heartrn35

I find it very interesting that nurses are very quick to cut each others throats. This is a nurse that is a good patient advocate, and by discription is a good nurse except for some "strange behavior". Yet we have already diagnosed her brought her before a review board (of her pears) and said that she needs to be watched so she does not harm her patients. Boy I hope no one is watching me and finds what I do to be strange.

Just got done with a little golf weekend, stunk up the course but really enjoyed it knowing there would be very few left. Thank you.

This week I finally got the call I've been waiting for...I'm accepted to Pitt. Now I can stop banging my head against the wall and just enjoy the time left before school starts. I thank all of those who encouraged me to continue even when I did not have faith in myself.

californianurse, Thanks for your reply. I did make alternate at Pitt and hope to get in there but hoping doesn't get me anywhere. I'm planning on getting my CCRN, becoming a ACLS instructor, getting on my Code committee, and other like minded changes. I'm not sure I will be able to make changes to my personality to WOW people during the interveiw, but I'm going to make my best attempt to makesure that I'm not suffering from mediocrity either. Thanks again heartrn35

Suzanne Thank you for your reply. In retrospect I did not realilze that the interveiw held that much power, and I may have come in overly confident. I don't think that I was obnoxious but may not have had the best questions to ask them, and I gave breif answers to their questions (I was worried about talking myself in a circle). I have contacted the schools I interveiwed at and asked for feedback, but have not gotten anything really solid in reply, but I will try again. I'm not good at being persistent but it looks like that is what I need to become. No matter what I'm going to continue to persue this dream. Thank you again. Heartrn35

Over the past Nine years I have worked in five different CTICUs. In each that I was staff (I also did travel assignments), I was in charge after completion of orientation. In my current position I am responsible for orientation for new open heart nurses, I teach basic hemodynamics, pa lines, IABPs, etc. I am certified on a couple VADs, IABPs,...I'm not a CCRN, just never saw the need to do it...till now. As far as science, I've taken all the necessary sciences (multiple chem's, physics, basic and advanced A&P, minor in psych) and have gotten A's on pretty much everything (except some of the psych). I was quite nervous at the interveiw and this may have come across as overconfidence, but I never would have thought confidence would hurt me. I know what I know, but not so much that I am not open to learning something new. Thank you for your input

I'm feeling a little confused. I thought I would be a shoe in for anesthesia school. I have 9 years of CTICU, two years of step down before that, I understand hemodynamics well enough to teach others (always room for improvement), I graduated magna cum laude, GRE score was 1100. I had excellent recomendations from people who I really respected. I keep trying to understand what I did wrong. I have to admit that I probably could have done better at the interveiws, I was nervous and really didn't show my true self, but I'm not sure how I can change that part of me. The first of my three interviews was clinical and I did poorly, becuase I was rattled by the negative tone of the interview. But the second and third I walked out of feeling "that's how I want a interview to go." Could the committee be so focused on the interview that this all they focus on? Any advice would be appriciated.

ggfifi, I have to question what you are anxious about? I mean I know that ICU is an anxiety producing experience, but just make sure that your focus is correct. Worry about what your patients need, tasks you need to accomplish, thinking things through before you jump the gun...etc. don't worry about what everyone else thinks is important (unless you ask for their advice). Just remember your not supposed to know everything at this point, co-workers who give you crap about not knowing whatever are just bitter and thoughtless. If the knowldge necessary to be an ICU nurse was easy ICU wouldn't be stressful...but it is. Give yourself time to make this adjustment, and don't think less of yourself because you are anxious. Anxiety is just a sign that you care. If you didn't care...that would be a sign that your either; 1) too dumb to know you don't know EVERYTHING, or 2) in the wrong place. You are going to do fine, just be patient with yourself.

Carbonef11 If you are absolutely sure that the ICU isn't for you go to your manager and let him/her know your thoughts. They are nurses with usually boatloads of experience and they can help direct you with your departure. This way also make your return easy if you decide to return to ICU at a later time. If we would all be a a little more open and honest maybe we could get rid of some of the back biting. You know what you want, think it through, then make your decision. It's always going to be appropriate to let your manager know what your doing (even if you don't like or trust them) it's professional courtesy.

I think all to often we get focused on our patients as only our patients and we need to see them as more. The families are nore than people who interupt your schedule and complicate your days with questions that we don't know the answer to. Yes they are more, to more people than we realize. thank you whistle

Your right I am being arrogant and dismissive. 1) If you have read this whole thread even you must see there is a LOT of animosity r/t CRNA vs. AA. 2) As a nurse I would expect you to see the strength of an ICU experienced nurse over a non-clinically experienced AA. But obviously you don't think very highly of nurses since you as one would choose to go the non-nurse route. I'm not sure what you do in nursing but myself I think in a very scientific manner when I'm taking care of sick hearts. I may not sit down with a book and paper and graph out what the effects I'm looking for from the drugs I have avalible, but I do analize in my mind what needs to be changed and the best way to get that done. Last time I checked that was the scientific process in motion. 3) Nursing school may have had too much BS in there courses, but I would expect you to atleast support your fellow nurses in theory. If you did not like your education, maybe you should have put more into it, but don't be one of those nurses who pokes holes in nursing and then wonders why the profession isn't strong. The point being is I HATE nurses dragging their own profession down. And you come on a thread where non-nurses are pulling at the seams of the profession and you agree with them.....have a little respect for the profession that you entered of your own free will.Most of the nurses that I here tearing the profession down are either; 1) not aware of the message that they are sending (others hear them saying), 2) or they just really don't care about the profession. Heres to hoping that your a 1, not a 2.

I'd respond to this but there has been too much bloodshed over this particular thread and...you just aint worth it!

You can put any spin on it you would like, or more truthfully you can put any label on it you would like. The truth is the gov't would control the purse strings. Not directly but indirectly. When the gov't says there can only be "X" number of medical centers that perform "said" procedure, because they found that only those that perform it frequently are any good at it. This means that only a certain number of those procedures can be performed. This is the basic idea behind Canada's system. The more I read of your post the funnier you become "The govenrment does not own or manage their medical practices or hospitals." "Doctors are in private practice and are paid on a fee-for-service basis from government funds." I'm sure that the gov't wouldn't dangle the carrot to direct those "private practices" in the direction that they dictate as appropriate. Atleast when managed care started to do this practitioners were able to choose not to accept that insurance, with SOCIALIZED MEDICINE there will be no alternative. You either do it the gov't way or those gov't funds will stop.And the part about socialied medicine conjuring up images of gov't bureaucratic interference. I would love to hear of once small sector where the gov't came in and changed control from the private sector to gov't control where that sector was better off and the cost did not climb (without gov't dumping a bunch of outside money into it).Do a little reserch, just google: Canada, medical waiting list. I'm sure there are some stories that are false but in doing my own research paper I found documented cases of people with 90% left main lesions that had to go home and wait 2 weeks to a couple of months for thier bypass surgery. That is the one we call the "widow maker" the one they don't even wait till the next day to perform.

Do you really think that a Gov't run health care system is a good idea. We are talking about the same people who can't ever balance a budget. These people think that balancing the budget is done by raising taxes. And you want them in charge of our healthcare system? I DON"T THINK SO.

Couldn't agree more. If you bring the skeletons out of the closet and let everyone know that you learned from your mistakes, then you will never have to worry about the skeletons being pulled out and used to beat you.