Class2011

Yes, as far as CRNA school goes. But it's only worth it if the icu is a good fit. Is the acuity level sufficiently high? Does it have a good orientation program? Are the nurses there going to be welcoming and supportive or will they be scornful and obstructive because you have not done the "prerequisite" med/surg time? I would look for a minimum of a six month orientation into the ICU plus critical care class time. And try your best to scope out the attitude of the nurses, not just the ones hiring you.

No, you don't have to retake, especially not if you scored well. In fact, I submitted scores that were 6 or 7 years old and the schools didn't care. They were unofficial copies, because GRE won't send them after 5 years

My outlook is (i repeat) to find something you love and let the rest take care of itself. Your OP is primarily concerned with the job market and (again i repeat) that is perfectly valid. What i didn't understand is how a family history of MH would make someone want to do anesthesia so badly. Sounded to me like you either don't know what anesthesia is and/or you're being overly defensive on the money issue. It's for you to know not me, but I am sorry for ruffling your feathers

Malignant Hyperthermia has very little to do with anesthesia practice, it is just one of the many adverse reactions that people can have to anesthesia and a very rare one at that. It would make more sense to me for you to come out and say that you're in it for the money Anyway, your concerns are valid for any career path, just there are no guarantees. I think the best possible guarantee is find what you love and let the rest take care of itself.

I wouldn't pursue a profession with such limited options. I'd suggest either going the CRNA route, but only if you want to be a nurse first. Or going the MD route but only if you want to be a doctor and all that that entails. Both nursing and medicine are very broad fields with lots of opportunity and fall back options

I wasn't asked for documentation, but I was asked to relate my experiences including names of people I shadowed. Because the "the anesthesia community is small" they could easily discern my truthfulness without having to actually check and there's nothing to stop them from making an informal call That said, it is in your absolute best interest to shadow as much as you can prior to applying. Anesthesia is not for everyone and there are plenty of downsides to the work. Extensive shadowing is the best way to help decide if it's really what you want to do. You definitely don't want to find yourself investing time and money getting into a program and then quitting a job only to discover during the program that you don't like anesthesia. It happens and then people feel like they've got too much invested to back out. Not me, but between 20-30% of my class say they wouldn't do it again if they knew more about what they were getting into. Who knows, maybe they'll feel different once they graduate and start working, but as of now, they absolutely regret this huge undertaking.

If you are truly limit to a certain location, the best bet is to get advice specific to the schools in your area. Contact the schools, get an official response and ask to speak to alumni More generally, even if you had a 4.0 from 1991, AdCom's would be asking "what have you done recently?"

LSU nursing student sues over hazing incident involving instructor 3/4/2011 11:00 AM By Michelle Massey A nurse anesthetist student has filed a federal lawsuit against Louisiana State University for allegedly allowing hazing of students. John A. Laney filed suit against Louisiana State University School of Nursing, Health and Sciences Center, A. J. Klhone and Dr. Demetrius Porche and Laura Bonanno on Feb. 22 in federal court in New Orleans. According to the lawsuit, Laney was subjected to hazing by a nursing instructor on June 30, 2010. Laney states the instructor cursed him, pulled a syringe out of Laney's hand and threw it at Laney, hitting a sedated patient in the head. Allegedly the instructor then told Laney that if he complained of the treatment then Laney "would not have a career in nursing." Laney states the treatment and harassment continued over the next several days. Laney reported the treatment to staff but he states no investigation was made. In an effort to make sure his records were not altered, Laney requested copies of his clinical evaluations but his informal request was denied. The plaintiff is asking the court for an award of damages, interest and court costs. Laney is acting as his own attorney in the case. U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon is assigned to the case. Case No. 2:11-cv-00419

That rule might just apply to competing CRNA sites

Doesn't sound to me like fancypants is a CRNA, likely unaware of where she is posting, apologies if I'm wrong I don't know anything first hand about the CO market, but am told that it at least was unfriendly to CRNAs, hopefully that will change as they're opting out

Bring it to a college or universities writing center or career center. Especially if it's a public institution, they'll likely see you regardless and often have walk in hours

There is a very wide variety of program types and structure. It will serve you well to research thoroughly, but far and away the most important factor is the quality of the clinical experience both in terms of the cases you will do (number and kind) and the quality of instruction (or lack thereof). This is the hardest information to get at. You basically need to speak to program directors, current and former students and hope that they will be honest with you. You may also need to read between the lines carefully Some are relatively cheap, others are quite expensive, and the difference has little to do with the quality of the program, rather with their structure. Some are looking for cheap labor for a specific hospital, some are looking for potential employees, others are looking for cash cows for a university Masters in Nursing will be within a nursing department at a university and will require some nursing theory courses. Masters in Anesthesia may be in who knows what science department or even an education department and may require some bogus education course. Or you could go to a religious school and have to take a bible course. Point is, you are unlikely to fully escape courses that are a waste of time. Some schools are offering a PhD now. At some point all will grant a PhD. All currently offer a master's degree in something. So I can't imagine it being a barrier to a doctorate anywhere, but may require an extra course or two depending on program specifics. If you're sure you want a PhD for some reason, go that route now. Otherwise worry about it later. Some programs are front loaded meaning the didactics are all done in the first year and clinical starts the second year. This is usually because the clinical sites are removed from the didactic site. Other programs have the didactic and clinical portions integrated. For true hands on learners, an integrated program may be best. Others may prefer being able to focus 100% on didactics and test taking without the added stress of clinicals. One down side of a front loaded program is that you wont see clinicals until a year into the program after you have invested all kinds of time and money and you may feel there is no turning back even if you dislike the work. So be sure to shadow as much as you can before you commit and get as realistic a picture of what anesthesia is like before the big dip. Try googling nurse anesthetist for more perspective, the third link currently has lots of information. If you still want to pursue this, be as flexible as you can in your personal life so that you can go to the best school possible. E.g. plenty of people relocate, move the kids in with their parents, whatever. This can be a big sacrifice, but again, the best school is the one that offers the overall best clinical experience (period).

Ditto on Air Force RN But you will need to know the hemodynamics involved, what is being measured and why, regardless of the monitoring method. So study up.

what dosimeters? this hole of a hospital stopped using them

And the X-Ray techs are also cavalier about whether I wear an apron or not in that they are p*&s Poor about warning you, providing gear, etc I've complained, but will have little impact ... small hospital, entrenched ways ... would not have been tolerated in my old ICU