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Here's my quandary... I have always wanted to be a professional health care practitioner. I've had the opportunity to be around many professionals in a large, general hospital. Out of the fields I've observed, I'm fascinated by Anesthesiology. Eight months ago, my wife gave birth to our first child and I really "appreciated" the level of education and the professionalism our Nurse Anesthetist exuded. His confidence laid my wife's fears at rest. My question is this. Should I go the CRNA track or the Anesthesiologist (MD) track? What benefits would I gain by doing one over the other? If it helps, my long term goals are to get into medical education/research. I would like feedback from both sides if possible. Note: Please don't flame me. I'm not in it for the money, although I realize the salary is desirable. After much research and thought, this is the specialty I have chosen so I ask to be respected for my decision. Eric

We live in a very obese-conscience society. I, myself, am overweight. The only hurdle I've ever encountered in job interviews is my own self-image. If you focus on "I'm fat...I look fat in this shirt...I feel like an elephant", you're going to lose confidence and in return, be more nervous which can make your interview go south quick. Focus on the opp. you're interviewing for and show excitement about possibly working for the company. If you focus on that, before you know it, you've forgotten that you're overweight and so has the interviewer. Something I've done before is eat healthy the week of the interview. You may or may not lose any weight but at least you know you're going in a positive direction. That gives a sense of achievement that will give you confidence. That's my advice anyway...coming from experience. Good luck to you. Eric

Hello, My name is Eric and I'm new to the board. I am currently not a nurse but starting this fall, will start work on my ADN. I then plan on enrolling in MUSC's ADN-BSN program and somewhere in the middle of all that, getting my RN license. After my BSN, I want to specialize in Anesthesia by becoming a CRNA. My ultimate plan is to get a doctorate and become a full fledged Anesthesiologist. On a personal note, I am 24, married, and the father of an 8 month old little girl. I'm from the Charleston, SC area and love the coast. My hobbies include gourmet cooking and composing instrumental piano music. Anyway, just wanted to state my career path and introduce myself. Hope to get to know all of you. Best of wishes. Eric