Zero1979

CRNA's and Ologists are for people who can't hack being an ICU nurse. Just kidding!! I'm starting my own CRNA program in the Fall. I see a lot of professional pride coming from this board. Becoming a CRNA is no easy task, from what I hear. And I have little doubt that making it through med school a walk in the park either, based on what I watched my sister go through. Speaking as a nurse with a sibling who is a physician, I find myself seeing both sides of the story. But the truth of the situation is that "skill" or "smarts" or whatever you want to say rest with the individual. Sometimes I'm "smarter" than Cardiovascular surgeons when it comes to guessing what my patient needs, and sometimes I'm not. I hear from all my scrub tech friends (I used to be one of them, too) that there isn't a difference at all between the CRNA's and the MDAs. Some are good, some are lousy, regardless of job title. Having said that, as far as doctors being rude, well, no matter how high and mighty my sister acts, it always falls to me to remind her that of all of us kids, she was the only one who had worms.

If you want a male's perspective... Nursing school wiped out every dating relationship I had. It was pretty rough. But I understand that people not going through nursing school have no clue about the time commitment, so I understood why the girls I dated found other guys. As far as dating a classmate, I had a few fellow students interested in me, but for all the wrong reasons. So my advice is to get used to being single.

Agencies exist like any other business, to make money. The pay is tempting, but you should probably take a "regular job" for at least 6 months (a year would be better) before even attempting an agency position. Just don't take a sign-on bonus if you're planning on working agency down the line. The time commitment isn't worth what you'll be making later. Good luck.

First of all, ANY nurse with "Crossfit" in his (or her) name has no grounds to complain about anything at all. I would rather clean up 5 soiled patients than do Fran. But the simple truth is that all nursing school students put up with their teacher's crap. It's a rite of passage. You've gotta suck it up and work through it. And keep your head down and your mouth shut. Nothing makes a nursing school instructor more annoyed than a student with an opinion or personality. And you need 1 to 2 years of clinical experience in an ICU to apply to CRNA school, but you don't need to complete that experience before applying, (I know this, because I'll be attending a CRNA program in the fall, and I'm currently finishing my RN to BSN program, with 2 years of clinical experience). There are all sorts of advanced degrees in health care, but nursing gives you quite a lot of options. If you can grit your teeth, and make it through school, you will have all sorts of doors open up to you. Being a physician can be a rewarding job, but the longer I watch them as a nurse, the more sure I am that it wasn't for me.

Brightfoot, I'm kinda new to this forum, and I can't seem to figure out how to respond to your message. I didn't get accepted to MTSA, I just got my official rejection letter the other day. MTSA's interview was much, much more knowledge-oriented than KU's interview was. KU's interview was sort of a "get to know you", as opposed to MTSA's "How much do you know?" I, unfortunately, have no way of knowing the exact reason why I didn't get accepted. There were one or two questions that I didn't know the answers to. However, I believe the true reason that I wasn't accepted is that I am currently still in my Bachelor's program (though I would have been finished before summer, '09). All things being equal, it's the small stuff that can get you.

Hey, My interview is for January 5th at TWU, but I haven't heard back from TCU yet. I did already go to an interview at KU, back in October, and I've got one at MTSA on the 17th. I really, really, really want to get into one of these schools. Anyone else here applying to KU or MTSA? Or is it too far North for you guys?

Hey, at the risk of helping the competition, my interview at KU was October 24th, and I can tell you exactly what to expect, or at least, what happened to me. They will give you a written essay question, with 10 minutes to respond. My question involved a post-op patient from PACU with a BP in the 80's, O2 sat of 91, and RR of 8. The patient was moaning and saying they were in pain. The question specified that you have a PRN order for morphine, and asked you what your priorities were. After this came the interviews with Academic, Clinical, and two senior students, in no particular order. It was basically a big personality test, and I was asked why I wanted to be a CRNA, what qualities about myself I thought would help me, what I did in my off time to manage stress, and if I had a support system of some kind. Then came the tour. And they had snacks.