Happy Halothane

It really depends on the loan support you need. For most, they take out 2 tiers of loans every semester. The total can be well over 100k. Mine was 130k. First Tier: Stafford @ 6.8%. Secondary was Private @variable, but most do a Grad+ @ 8%. Fe...

Go for Stafford 1st. Both Subsidized and Unsubsidized. Research the loan companies and look for the best deals: 0.5% off with automatic payments, etc. For the secondary loan each semester: compare Private variables vs Grad Plus. Grad Plus doesn...

Trying to decide between Prodigy and Core Concepts for a test simulator. It looks like Prodigy offers up to 700 questions, on a downloaded software...for $185. Core Concepts has up to 3 - 125 question online exams...for $100. But it seems that the e...

Instruction is done remotely in many circumstances, and at various satellite locations. Perhaps 50% of didactics were taught out of Miami. The sessions were usually recorded, for replay later (1 benefit of online instruction). There will always b...

By far, I believe Morgan/Mikhail will be your best resource. It focuses on important concepts, and is very well organized. Miller and Barash are move involved, and excellent resources...but very difficult to swallow until you have a solid foundatio...

Full Time work, absolutely must be put aside. These programs are heavily didactic in the front part, and heavily clinical after that (50+hrs/week). Any free time should be spent with friends/family. If you approach it like a full-time job itself, ...

Congrats on starting your anesthesia education...perhaps I can give you a more positive insight on Orlando. Orlando is considered a decent sized metropolitan area. Like any large city, there are wonderful areas and also areas you wouldn't want to be...

Basic things you need to know: The Stafford Loan will most likely be your primary loan. It's broken down into 2 parts: subsidized and unsubsidizedsubsidized: interest accruing while deferring payment is paid by the government unsubsidized: interest ...

Right now, for a secondary loan (after your stafford split), I would recommend a private, certified loan. If you go the grad+ route, it's 8.5% plus 3% added into the principal. Most private loans right now don't require an origination fee, and offe...

Let's put closure to this: No accredited program should accept an applicant without the required experience....working during your anesthesia education is usually frowned upon, as it would be very detrimental and distracting to the education proces...

Your advocacy of "minimum" may have a different tone for other readers. The point is quality and diversity. The fewer experiences you have overall, the more you will rely on your attending...this applies to you as an SRNA as well. Most of us agre...

I personally have never met an RN that could conquer "drips, hemodynamics, vents and codes" in 1 year's time. You'll probably have mastered anesthesia by the time you're done with school too. ICU/Critical care provides a foundation for learning an...

Standardized tests are obsolete in many facets. Why do undergraduate programs require the ACT or SAT for entry? Why does National Merit base its reward on the PSAT? Why does the NCAA require a minimum SAT/ACT score? The fact is, besides GPA and ...

Josh, did you thoroughly read the comment above? "With the decentralization of the delivery of anesthesia, it is very difficult to maintain the supervision ratios with any efficiency." The reality is that CRNA's do not need to rely on anethesiol...

Competence and equivalence are barely tangible. With the proper training (hearts, trauma), CRNAs provide anesthesia for any form of surgery--and should be just as competent as anesthesiologists. The practice of medicine vs the practice of nursing i...

Large capacity bladder Humble Demeanor Supportive Family The Drive to succeed, even when discouraged every day. A black pen, along with another one for when you lose the first. Someone else's pen, because you've now lost both of yours. No clipboard, ...

Well if that's the case, don't even bother becoming an RN...and go to AA school....and be the "assistant" all your life. Anesthesia does more than ICU experience...it requires an aptitude to learn totally new and advanced concepts. I personally fe...

It really depends on the etiology of the pneumothorax. In terms of V/Q, if the lung is collapsing due to a higher intrapleural pressure-- placing the patient in semi-fowlers and trials with affected lung up might facilitate re-expansion of the lung. ...

Take out the max that your school will certify. That usually means 2 loans per semester. The stafford is great, especially the subsidized part of it. Fixed 6.5%, with or without interest capitalization. For the secondary loan, I would reconsider t...

Your supervisor must have some office/work hours, even if it may differ from your schedule. Write the letter for her, and present it to her personally. If she approves, then have her sign it. Use hospital letterhead when you print. You need to b...

After you're accepted into a CRNA program, you'll find several options for paying student loans. Most of them are from private group sign-ons, but there are a couple military options available. The best seems to be the ARMY STRAP program. For t...

I was fortunate to have my mom as a resource: She's published and developed several SAT/ACT/GRE test prep materials. So I took 2 weeks off work and did a crash course with her and 5 books. What I found is that every book has something to offer, ind...

There's a couple programs that will really help you...I've looked at just about every one available for anesthesia....probably the only one I haven't seen yet was the unbound app. My recommendations: 1) Taber's medical dictionary (easier to use...

I responded earlier....but the post hasn't appeared (hours ago?) In all fairness, I selected that article to help prove a point...for a discussion that cannot be won. There have been numerous studies regarding ESI since then: ESI is commonly practi...

In all fairness, I selected the article to prove a point...for a discussion that can't be won. There have been countless studies on ESI since then, and the practice of ESI is commonplace--because of evidenced based medicine. I helped evolve the orig...