heimanb

Yes, I've always heard that SICU is preferred in many cases because of the diversity in experience you can get. For example, take a MVA with spleen lac, frontal lobe brain contusions, and perforated bowel. Comes back direct from the OR post-exploratory lap with splenectomy, hyperventilated via the vent to control ICP, and develops a tension pneumo five minutes after arrival to the unit. Surprise! Time to put in a chest tube. And are those pupils equal? Better get neuro down here, get ready to push some mannitol, looks like they gave too much fluid in the OR. Then in a day or so they patient is in full-blown ARDS and getting septic from the bowel perf. Time to put in a Swan. The nurse is making multiple vent changes, tweaking some vasoactive drips to control BP, maybe if this patient is very unlucky they will progress into renal failure and require CVVHD. This is just one example, but pretty common in the surgical/trauma unit I work in. Not to mention the familiarity you get with the nursing care required with different operative procedures.

I have a favor to ask . . . While I had planned on moving to North Carolina to be trained as a CRNA, life has thrown a curve ball-- I will most likely need to stay in my current area: north Alabama. If you attend or have graduated from the University of Alabama in Birmingham's Nurse Anesthesia program, please let me know your impressions! 1) What was the intensity? 2) The quality of instructors and curriculum. 3) Its strengths and weaknesses? 4) Any other helpful or interesting information! Let me just say that I am so happy I've changed directions in my career and am on my way to the profession of my dreams! Nursing school has been a wonderful challenge, and I'm chomping at the bit to get cracking at graduate school. Thanks immensely, B.H.

That's great! I'm glad you had such a positive experience, and hope it gets even better from here. I'm still in school, but plan to work in cardiac ICU after graduating. I've heard that critical care nurses tend to be given a little more respect since they are often required to make lifesaving decisions before the MD can intervene. It's too bad that the countless, equally important decisions made by nurses in less intense circumstances aren't equally appreciated by all. It must be remembered that each and every team member working with a patient has the power to help or hinder the client in their healing process. Again, best of luck-- Ben

Definitely go for your BSN, especially since you have many of your core university courses under your belt. I just finished a degree in biology with an emphasis on biochemistry and turned around to put in two more years towards a BSN. I had to fill in a couple of prerequisite gaps (A&P and human development), but I've found the transition to be quite smooth. As per the previous posts, before changing boats in midstream, now is a good time to consider why nursing anesthesia is for you. For me, I couldn't stand the impersonal environment of the chemistry lab and the feeling that I wasn't really accopmlishing anything of importance with my work. Even if I don't end up becoming a CRNA, I feel like nursing is a respectable and worthwhile profession.

Thanks to everyone for all of the insightful comments and suggestions. This is truly an invaluable resource! I am a recent graduate with a Biology degree who has decided that his calling is in nursing, specifically in nursing anesthesia because of my interest in the sciences and my need for autonomy in the workforce. I do, however, have a major concern as I prepare to pursue this goal: I have a serious intestinal disorder for which there is not yet a solid cure (ulcerative colitis). Ninety-five percent of the time this condition doesn't obligately interfere with my day to day life; however, when it flares up, it may be necessary for me to make the occasional sudden trip to the bathroom (need I say more?). So here's my question: how stringent are the health requirements for practicing CRNA's? Would this condition be viewed as too great a handicap for the profession? Let me emphasize that this is not by any means a daily problem. But in practice, there would certainly be the occasion when I would be in the OR monitoring a patient and would need to hit the throne. This question is aimed at any experienced practitioners who know from experience how manageable such a disorder may be. Thanks so much for your time-- BH