JJRBuckeyeRN

There is a group called Gay and Lesbian Anesthetists (GALA). Each year at the AANA National Conference they have a dinner. This year the dinner will be on Sunday, August 8. The dinner is NOT an official AANA event. Attire is casual. The organization welcomes students to attend the dinner and they will pay for the cost of students' dinners. I am a student and I will be attending the dinner. I was wondering if there were any other gay or lesbian SRNAs that would be interested in attending. If you are interested send me a message with your email address and I will forward you the information from the person organizing the event.

I am currently in my first year at the Univ. of Pittsburgh. I absolutely love it. The faculty is amazing, the facilities are also amazing, and the clinical experience is second to none. It is such a supportive environment. I got an interview at Georgetown last year and turned it down because I heard some negative things about the program from people in the program. Don't worry about the rankings. Go where you feel the best fit. If you like where you are you will end up a lot happier!

Case's interview was not that bad. They did not really ask me and clinical questions in detail. Asked about work experience, shadowing, why I wanted to be a CRNA, strengthsm ,weaknesses, etc.

I agree with the previous posts. Try to get "tasks" done early in your shift. But, at the same time...do not focus on "tasks" if there are more pressing issues (such as your pt having hypotension or desaturating). The ICUFAQs website is a great website. I have only been a nurse for 2 years. I have worked both of those years in a tertiary care, university medical center MICU. In my 2 years I have earned the respect of my co-workers and charge nurses and often times get the most sick pts on the unit. I ALWAYS ask questions. Also, if I have a patient that has a condition that I am unfamiliar with I look it up and read about it. Uptodate.com is a great website with up to date information on all conditions, illnesses, treatments,etc. I also tend to get to work about 30 mins early. Some of my co-workers give me a hard time about it (all in good fun of course). However, in that time, I do my tele strips. Read the H & P and the progress notes for the day for the patients that I am going to be taking care of. That way if I get a less than great report from the previous nurse I will still feel like I know what is going on with my patients. I hope this helps. Good luck in your careers.

I work in a 26 bed MICU at a tertiary care, university, teaching hospital. The protocols we have include: *Electrolyte replacement- if the pt is >50 kg and does not have renal issues. *Ventilator weaning *AM dose optimization and weaning of sedative drips *Insulin gtt These are the main ones that I can think of- I know there are more that I can not think of right now. The problem with our protocols is that our residents order the protocols. But, they do not know the details of the protocols. Therefore, they do not completely understand what is going on with their patients.

We do a lot of perc trachs on our unit. Here is what I do to be prepared: *Check coags with AM labs the morning of the procedure. *Turn off appropriate gtts (ex: heparin, argatroban, etc) *Make sure to have AMBG bag and suction set up *Have an intubation kit on standby *Sterile attire *New trach and trach supplies (trach tie, etc) *Sutures I also usually try to have the IV pole at the foot of the bed so that it is away from the MD's doing the procedure and I can easily get to it. I also make sure to have a pressor mixed and ready to go if I am worried that my patient might become hypotensive ( it is a good idea to already have the pressor line primed and connected in case you need to start using it). I also usually have an extra liter of saline in case I need to start bolusing the patient. Make sure to document when the first incision is made and when the airway is confirmed. The MDs usually like this information. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

I interviewed on March 12th and just heard in the middle of this week.

I interviewed on March 12th.

I just got accepted to start at the University of Pittsburgh this August. Anyones else starting then?

I got accepted into Pitt to start this August (2009). Anyone else starting then?

Applied- Case Western Reserve University and University of Pittsburgh. Accepted into both. Going to go to Pitt- Starting Aug 2009

What we usually try to do is have a nurse with one pt and an open bed be the CNC "Code Nurse Coordinator." Most of the times the code comes to the ICU. That way the nurse that responds to the code will then take care of the pt once they are transferred to the ICU.

I work in a 26 bed MICU. Our charge nurses never takes an assignment on day or night shift. Then another nurse, who has a full assignment, is the designated "Code Nurse Coordinator" and responds to all the codes.

I got a letter on January 8th that I was accepted. Anyone else?

I just was accepted into the Case Western program to start Aug 2009. Has anyone else been accepted? Which clinical site did you request? I requested the Cleveland Clinic. Looking for my future classmates!