VaMedic

I was told that since we are a Right To Work State (also right to get fired) that Unions are discourged. I work for Sentara and even without a Union, things are pretty good. Good pay, benifits, great ways to channel you complaints or problems. RW

Hi, Coming from a state that does not have nursing Unions, how common are they in the US. I had never heard of a nursing union till I surfed this board. Thanks. RW

The bad part with alot of healthcare facilities in Virginia I have encoutnered is that some will not even discuss what the salary is until you submit an application and interview. Maybe its just my area, but I do not know (Hampton Roads). Good luck with this. RW

Thanks! Rob

Someone at my ER was talking about our new director as having this? I think it is some kind of Fellow or something, but I have no idea what is required to get it or what it is for. Thanks all. She is a Dr (PhD). Rob

Woohoo! Finally a decent Governor :)

Forgot something. The other drawback about trying to motivate Paramedics to go back to school is that the majority of them around here and throughout the nation are Firefighters as well. Many of them are Paramedics only because they have too. I know from the city here, many are disgruntled and are forced to get onto the medic unit. When new firefighters are hired here, they are made to sign a contract that they will have both firefighter training and be a Medic within three years or be fired. I have been doing research for class on the efficacy of care in the sitution where the firefighters are forced to be medics vs. the medic who wants to be there and help people. My case was the reverse. I only wanted to do EMS and no way did I want to fight fire. Thats how I eneded up in NC. About 90% of their EMS and Fire Departments are separate organizations. It is definatly much different here in Virginia. Take care. Rob

Craig, I think I was lucky that my school had the ability to get us into the OR. It was amazing to be only 19 and standing at the head of the OR table next to a MDA and CRNA watching an open heart procedure. Apparantly from talking with many other Paramedics, their programs only allow them PACU time and most have to try and get their intubations in the field. Alot of schools in this area have poped up with Paramedic programs, but only one is with a college (where I went) and they already had all the contracts and contacts to do clinicals. When it came time for the new schools to try and get clinical space, they were out of luck. Thanks for the post. I really enjoy reading your journal. It is great for those of us who are hoping to be there in a few years. Keep up the good work! Rob

"We (you and I) follow protocols and practice under medical direction. Pulling people out of cars and ditches and following a one page protocol is NOT science my friend." Obviuosly I feel sorry for you that your program is that restrictive in nature for you. I have very liberal protocols that are not 1 page long and do require indepent thinking and an OMD that is opened minded for adjusting protocols as we see fit. I rarely have to call for medical direction on patient care. The few Pediatric protocols that require call in are written so that if we do not have time or are in a dead zone for cell and radio we can do the skill or med and document it. We are constantly inserviced and tested as well as being the "tester" agency for a new IABP system and carry the same meds as the helicopters. I do not pull people out of ditches anymore, would much rather have a difficult vent patient or medical patient that requires me to think and figure out what is going wrong, rather than the "Start two large bore IV's and drive fast to the closest ER" for a trauma patient. I am in RN school and will have my RN and ADN by the end of the year and will be transfering within the company to a CSICU internship (4-6 Mos) and then will be offered choice of the different ICU's when I complete that. I will also be finishing my BSN during that time. yoga crna: Thanks for the post. I defiantly know about politics. It is defiantly everywhere, especially in healthcare. I just signed up for another round of inservice hours in the OR for my job's requirements and I am going to be shadowing another CRNA again. I am really looking forward to it. I was so nervous when I had to intubate a patient in school, until I shadowed a CRNA and she had to be the best teacher that I have ever had. She is the reason that I am interested in this field and I am hoping I will get to follow her for the 48 hours. She defiantly had the cool head underpressure and knew the politics and tactful ways to get her agenda across to the surgeon when she needed to. THANKS! Rob

I can defiantly feel your pain and anguish. I worked with a county EMS system in NC with a Level 3 ER (that thought they were level 1). We had a night charge nurse that happened to be married to the rescue squad caption for the city. We had a setup where the rescue squad vol's supplied a BLS truck and the county Paramedic trucks would supply ALS. If it was a Medic call we were to load the pt into the Vol's truck and the county paramedic would ride withthem or if it was BLS you sent them on their way and cleared up. Whenever we had a critical patient and we were there before the squad, we would load them in the County truck and go lights to the ER and clear the squad before they got there. They would always throw a tempertantrum because we left them, but why are we in EMS again? Doh! To help the Patient! lol. Needless to say, the squad captain would tell his wife, the charge nurse, and we would get exception reports all night long. It never failed, the Captain would have 10+ reports waiting for him in the morning for us getting written up for imaginary crap. We usually never got in trouble though as my Captain did not really care what she had to say or what the squad had to say about it (Kudos to him, we are there to do a job and not babysit someone who just wants to play with the siren-Not nocking Volunteer's just the ones I that happened to run when I was on shift.) Needless to say the wicked witch of Western North Carolina Fell when she got canned for repeated complaints on her. EMS gets back, but they do it in a tactful way! We were getting no where with the nurse manager so we went to the head of the hospital service in Charlotte. We took a copy of all of her write ups. I put them all on the computer and showed a trend and corrolation of the inicidents with the rescue squad and the write ups she had done. It clearly showed that she was doing it malicisly and she lied when she was confronted, hence CANNED!!!!! :chuckle :chuckle :chuckle :chuckle :chuckle :chuckle

Is it better to take the GRE or take the MAT test. Some of the programs that I looked at will take either one and I was not sure which one will be better viewed by admissions. Thanks. Rob :roll

Thanks for the replies. You all have been through it already and I do value your opinions on this. I do understand especially that perception is the key to everything and that the first impression is the one that lasts. I understand especially with the fact that alot of Paramedics take on the ParaGod persona with an ego so big that they can not fit through the door and I try to keep that in mind all the time. Have any of you taken the MAT test instead of the GRE's. A few of the programs that I looked at will take either one, but I was not sure if one is favored over another. Thanks again! Rob

Thanks for the reply. I knowI still have alot to learn and I am on the way with that. The new Paramedic curriculum is much more than anything a Navy medic may learn. Being a Paramedic and being a Medic in the Navy are two totally different things. Navy Medics as you stated are usually just Grunts whom are taught the skill, but not why (no fault to them, they do a great job for what they are taught). It is also the reason that when they get out of the Navy they still have to go through a Paramedic class and test becuase their Medic is not recongnized. We (Paramedics) are taught the techincal skill as well as why we are doing that. I have a degree in it and was required to take numerous A & P, Pathophysiology, Advanced Pharmocology and Chemistry in adittion to the material taught in the Paramedic Core Curriculum. The Critical Care classes that we usually must undergo are the same as what a RN takes to get Certified in Critical Care. I do always keep an open mind because almost every day at work I learn something new and usually whenever I come across something that I have never heard of or I am intersted in, I either research it on the internet or talk with the MD's to gain better insight. I have looked into a few programs and I am planning on taking two Organic Chem Courses next year and a few other courses as well. Have to get a statistics class done sometime too. Thanks again. RW

Thanks everyone for the replies. Work has been nutz here, as I am sure it is for alot of you. I just keep "dangling the carrot" in front of me (as one poster put it). I also realized that I needed to spread my expectations and courses out for another year to allow me to focus on my exams and classes to keep my grades up and not bog myself down before I apply. Will also allow me to have everything paid off as far as my car and all past student loans. Thanks again everyone. This forum sure helps. RW

Found some more as well. Here is an article from one of their newsletters. Hope this helps some. Nurse Anesthesia Program Accepts Applications -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TCU's College of Health and Human Sciences is accepting student applications for its School of Anesthesia, which will begin classes next fall after receiving accreditation. The new program will enable registered nurses to earn a master of science in nurse anesthesia, and, after graduation, take an exam to become certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs). As many as 60 students will be accepted into the 28-month, full-time degree program in the first year. Applicants must have a bachelor of science degree, be a Texas-licensed registered nurse and have at least one year of critical care experience. Cost for the program, including tuition and fees, is approximately $36,000. "About 65 percent of all anesthesia administered in the United States is delivered by nurse anesthetists," said Dr. Rhonda Keen-Payne, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences. "Hospitals today face an extreme shortage of CRNAs. Establishing this school at TCU will alleviate some of that pressure. "The program in nurse anesthesia will also encourage young students to pursue nursing as a career. Many students will be attracted to the general field because of the status of nurse anesthesia. Some will become excellent RNs and find their niche in other high-shortage areas such as pediatric and adult critical care," she adds. Kay K. Sanders (CRNA, MHS), who recently led the largest CRNA program in the nation, says she is pleased to join TCU as director of the school. "The opportunity to combine nurse anesthesia with TCU's history and current status was irresistible: this is a perfect combination. We'll prepare CRNAs who will make important contributions in health care." During the first year of the degree program, students will study physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology and chemistry. During the final year, students will complete clinical residencies at hospitals under the supervision of certified registered nurse anesthetists or doctors. Each student will be required to manage approximately 600 anesthesia patient cases before graduation. The TCU School of Nurse Anesthesia will be one of a handful of programs in the Southwest offering a path to certification in nurse anesthesia. After the first year, the school plans to admit up to 90 students every year. For more information on the School of Nurse Anesthesia at TCU, contact the TCU College of Health and Human Sciences at 817-257-6749, or visit their Web site at http://www.crna.tcu.edu/.