no-pain

I think by your comments YOU are brining the CRNA profession down! What are the 3 presentations? Since the majority of CRNA's and CRNA students on this site probably wont be able to attend maybe you could provide us with the outline of your presentation. What is the date of the presentations? Maybe some here might be able to attend. If you really are a CRNA I truly feel sorry for you and what your life must be like to feel LESS THAN. It is unfortunate that you feel the way you do about the CRNA profession. You might benefit from going to a Tony Robbins seminar!

I too am an RRT and RN and will be applying to programs for 2008 admission. I aslo believe that an RN with an RRT background is a PERFECT combination for becoming a CRNA. In my opinion having gone through both programs I can tell you that RRT's (atleast the program I went to) have a much more in depth and broader comprehension of cardio/pulmonary systems and of course airway, airway, airway To answer your question as to counting RRT experience the answer unfortunetly is NO. The AANA has specific guidelines as to having the minimum of one year critical care as an RN however schools wouldnt discount your(our) RRT experience.

Being an RN and RRT myself I would agree with ArnieRNRRT and LisaRRT that effectivly I learned much more in respiratory therapy school with regards to physiology of the cardiopulmonary and renal systems than I did in nursing school and of course airwary management. I look at it this way, I have gained an experience that will only help me later in anesthesia school which I may be able to pass along to another student. Of course the answer to the original post is one MUST become a nurse before entering nurse anesthesia school, there are NO shortcuts!!!

From reading through your posts it seems that you are having more stressors in your life than just going through the clinical rotations such as family and finances unless I am misinterpreting your responses. I would have to agree with Blanka with regards to being prepared and sticking with it. If you want it bad enough you CAN and WILL get thorough it, remember others have been through your same pain. I would also have to agree with Piscesguy regarding utilizing exercise as a form of stress relief. I may be standing alone on this but I would have to disagree with using medications of any kind to relieve your stress. You shouldn't need a pill to stop from dealing with your feelings.:chair Hang in there! The next thing you now you will be walking down that isle and getting your diploma and this will all be a distant memory or possibly a learning tool for later life.

From my point of view, since I am begining to raise a family and dont want the extra stress of anesthesia school right now, I am pursuing an MSN (online) to keep up with what may be the future trend of anesthesia schools. Even when I do apply (in 2 years) and there is no consensus on minimum requirements I will already have the MSN and will only need to focus on the anesthesia courses since I will have already taken the nursing core courses (for an MSN anesthesia program). Basically for me its a good fit if the DNP is going to be the standard. I dont really have an opinion one way or another with making the DNP manditory for entry level anesthesia practice but again for me I plan on getting it anyway.

ezra19742002, Yoga is just giving you an answer to what you asked. Its probably not what you wanted to hear which is why you made the snide comment but he is absolutly right. All it was was constuctive criticism. It sounds like you should start out in an ICU or busy ED rather than focus on the CRNA thing for now. That type of attitude wont get you very far in life in any setting.

I too was in a similar situation. My wife and I had been together for 18 years and married for 13 when she decided to leave because she thought I didnt want to have children.(poor excuse) I had communicated with her on many occations (which she agreed) that we should wait until after Im done with CRNA school to have children due to the stress of school/clinical. I was so happy to have gone to 2 interviews but due to lack of experience it was recommended to continue to work another year and re-interview. After the interviews were done my wife left me and I was devestated needless to say. I was very saddened but I realized I didnt need to be with someone that was so shallow. It has taken me some time to get back on my feet but what I learned from this was I should have spent more time with family and not so focused on education. I am moving forward with my life and career but in a balaced approach. It seems like such a cliché but I am better off today than 2 years ago.

If you think that you can get into an icu setting after you pass your NCLEX I would recommend you going the ASN route and work while getting your BSN. That way you will be getting the icu exp. necessary while finishing your BSN.

I agree with Nitecap, enroll in the exam again after either a kaplan home study or review course. Personally I hated the GRE and got a similar score. Currently since I wont be enrolling in any anesthesia school until 2008 I am getting my MSN online and wont have to take it again

I was in your situation a few years ago and was privileged to have had 3 interviews after graduation but each institution preferred I had just one extra year of icu nursing even though I had 13 years of previous medical experience in respiratory therapy. I was so focused on attaining my goal I became divorced over that by not wanting children before I was done with school. Believe me, I know how bad you want to just be done with school and start in your new career but like others have said, slow down, take as much information in as you can and dont forget to have fun, it will only help you in the long run.

Yesterday the A$A President Orin Guidry, M.D., responded to "unrealistic depiction of anesthesiologist on “Grey’s Anatomy.” http://www.asahq.org/news/news020606.htm After watching the episode I did think that it was an unrealistic portrayal of an anesthesia provider but it was what was said in the ASA letter that was more concerning to me. I am not a CRNA (yet) however I have read a lot of history behind the role of a CRNA's particularly as it pertains to military. The ASA President stated " Anesthesiologists are at the forefront of treating soldiers on the battlefield" Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought CRNA's were/are the anesthesia providers for the military. I would like some comments from the CRNA's who were/are part of military missions.

My first suggestion is to go the the peer assistance web site thru the AANA, (AIR) Anesthetists In Recovery or call 215-635-0183 and there you may have more of your questions answered but since this is an open forum I will give my First, its true that sufent clears very quickly which is why they may not have tested specifically for that metabolite and may have only tested for opiates. Second, your employer does not legally have to show you those test results however if charges are brought up against you, at that point you will have access to those records. Third, without knowing both sides of the story its hard for me to believe that you were terminated for this one isoloated incident (although that is all it takes) however like you said, a few others you knew were able to keep there jobs. As I stated above get as much information from AIR as you can, Im sure that they have many suggestions for you and be proactive with your employer, the answer is always NO! unless you ask.

Check out the Pre-CRNA Inquiry Forum at the top of this page, it may answer many of your questions.

All I can say is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!

Having used both the sono-site and the site-rite my preference is the sono-site. I believe you get a better picture quality. Site-rite just came out with the site-rite5, I tried it for a week but I prefered the sono-site by far. Ultimetely I think it comes down to personal preference.