedules??

Yea I figured that was the first thing I should do....how soon can I do that? I start in Jan 2009..

...and now freaking out over all the stuff I need to get in order before Jan. 2009! Hi all...I just got accepted to Thomas Jefferson Univ. in Phila, PA...very excited!! It was the only school I applied to, and my first choice obviously. I'm coming to all of you to asks questions about school loans/personal loans. I know there is a wealth of information on this site, not to mention a sticky on SPECIFICALLY loan stuff. But what I want to know is....WHERE DO I EVEN START!? Would love to hear from people who are in a similar situation as I am....I'm 25, not married and no kids. My biggest bills during school will basically be rent, credit cards (that Im going to try to get paid down as much as I can) cell phone, utilities, and other general costs of living from week to week. My car will be paid off right around the time I start school thank god. Help!! :)