geecue

LOL....dude chill out. I was just expressing my opinion. Everyone knows the rough rides coming in school. But don't take it out on me just because you get your *** kicked in clinicals.

POINT taken. One thing I have to add though, $60,000 gain a year over a ten year span is a considerable difference, even with the two years out with no income and the debt accumulated from school. I did the quick math. Bottom line is for ME, I'll be so much happier as a CRNA than a bedside RN. :)

Ok Qwigg.....whatever you say

Lets not kid ourselves....we all know why we're in this: financial gain, better lifestyle. Yeah personal satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment goes with it...but anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. My CRNA buddies who are practicing now are living it up. Youre in an awesome field...you'll get through it fine. The pot of gold is waiting for you at the end of the rainbow...

that's what I was told....they werent taking anymore after this year. I already mentioned that the program was taken over by the med school. I got in Kaiser anyways so I don't really care... tuition's sky high at USC.

USC is shutting their program down this year. The nursing school closed a couple years ago, and the CRNA portion was then handled by the medical school; hence there was too much conflict and competition with the anesthesia residents... medical schools always take higher precedence within Universities. The same thing with Loma Linda and UCLA....both had CRNA programs that ended up shutting down for the same reasons. That leaves only Kaiser and Samuel Merritt for the whole state of Cali As far as the rankings go... I look at them and laugh. My school was ranked top ten this year and was top five last year. This brought me memories of what my buddy asked me a few years ago: What do you call the med student who was ranked last in his class: an MD. You pass the boards for CRNA school...you got the RIGHT STUFF. Who cares which school you attended....our patients certainly wont. nuff said

that's so obnoxious.... go wolverines!

-----kpsa-----

There are quite a few Philippinos that were 'physicians' in their homeland and are now practicing RN's at my hospital. I'm not going to speak for all the foreign to US RN's, but I asked them personally why in the world would they become an RN instead of an MD. Simply put: 'lack of ambition' was what they told me. I see your point CalGal about the deception but from the few I talked too...maybe they aren't cut out to practice here. The UCMLE exam is extremely difficult (my father took it and is practicing Dermatology in the East Coast). What I'm seeing more now in different hospitals is a a large influx of RN's from other countries (Phillipines, India etc) that are getting hired on (ICU even!) without any prior experience. With the huge nursing shortage we are experiencing....it makes me wonder where we're heading when theyre paying these nurses 18 bucks an hour, thus forcing the qualified and experienced RN's to look elsewhere for work because they can't get inhouse or overtime pay. Is the dollar more important to management these days instead of quality of care?

who wants to work in Utah anyways?? j/k my buddy in hawaii is working on his own after just one year experience....but that was 3 years ago. Thanks for the PMs for those of you practicing already....I think I got the 'gist' now.

Any of you CRNA's out there know what the average malpractice insurance is annually these days? I know the CRNA's working staff at the hospitals here in California are covered at work. I heard that the insurance companies are asking for a minimum of 3-4 years of experience in a hospital before they will cover you as an independent contractor (ie outpatient clinics). If any of you are doing independent work...how many years experience did you have before you jumped on your own? Thanks! :)

Sheesh...she should have headed for the CPA route...not CRNA. There's alot of validity to what she said but bottom line is: NOTHING beats being debt free! You're going to do well wherever you go...making more than anything you could do as an RN. If you have to take the loans....bust it out and pay them off when you can...as fast as you can. Do you currently own a house? The lenders look at 'debt to income' ratio....so be careful about going crazy with the student loans. Good thing is...most interest rates for the loans are low. I've had a couple buddies (CRNA's) now that offered to 'pay my tuition' and costs of living for a small interest charge. Of course they are my good friends and they look at me as an 'investment' too lol....but it's just another way I'm looking at financing my way through school. You'll be fine whatever route you take....no doubt. Peace.

I'm going to Hawaii for a week before school starts at the end of August, and then I'll be doing a 3 day big game fishing trip off San Diego. I'm packing my last weeks of freedom in before the first day of class. Take advantage of whatever free time you have before school starts. Play hard--work hard!

Yeah yeah....mad skillz Gaspassah has the skills. I'm just trying to follow suit. Here's how it was for my interview: I dropped a BUCKET load of money on my new suit for the interview process. I figured if I screwed the interview up...at least I went down looking gooooood. Best of luck!

give me a break...

Having a good gpa at a CC is critical....good job. Here's the catch: If it comes down between you and another solid candidate who has a 4.0 GPA from a reputable BSN program, you may find your odds lowered. I graduatad from a BSN program and got in first try. All my buddies who applied to CRNA schools got in some program this year (they all had solid grades). I was told from the admissions folks that they do look at what school you attended. I know this because at my program, there were quite a few '4.0' students who did not get in, and graduated from CC. I'm not dissing your school at all. You made a 4.0...excellent. Just apply to the schools of your choice and go for it! Instead of worrying about your background, just think positive; make them think that they need you. Best of luck!

If you're interested in a particular CRNA school in your state, I'd take a visit to the school and talk to some of the students in the program to get a feel on what it takes to get in. Every school is a little different in the types of students they accept. You don't need a '4.0' GPA to be accepted, but the higher your GPA, the better. Make sure your recommendations are solid, and get as much experience you can in the ICU. Know your hemodynamics and vents well. If you have to take the GRE, find out what the average GRE score was for the last admitting class and let that be your goal to shoot for. I believe there are 3 or 4 solid CRNA schools in Tennessee (next to NC) that would be good to apply to if youre interested in staying close to NC. Good luck with your future endeavors. geecue

They haven't sent the schedule out yet. I talked to some of the Junior students and they said we'd be starting at the end of August, and most likely the first class will be at Cal-Fullerton, with the bulk of the weekly classes in Pasadena. No clue when our winter break starts...have to wait and see the official schedule. I heard the secretary will send us a list of names of everyone in the class. It'll be nice to see who's in our class and I'll be checking to see who's going to get a roommate close to the Pasadena area. I hope school doesnt start too early in August....I'm making a trip down to Brazil for 10 days. Need to get the partying and fun out of the way before hell starts...

I wouldn't even dream about asking my school for that many days off. We start school in the end of August.... I don't even think I could even miss one day off. But I'm sure there are many others that would love to take your spot...

I've met a few of the people who are going to be in our class....all pretty cool. I think the Junior class will throw some kind of ice-breaker party for us right before school starts. We can meet the classmates ahead of us and ask them questions about what to expect for school. I'll be there for sure and I recommend everyone else from our class to show up too. Our class looks solid. Everyone's psyched up. It's going to be a good year.... See you all in the end of August!

I heard school will start at the end of August...and probably start with the class from Cal-state Fullerton. The tele-conferencing that Qwiigley was mentioning about is new to me...but makes sense. I'm in the same boat as you KDST....though I live here in southern cal....I plan on moving to Pasadena since the majority of our classes are there at the start. My next dilemma is whether to buy a new car or not?? Right now...my car runs really well....but it has already 125,000 miles on it Do I take the gamble and keep it since I have no car payments on it (car paid for) or do I go ahead and get another new (newer) car that will be reliable for the next two years??? Since the housing costs in Pasadena are an 'arm and leg'... keeping my ol car would enable me to have more $$$ to spend on living costs? What Qwiigley said about his recommendations are all very good....especially the AAA. Let me know if any of you guys are needing a roomate. I plan on looking for a place there a couple months before school starts.

Yo Peeps, Congrats to the high rollers who got in. Guess I'll be seeing you in class...I got my letter of acceptance last week! I'm still floating in cloud nine. I made my buddy across the street check the mail while I was at work. When he told me I got in...I yelled so loud I think I woke up every ICU patient on the unit. It's going to be fun to be a class with a bunch of over acheivers. Let the games begin....! Yo Gaspassah.... thanks for everything bro. GeeCue