richard13

Thank you all for your kind words. I too would like a little elaboration on pros/cons. I lived there for 2.5 years and loved it in the military. I live in the northeast so $300,000 for a shoebox 1,200 sq. ft. house doesn't suprise me. How's the medical field?

Hey guys..I was just looking for some information regarding CRNA's in Hawaii. Once done with school I really want to go back and live in that glorious environment. Does anyone out there know about the practice out there? Is the pay roughly the same as the main island? Any pointers one might have about the transition? Thanks for your help and time?

NEU in Boston, already started and stressed!!!!

Great news and good luck!!! :rotfl: Just be certain that the commitment to the Army is just the three years. Usually, it is an 8 year commitment. Three years active duty and five years inactive-meaning they can call you back up for service during those five years,so read the fine print. Congrats again, and good luck with everything

Don't give up!! Take some pre-req courses at the college you want to attend. Take chemistry, Patho, etc... and prove to them that you can do the work. You come this far, don't give up on it now. You still have two more out there right-you might be pleasently surprised!

Hello, Welcome and good luck to both you and your wife. I have done some research in the area and found that although CRNA graduate numbers are increaseing each year, they fail to keep up with CRNAs who retire, go on pregnancy leave and do not come back etc...In Boston, Boston College has just opened up a new CRNA program to try and meet the demands of the hospitals in the area. Also, anesthesiology residents once abundent in the 80's have significantly dropped. Another plus for the CRNA. Every CRNA I have talked with, loves the job, loves the schedule, and loves the overtime. I don't see the field becoming saturated anytime soon. I have an article from the Mayo Clinic I'll try to e-mail you-but do a search on google, CRNA+shortage or something like that-you'll get a bunch of hits I'm sure. Good luck

Hi, I've recently been accepted to Northeastern University CRNA Program and I am wondering how in gods name do you pay for school..not work..and pay the bills..mortgage etc...I am finding this portion of the process a little scary and does it all just work out in the end?? I even gave proposals out to a few different anesthesia groups around here..asking for school funding and in return blank amount of years of service..but nobody wanted and part of it...and I thought there was a CRNA shortage..Well any info or ideas would be helpful...thanks

Currently being an ICU nurse I take offense to those statements directed our way. Let me tell you. I have been cracked over the head with an IV pole, hit with foley bags, spit on, kicked in the chest not only in the unit (but in CT as well), dealt with unrealistic family members and doc's for a 12hr shift. Shall I continue? The beauty of the ES is that you get these nasty pt's for a short period of time in relationship to there hospital stay. We get to play with these beauties for days or weeks. So lets not be so nasty to the ICU nurses- we get beat-up and spit on and treated like dirt just like you. You don't honestly think that these pt's become angels when they get to the floors or the units do you?

Kathy White has a book called fast facts, it's great just enough about everything in one small book. From assessments to stat meds, it has it all. Go to kathywhite.com I think it's like $40. and it is shipped rather quickly. Good luck.

Well I had that dinner with the recruiter and it was not that great They talked in vague terms and answered yes, to practically all my questions. It still seems like a good deal with the stipend and all, but they want to get me sworn in as an officer, like yesterday!

Hi there, I don't want to sound negative or anything, but you should see what it is like to be a nurse for a week, if you have that kind of time. Every other weekend, every other holiday, 12 hour shifts, and all the politics of the practice. Nursing is great don't get me wrong I love being an ICU nurse, most of the time. But give look see first. Also, a friend of mine, NP since April/May of last year, can not find a job anywhere. I don't know if the field for NP's is getting saturated, but it is something to investigate. No other profession that I know, can you save someone's life, take them off the ventilator and have them scream profanities at you for your entire shift. It makes you feel like you did something really special. Then the families you connect with and the patients you pull for, die. It's a strange beast, never a dull moment, and two days hardly the same. Good Luck! I really do think the glass is half full!!

I am actually going out tomorrow night for dinner with the Army folks to talk about the strap program and such. It sounds great, but having already served three years in the Army, I'm a little weary of the fine print if you know what I mean. I signed my first contact thinking it was for three years, and it was for eight years. YEAH! The fine print, the fine print. I'll fill you in this Wed.

Yes, call the schools and talk with the program director to see what they want. Often times the applicants have an average of 3-5 years experience in an ICU. So that's something to think about. I do know of a girl from a neonatal ICU in a CRNA program, so it can be done. It's all about the acuity of the particular unit and the way you present it in your interview.

Propofol, does that mean you use xigris with every septic patient on CVVH? Or do you use some other means excluding heparin to prevent clotting off the filter?

In the ICU I currently work in I have noticed that our septic patients on CVVH, constantly clot off the filters of the Prisma and are only on the machine for about three hours. After changing the filter, (100cc of patient blood loss within the set-up and filter) we start treatment again only to have the filter clot off. Just last week we started Xigris in a patient who also started CVVH and did not clot the filter off once while on the drug. Does anyone have any other experiences like this one or are aware of any studies correlating the two? Thanks