Sodiumpent

ExcelaHealth School of Anesthesia in Latrobe. (About 30-40 mins from Pittsburgh) Good luck with your search!

Nah, Rich it wasn't meant to be a rip and I apologize if it sounded like it. I just like to clear up peoples thoughts of just how important it is what we do. Any path you choose to further your education will be rewarding. I am just really biased towards anesthesia! Good luck with whatever you choose!

Just echoing what everyone else has been saying. I honestly can say that before I got into Anesthesia school I had only started about half a dozen IV's and I was simply terrified to start them in school. Be confident and make sure you get a system down before you go. In ICU you usually are asked to start IV's on pretty sick people and in my case, when the IV team couldn't get an IV they would call us, lol. It's nice to start an IV on a 24 yr old with great veins who's coming in for a knee scope. It's truly not that bad and as a requirement for your clinical stats you need to start at least 200 of em. trust me, you'll get that and then some. SodiumPent

Sandman, I am not a grad of a philly program, but I am graduating from a PA Anesthesia school in a couple months. One of my good friends did graduate from Villanova's program and he is an exceptional CRNA and stated he had received an excellent education. What I think it boils down to is truly which program you get into. If you are the type of person that is concerned with which school you want to go to then hold out for PENN. The reality is that graduates from all 3 schools take the same board examination. Another resource to check on would be to see what the board passing rates are for each school. If there are all similar, then there is a good chance they are equal in the quality of education. As far as better education and experience, check to see which clinical sites each school goes too. I'm sure there may be some overlapping in some of the clinical sites for some of the specialty rotations. (i.e. going to C.H.O.P. for kids, etc.) I am sure you would get a fabulous education at all sites as all the programs are well established and affiliated with quality schools and clinical sites. I'm hard pressed to believe one is absolutely head and shoulders above the others. Cost is another thing to look at as well. My school cost's about 40k for the whole program. I know that PENN and Drexel are pretty close to 100k, that's an awful lot of student loan money. I know I probably didn't help all that much. Just in case you don't get a lot of information from anyone, there may be some things you can find out on your own. Good luck with any program you decide to go with. SodiumPent

Obviously, the person who you read that said Anesthesia is 98% boredom and 2% terror wasn't a CRNA, and they obviously have no idea what we do. As someone who will be graduating from Anesthesia school in 3 months and has had over 4 years CTICU experience there is absolutely no comparison. The reason why people think Anesthesia is so boring is because we make it look that way. People just think, "give half the little syringe, all the big syringe, stick a laryngoscope in someones mouth, put a tube in, and open a magazine." No-one except us and ologists have any idea what is constantly going through our minds starting with meeting the patient all the way through till dropping off the patient in PACU (or wherever). You have to take into consideration Anatomy and Physiology, Patient medications, Surgical needs, Surgeon preference, Past surgical and medical history, and personal experience in every single case, oh and yeah, you have about 10 minutes to figure this out before the surgery is scheduled so you can't slow the OR down. In an ICU you are not the boss, you almost always have help, wether it be other RNs, PCA's, RT's, residents, attendings, etc. and things very rarely happen lightning fast. In an OR, I AM the boss. Do you have any idea how nerve racking it can be during a simple Cataract removal that I, as a STUDENT no less, had to tell an attending surgeon to stop what he was doing because he ilicited an oculocardiac reflex and the patient brady's down to 20. I don't have time to wait or the patient can arrest and die on the table for a supposedly "routine, 10 minute procedure." Sorry about my little rant, what it basically boils down to is that as a CTICU RN I didn't exactly know why I was doing everything that I was doing. I knew procedure, i.e. if the C.O. drops you did X, if the HR increases you do Y. Anesthesia is extremely different. You have got to know exactly what you are going to do and why or your patient is at risk. There are entirely too many bad things that can happen during anesthesia that most people don't even think of, because we take steps to prevent them from happening. Simple things such as hypothermia and nerve damage from positioning can be devastating. The most terrifying moment in anesthesia, that I absolutely hope will never happen, is when I get a subpoena to be deposed in a surgical case where I caused a permanent problem in someone because I became complacent. Anesthesia is not 98% boredom, and if you do think that, there is no place for you in giving it. It deserves respect, and someone who can take the responsibility seriously. Trust me, your patients will thank you for it! Good luck

Good evening, I am graduating this December and have taken a position in Tampa. I understand that I have to get an APRN license in order to practice. Any idea of how long it takes to get the license? I have heard from some people that it takes a couple months to get and others that have said it takes longer to get your RN license. I am under the impression that I won't start till about the beginning of March, but would love to get down there earlier. One other question, my hospital is a disproportionate shares hospital and it qualifies for the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program. I was told that I possibly qualify for it and it would be a great help in repaying some of these student loans back. Has anybody been able to take advantage of the program? Any pointers? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Air is right, I have also heard about that incident as well. My best friend graduated from Alleghany Valley last year and I applied thinking that he would put a good word in for me. Well, like my other classmate that posted earlier who is currently attending Excela Health School of Anesthesia, I too interviewed with Deb and the then Assistant Program Director. Deb is an excrutiatingly intimidating personality. She is extremely intelligent and I promise you she will find ANY weakness you have in your knowledge base. My recommendation is whatever experience you have put on your resume, ya better know everything about it, inside and out. I though I was gonna be cute and sound professional by putting that I worked with Balloon pumps and LVAD's and some other really obscure equiptment, and she started ripping into me about pressures and muscle size and some pretty in depth stuff. Needless to say I left that interview with my head up my !#$. It definitely gave me an idea of what I needed to know for any subsequent interviews. Then I interviewed at Excela, 180 degree difference, got accepted and am looking forward to graduating next December. Good luck. Oh yeah, one more thing, I am dead serious when I say this that the 2 girls that I interviewed with that day left crying. The other guy just left with this completely confused look with his eyes glazed over. It's a brute of an interview. Not to get you nervous or anything, haha. Marc

Three words for ya: Baby Boomers Retiring Nuff said Marc

My mother was a PACU RN and I was working at UPS as a dockworker. UPS went on strike in 1996 and I needed a job. My mom said I could push beds in the PACU for a couple of hours until I started back at work. I enjoyed the environment of the OR and PACU so much that I stayed. When I went to nursing school it wasn't as hard to get into, and I was lucky and got accepted. When I got accepted to nursing school my position as a per diem tech in the PACU was being eliminated and I needed a job. I didn't want to go to the floors and luckily there was a position in the OR for an anesthesia tech. The new Nurse Manager of the anesthesia department had changed the requirements for the job, (they used to be staffed by LPN's) and I was the second non-LPN anesthesia tech. That was all I needed! I had no idea what a CRNA did or what they made or anything. I learned to appreciate the profession for what it was. I decided from that point on that I wanted to do everything in my power to become a CRNA and here I am now, 6 years later from that point, a junior in anesthesia school. Marc

First off congratulations on getting accepted to nursing school, it is very difficult. My initial recommendations are relax and worry more about nursing school than looking ahead to anesthesia school. I am by no means knocking you, but it takes time and a plan to get to anesthesia school. Your first and foremost focus should be to make sure that nursing is right for you. I have heard dozens of people say that before they got into nursing school the wanted to become anesthetists. I have also heard from more than half of those people who couldn't hack nursing school and quit. Setting yourself up for failure sucks, and puts way too much pressure on yourself! Now recommendations for school. Get the best grades you possibly can, in every subject. Acceptance to anesthesia school is very competitive and the better your grades, the better your "opportunity" is for acceptance. You can take O-chem, stats, and as much applied sciences as you can find, and get A's. The further you get along in nursing school, then you will start to pick up more tips on what classess to take and things you can do. This early in the game there really isn't a lot that you can do to be prepared. It's gonna be a minimum of 5 years before you can even apply. You haven't even graduated from high school yet, enjoy that first! Good luck Marc

Yeah, I have to agree w/ lovegasrn. I just came back from a conference and this was a topic of a rather conversation. The "push" for APRn's to have the DnP as the standard is in it's very infantile stages and there are a WHOLE LOT of issues that need to be resolved. The last indication that I had heard was that they wanted Anesthesia programs to be DnP by 2015. Some schools (such as mine) are starting to incorporate different classes and pre-requisites "just in case." They are not going to make CRNA's who already have a MS/MSN go back. Now on to your original ?, I am in a MS program and I have talked with several people who went to MSN programs and the curriculum and environment is rather different. Since the MS is a focus on science, we have taken a lot of science courses. I am finishing up Bio-chemistry which I have had all semster (and had NOTHING to do with anesthesia I might add!). I talked to a buddy of mine that went to Anesthesia school at USC (which is a MSN) and his biochemistry education consisted of a 2 hour lecture! From what I understand the MSN is really an extension of the BSN. Alot more academic, more research and evidence-based, so if you wish to continue on for personal reasons, more power to ya. I personally hated me BSN program, (I was an ADN first) and I think I would have shot myself if I had to write any more papers than I already have. So really it goes to preference, I don't think it matters either way. The only advantage to the DnP currently is if you want to go into management or teaching in anesthesia school. Marc

Hey Mark, My old hospital did have a program that would pay for school only, but I had to give a 3 year contract after that. I told them I wasn't interested and have taken out student loans. Out of my class of 34 SRNA's I believe only about 2-3 had contracts prior to starting school. I graduate next december and I plan on starting to look this time next year. There are way too many opportunites that exist for me, (however I am not married and have no kids, so traveling to the best opportunity is not a difficult choice for me) to be committed to an "ok" contract. I have also found that they really don't want to talk to you until your getting ready to graduate anyways. There are too many variables in giving someone a lot of money and not finishing, so it's not ecconomically sound for the institution. Sure, if you don't finish and you have to either work off your loan or pay it back, (with interest more than not!) but the institution is looking for CRNA's not more RN's which are a hell of a lot easier (and cheaper) to find. By no means am I saying not to look, but don't be frustrated if you come to find that not everyone is going to give you a whole bunch of money up front, banking on you graduating in 24-36 months. Hardest part is getting in, worry about who will pay for it a little later. I'm just worrying about getting through finals these next two weeks. Good Luck, Marc

Hi there, My program is a 28 month program, and we did have a semester break this past Christmas and New Years, however that was our last. We just started clinicals last week. (2 days a week, until this summer then 3) Now, during our breaks from the college, (we have class on thurs and fri) we have to be at clinicals. We do get 13 vacation days a year that we can use almost anytime. If we go to conferences, we get those days back. So, yeah it's pretty much just like a full-time job! Good Luck SodiumPent

I agree with both of these contributors. It does seem like everyone talks about wanting to be a CRNA because of the money, but have no idea what goes into actually following through with it. Not only are the nursing population retiring, but the baby boomers are going to start retiring at an alarming rate. Also just as in nursing, there is a shortage of nursing educators teaching at the anesthesia level as well. My program director is planning on retiring after I graduate in Dec 09. the Asst Director will be taking his place, but they have yet to find a replacement for him yet. I don't believe you have to worry about there not having a future in anesthesia. Besides, if the DNSc is going to be the standard of practice for anesthetists in the future, that will make it even more harder. Good luck, SodiumPent

Hi Sean That is exactly the way that I went and now am starting in anesthesia school. I attended an AD program at my local community college, and while working full-time weekends, attended a RN-BSN program. I ended up with just under 3 years working experience and got into school on the first time. The way that I did it from start (where you pretty much where you are now), to finish (where I am now) has been approx. seven years. If I have any advice for you it would be: A) If your not already in a nursing program, start applying now. There has been a BIG upswing in applicants for nursing school and not enough teachers, so getting in may be tough. B) If you are accepted to a nursing program, start working as an aid in an ICU somewhere. It gets you acclimated to what an ICU nurse really is and, for all intensive purposes, a foundation for what a CRNA is (autonomous, quick thinking, professional, confident, etc.). Plus, when your done with school, you will most likely have a better chance of starting in the ICU when you graduate as an RN.(Some ICU's don't hire new grads) C) Get the absolute best possible grades you can!! You only need a 3.0 to apply, but the higher the better! My only concern with what you have said is that you want to be a CRNA, but your not really even in nursing school yet. I'm not quite sure how you got interested in becoming a CRNA in the first place. What I'm trying to say, (in a round about way, lol) is that I hope your not interested in being a CRNA just for the money they can make. I unfortunately have talked to way to many people who wanted to go into nursing just for this reason and more often than not, were not able to put in the necesarry work to accomplish it. There is a reason why CRNA's are paid as well as they are. Of course I am only speculating and if that isn't your intention I do apologize. I wish you nothing but luck in your journey and hopefully in a couple of years from now you'll be checkin this site for tips for your anesthesia school interview. Good Luck, Marc