DaveCRNA

Your amount of debt from school is very dependent on MANY factors. Only you can decide how much is too much. I have around 180k. I also had a wife and four kids to support during school. For ME it is worth it. I'll be paying for my education until retirement(more than my mortgage every month)....for ME still worth it. I don't have a 400k house or live a whole lot better than when I was working ICU, but man I love my work. So I say my debt is not too much for me, for others they cringe at the thought.

Well, first, and obviously you need to study the areas you are weak in....verbal versus math. I personally used the website: Number2.com :: Free Online Test Prep It is free to register and free to use. It has a bunch of vocab and bit of math review. I liked the website instead of flashcards....but anyway you study...memorization is the key for the verbal portion. Good luck. btw...people have been admitted with lower scores, so don't be too hard on yourself. :)

Excellent point!

I will offer my opinion. First let me say, I start my CRNA program in 5 weeks. So I've been through the application/interview process. If anesthesia is on your radar then you need to pay attention to your GPA. Most schools look at total GPA, some look at total GPA and break out a science GPA. I don't think there is anything wrong with the accelerated program, but faster is not always better. (you have obviously thought about the pros and cons of both) . Let me also say, that if you are considering CRNA school, it will likely be 36 months long by the time you get there, and it will consume your life, so think about that as you determine how much time you are going to spend in class in the beginning. I guess, if I were in your shoes, I'd take the time with the new wife now, go the traditional route, get excellent grades, find a summer internship in a high acuity ICU and then try to get into an ICU right after graduation. (your chances will be higher if you had a summer internship in an ICU). Hope this helps. PM me if you have any questions. :)

All I can say is wow! I find it crazy that an RN wouldn't do a complete assessment on every patient, at the beginning of a shift! How do you know if something changes if you haven't done an initial assessment. A short, basic assessment takes maybe, 3 minutes! Add in the specifics for the patient type, or complaints and you can still be done in 5 minutes. OP, keep doing those assessments, someday your previous assessment will allow you to save the life of one of your patients, because you noticed a change earlier!!!! Someone earlier posted that we can only be responsible for our own actions! I agree, but with a twist: 1. Do your own assessments and document truthfully. 2. Don't turn the other cheek when you see these lack luster nurses. Call them on their bad nursing! if that doesn't work then report them. (be sure you know what you are talking about though) We, nurses, are the patient advocates!! It's one of the fundamental values a nurse should have. We advocate for patients. Not just our patients, all patients. I have reported bad nurses before and would do it again, if I feel patients are jeopardized. I always attempt to work things out directly first, but if that fails (sometimes it works :), I report to the nurse manager or DON. I don't feel guilty or like a rat, I'm doing my job...protecting patients. Sorry if this sounds like I'm on a soap box, but this is a huge issues for all of nursing and we need to police ourselves! I'm proud to be a nurse and don't want mediocre, uncaring nurses in my profession!!

DNP is a Doctor of Nursing Practice. One of several titles still being throw out as possibly being required of all advanced practice nurses soon. Currently there are Master's level CRNA programs and programs that offer a Doctoral degree in Nurse Anesthesia. Probably soon all programs will be going the way of the DNP / DNAP or some other "Doctoral" degree for nurse anesthesia. Most master's level programs in Nurse Anesthesia are 24-30 months in length. I don't know the average, but seems most programs I have looked at are 27 or 30 months long. I know one program offering a DNAP in nurse anesthesia that is 36 months long. It may take 4.5 years for an NP or CNS program to get enough credits to earn a doctoral degree, but most anesthesia programs are really close already. Very tightly packed, one of the reasons the programs are so rigorous. I start this fall in a 30 month long Master's program. In the near future I expect the decisions to be made and most programs will only offer a "Doctoral" level degree, but I'm completely up to date on the situation. Hope this helps some.

www.o2demand.com completely free, nonprofit, website with great videos etc.. it's actually run by an anesthesia resident (I think), but still great information on pharmacology, physiology, etc..

I agree with most of what has been posted. Work hard, learn critical care, be part of the team, etc.... However, For me it was a no brainer, I had to tell them my intentions during the interview. My integrity was at stake. I feel that as nurses we must keep our integrity intact. It's the little choices that add up and make us who we are as people. Try not to compromise yourself. If you're not sure about CRNA or grad school then say so, if you intend to purse an advanced degree then say so. When I interviewed my NM asked why I picked her unit. I told her why, and my plans for CRNA school. Her reaction was "You know we ask for a two year commitment, don't you?" My reply was "That's not a problem, I don't think I'll be applying before then anyway, I need some time to get proficient in critical care before I attempt the next level." I hope everyone with this problem can find a way to maintain their integrity while pursuing their dreams in nursing. :) Good luck on your journey through life and nursing!

It really depends on the school and your location. I know in my area there are RN-MSN programs that don't require earning a BSN first or taking separate classes. There are also programs that do. The best thing you can do is research programs that are located someplace you are willing to attend. Then call the program or attend an information session to get all the details.

I completely agree, no running to higher ups, tiny little issues like this can be addressed directly with little effort.

I agree, just let the instructor know you are using your time because you have it. I agree, we have to learn to resolve conflict without escalating the situation. I agree with Kevin, we all need to be able to address situations that are inappropriate. This can be very difficult in situations where the perceived power lies in the hand of someone other than ourselves. jls, I believe you advocated speaking up in the first quote, didn't you?? Now I have to say something about the remainder of this post. Saying it's no big deal because she might have some type of appointment, pms, etc...just cannot fly. Here's why from my perspective... This is a professional nurse in a vital nursing function. She is responsible for the education of the future of our profession. Her actions speak to students and represent nursing as a whole. She needs to represent nursing as the professional that she is. We all learn therapeutic communication in nursing school. It's hard to think before you talk, but we have to! (I know, I know, we're all human and all have bad days) Do you think I could get away with trying to hurry up a patient on a walk because I want to give report a little early??? Just some food for thought... No matter, I feel we all really want the same things. The OP needs to learn when to speak up and when to let it roll of the back. It is a fine line to walk, that does get much easier with time. This post is not meant to disparage anyone, just to inspire introspection and healthy discussion.

A very nice analogy.

Just my own thoughts here... in order for the Aortic valve to open, the heart must pump. The heart must pump hard enough to overcome the systemic resistance aka afterload...aka diastolic blood pressure. As the ventricles pump, pressure increases within the heart until the pressure exceeds the systemic (diastolic) pressures, when it surpasses this pressure the aortic valve opens allowing the blood to be pumped from the heart. So in order to circulate blood the systolic pressure MUST exceed diastolic pressure. I really can't imagine any way for diastolic pressures to be higher than systolic. I have seen instances with certain types of devices: LVADs, ECMO etc.. where these pressures were the same because of a lack of pulsatility with these types of pumps. But still they are equal or we only see a mean pressure. These observations are from an arterial catheter. my

Yes, all parts of the GRE are timed. The following info is summarised from: http://www.computerbasedtest.com/gre_general.html GRE CBT Time and Questions The duration of the test is approximately three and one-half to four hours. Tutorials .....................No time limit Analytical Issue ..........45 minutes..........1 topic Analytical Argument ....30 minutes..........1 topic Verbal.........................30 minutes..........30 questions Quantitative.................45 minutes..........28 questions Most of the questions in Verbal and Quantitative sections are multiple choices. In the writing sections you must compose an essay based on one or two topics assigned randomly from a large pool of topics. You must select one topic and write only on the topic. An essay on any other topic will be scored a 0.

Thanks freedom, I for one was using the terms interchangeably. So from my newly corrected perspective, here is my practice: I never use the air bubble, I use Z-track if I'm worried about medication leaking through needle track and irritating subcutaneous tissue. I believe the old air bubble was supposed to accomplish the same task, but I'm not positive. NS seems so long ago now and I really don't give more than one or two IM injections a year in my current job. I have always attempted to draw back on the syringe once in the muscle to ensure that I will not inadvertently administer the medication into a blood vessel instead of muscle. Last, I have never used air or tried to draw back on a subcutaneous injection. I had never even heard of it prior to reading a previous post in this thread.