gluck

Or it may just be a lull due to the economy. In my area of the northeast, hospitals stopped hiring across the board despite vacancies. I expect that they will start hiring nurses as the economy improves and elective surgeries resume. The same may be true for CRNA's. But I don't claim to have my finger on the pulse of the job market.

Don't through out the wives tales so fast. A 2005 study showed people were more susceptible to cold symptoms when their feet were cold. The thinking is that in the cold, peripheral circulation clamps down including to the nose making it harder for the nasal passages to fend off the ubiquitous cold virus. Several aspects of the immune system are under study regarding their function in the cold. http://fampra.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/22/6/608 What causes a staph infection ... is it the wound or the bug?

Sorry, it's been a long time since I took the exam and I gave away all the books. The Princeton Review series has certainly been at it a long time and would be a good place to start. I also remember one that had a CD with vocabulary drills that I Liked. Spend an hour or so browsing a book store and get anything that looks helpful to you.

Number 1 is memorizing GRE vocabulary found in study guides. You can use the study books to practice analogies and such, but first and foremost you need to know the meaning of the words they use (and they use the same silver dollar words again and again)

The civilian programs that I looked at had basic medical questionnaires to be completed by a physician asserting general health and no known physical limitations. No specific tests were required. So if you can get by in an interview without it being noticed ... Hearing acuity is essential for much more than just the earpieces. Obviously, you need to hear other members of team without seeing their mouths and faces. Also, Every device you use in your practice will have it's own set of beeps, buzzers, and tweets to alert you to both normal and abnormal conditions. Your patient's life will depend on your ability to locate and distinguish those sounds and respond appropriately. It sounds like your limitation is minimal and we are all going to have some degree of high frequency loss--keep the volume down on your ipods girls and boys

It sounds to me like you have enough basic knowledge to get through the interview well. Do you understand the vent material covered on the CCRN? If they ask a question that you don't know the answer to, don't try to bluff, instead, tell them what you would do: consult with the RT and/or look it up. Once you are in a program, they are going to teach you the vent from scratch.

Lots of schools may waive the requirement if you already have a masters degree or they may accept old (and therefore unofficial) GRE scores. You have to ask. I too wouldn't want to take the exam if I didn't have to. It's expensive and time consuming because you need to study.

the small programs can also have their pass rates skewed by just one or two misses. so you might need to overlook a "bad" year or two. i do wish pass rates were published though

This thread has me wondering how important the choice of school will be in finding a work. Actually, I probably already know what my first job will be, but what about down the road ... if I'm from a lesser ranked school, is that going to reflect badly?

My understanding is that you have to be a nurse and have a bachelor's degree, but the bachelor's doesn't have to be in nursing. So you could have an ADN and a Bachelor's in some other (preferably scientific) field.

And people can except positions and then decline them at the last minute because they got a better offer. Then the school is left scrambling to fill a seat and it may be too late. Clearly this happens often enough and forces schools to require a deposit.

CCU experience would be good, but after getting some, you may have to transfer to a level 1 before getting accepted-I've read posters on this site who had to do just that- or if the rest of your application is strong, the committee may not care-the only way to really know is to apply

ha ha, me too, I did lousy on the synergy questions, think i got only 80% of them

Size may not matter, but I do think committees are looking for level 1 facilities

With your GRE scores, I bet you will get an interview everywhere you apply, and the ccrn will not only look good, but the studying may help with the interview. I wouldn't bother taking any classes other than those required to fulfill prereq's

Related question: is pay (adjusted for cost of living) better in certain areas, urban v rural, region of country, what have you ...?

"as a general rule of thumb academics become more difficult with age" Don't be so sure. School is different, but not necessarily more difficult. I have no intention of pulling all nighters, but don't feel a need to either. School is much less stressful today. I am more confidant about who I am, what I know, and what I don't know. And life experiences have made me a better critical thinker. Overall, I think I am both a better student today and school is easier.

I thought the questions on that CD were virtually identical to the style and level of difficulty on the actual exam. I don't remember if you need 70 or 80% on the exam. Whichever it is, I would shoot for the on the CD before taking the test

Not at TCU, but I was also asked the names of people I shadowed. The question threw me as well. I did know some of the names, others I could not remember. I wondered how they are going to use that information. Were they just testing me, or were they planning to call the people I shadowed?

Yes, don't forget the happy face. One school I interviewed at everyone seemed high on estrogen with their glued on smiles I thought I was auditioning to be a stepford wife.

5 years is definately not a requirement, but schools may prefer it and the more competitive ones may insist. I looked at some fairly selective programs in the Northeast and heard different things from committee members. One said they don't pay much attention to applicants with just one year experience. Another said that while they sometimes admit people with only one year experience, they will be questioned more during the interview. One interviewer didn't ask me any clinical questions saying it was clear from my background that I had good experience--4+ yrs med/surg ICU

Ken, your right, environment is everything when it comes to job satisfaction and it will vary from hospital to hospital and between groups. You need to shadow a few crna's to get an idea of whether it's right for you and how they deal with the different personalities. Ed, lovely response

Now you're all scaring me. Can't we do better than this?

What a way to celebrate the new year. Congratulations. Now Party

I can't recommend any online courses, but whenever I've wanted to take a class that required some prereq that I didn't want to take I've been able to find some work around by making my case with a different person, or going straight to the professor. If you are at all in doubt about whether your background is strong enough for the class, I would definately go to the professor. Permission of the instructor will almost always get you into a class.