EmeraldNYL BSN, RN

In my ICU for sedation/pain management we usually use Fentanyl gtts, but recently I have been seeing more Dilaudid gtts. My orientee asked me the other day which medication was stronger, and what is the advantage of using one over the other? I really...

Scope of practice can vary widely depending on the culture of the institution you are at. This is definitely something to consider when you are applying for jobs. I work at a teaching hospital (however we do not have anesthesia residents) so the CR...

Yes, that is a correct assumption. Very exciting, but very high stress as well. Don't plan on seeing the call room at all during the night if you work at a very busy trauma center.

Lots of CRNAs take call in trauma centers. I work in a very busy Level II trauma center and a CRNA always has the trauma beeper. We respond to all trauma activations and manage the airway in the trauma bay. If the patient needs to come up to the O...

I do cardiac anesthesia at my facillity under the supervision of an anesthesiologist. Even our anesthesioligists aren't really subspeciality trained to read TEEs-- when we do use one for a valve case we utilize a cardiologist in the OR to read it.

With my group, all of the CRNAs get paid the same, so someone with 20 years of experience makes the same as me with 6 months of experience.

Congrats and welcome to the CRNA club!!

It all depends on the setting you work in. I know many CRNAs who work 60 hours a week between their full-time and per diem jobs. My schedule varies somewhat, but I usually work 7-3:30 mon-fri. I also pick up a call shift about one weekend a month....

I think the key is to try not to get yourself in difficult situations in the first place. The more people that muck around in the airway, the more edema the pt. will have. Did you and the PA anticipate her being a difficult airway? If she was intu...

What kind of nursing skills exactly?? I don't have to clean up poop anymore, thank god!! I see the patient pre-op and go over the anesthesia plan and the patient's history, start the IV, and then manage the patient during the course of the anesthet...

The "captain of the ship" doctrine, where the surgeon is responsible for the actions of the OR staff members, no longer holds up in a court of law. Therefore, a CRNA is legally fully liable for his or her own actions, just as an anesthesiologist wou...

It is a ridiculously huge settlement but Philly juries are notorious for that. The news media doesn't really depict a complete picture of what happened. I know several people who went to watch the trial who knew the CRNA. Apparently Dr. Glunk was ...

CRNAs at my place of employment do varying shifts. I usually work Mon-Fri 7-3:30 with minimal weekend call. I have to work Christmas Eve this year but this is the only holiday that I must work this year. I usually pick up one Sunday 10 hr. shift a...

I work in a 400 bed level II trauma center in the suburbs of Philly. We practice in the care team model but for the most part the environment between the docs and CRNAs is pretty congenial. No, I do not practice completely independently, but I do ge...

I can tell you that in the Philadelphia region there really is not a CRNA shortage. A number of Philly-area CRNAs were very upset by the opening of yet another anesthesia school in Philly (so far I think we have 6). People come here to go to school...

As a new CRNA, I still have scut work, but it mostly involves doing pre-op assessments and post-op rounds. My days are still crazy busy, but there is much less secretarial work, waitressing, and appeasing people (except for the surgeons!!). Some da...

As other posters have stated, it is extremely common for adolescent boys to wake up from anesthesia "wild". There are different stages of anesthesia-- Stage III (deep surgical plane anesthesia) which progresses to Stage II as the patient wakes up. ...

The CEO of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philly (affiliated with the University Of Pennsylvania health system) is a CRNA!!

Check gaswork.com. I am a new grad working in a metro area, average starting salary here is around $130,000. I work 5 eight hr. shifts a week but some people work 4 10's and others work a 24 and 2 8's. I also do the occasional weekend call shift f...

Well, I took the big test today and it shut off at 100 questions. It was HARD, I swear some of those questions I have never seen before! I feel like I could have studied Valley a million more times and I still would not have been completely prepare...

I am a new CRNA in a moderate size (400+ beds) hospital in a metro area. I work 5 8hr. shifts mon.-fri. and the occasional weekend call shift (which is OT pay). I have a good deal of autonomy and do a wide range of challenging cases on sick, sick p...

I passed! My second day of work was today. I can't wait to get my paycheck because I am so sick of being a poor student! Yea!!!

Thanks guys!! I am going away for Christmas so hopefully I will have a nice letter waiting in the mail for me upon my return. I am staying in the Philly area-- I just had an offer accepted on a house!! Whew! It does just seem like yesterday that ...

People, this is the CRNA forum!! Anyway, I am a new grad, work at a very busy Level II trauma center in the Philly burbs, make $125K base. We do a wide mix of cases including OB, neuro, hearts, vascular, ortho, general including gastric bypass surg...

Yes, CRNAs do participate in anesthesia for organ donation. Obviously you don't need to give them any gas, but they usually come to the OR on a ton of drips to maintain proper hemodynamic parameters, and you must manage the BP, send lots of labs, et...