gravitycure

hey - i went last year, and i'm going this year. as a poor senior srna, i plan on wearing either shorts or cargo's and a nice shirt to the lectures. a suit, no tie, to the party with a purpose. sandles out drinkin'! that's it. no tux, no tie. gc.

well athlein brings up some good points, i would not say it is all that. the first 2 semesters in my program were very busy, and i did not see the family too much. different programs are structured differently. my program is a partially front loaded program. this means a lot of didactic and a bit of clinical. as the semesters go by the scale tips and you have more clinical. now, finishing my 3rd semester, i am spending more time with my family than before. i have set up a schedule that works for my grades as well as my family. yes, i have missed b-days, and parties and all kinds of fun stuff but - i see my family q day and spend time with my son. i stay up late after he goes to bed to study. you do what you can. if anesthesiais what you want to do, you will find a way. .gc :Melody:

hi. as a current srna, having a supportive family is crutial to getting through the program. it is so difficult sometimes but the end result is worth all the sacrifice. if you love this person, you need to seek help together and work this through before you even apply to an anesthesia program. part of the interview process revolved around my home support system, and students have quit because of it. good luck. gc.

just a thought, have you attempted to approach someone at a hospital you are working at or rotating through? the face to face approach is great for any project, or any concerns you may have. gc. :melody: good luck

:balloons: congrats on getting in !! :Melody: hi. yeah i can relate. i do not think it set in until i moved and started the core courses the summer semester before i started the program. i was very excited at first finding out i was in, then after a while people would ask and it was much the same. i had so much to prepare between getting the call, and starting (selling a house, leaving a 7 yr job, family, baby etc...) once you start and see what you are up against the feeling will be there - i know it. good luck! .f.

hi yoga, that's terrible! the md should come clean and stand up for his actions. (i bet that's a different story though). i do have one q and i'm not pointing my finger or anything but i am wondering why did you let him do it? as i am new to the OR, in my 3rd semester, i wonder what prevented you from calling the chief? etiquette in the OR can be challenging in these sticky situations. i am still getting my bearings. any more info here would be helpful, a learning experience - if you do not mind sharing. thanks. .f.

hey - i have an iPAQ 4155 by HP. i use skyscape constellation and epocrates (free version) for anesthesia info. the media player is easy to use if you know windows and it sounds great with headphones. pda ran around $400, programs $150, and 1 gb card was 180, now around $100. i recommend large memory card. (you can never have too much memory) good luck. gc. :Melody:

hey - i'm just finishing semester 2 of 7 and my wife is 4 months pregnant. we have a 2 yr old already - and i have to say that pregnancy was very difficult. she was on bedrest for about 5 months and a T-pump (terbutaline)! boy was that fun. so far things this time are better but... gc. :Melody:

that's awesome, I too am a srna, best thing you can do is pick up Basics of Anesthesia by stoelting & miller - aka baby miller. it's a great place to start your very long list of reading - and it's cheap compared to others. good luck. gc. :Melody:

hey - being a srna is awesome. when you work c the same preceptor for a while, they know you, you know them. it's the tits. there are a few drawbacks though... basically - wag your tail, it's what they told us first day, and we tell each other every day "wag your tail" if you can take being told how to put on a bp cuff properly - you are wagging your tail. (i've been taught twice) gc. ps. know the difference between a pile of dog poop and an srna? people step over the poop. :)

hey - i too started this semester and with final less than 2 weeks away i can say the motivation really kicked in once the clinical rotation began. there is NOTHING like sitting @ the head of the table bringing a person to the edge of life sustaining them there, then bringing them back to baseline. it's the ultimate in micromanaging a patient. i loved being a nurse, i Really love being a SRNA - there is no other job - its the tits! gc.

hey - as far as the prereq - i would not worry too much. you must have @ least general chem and college allegbra. the only math you "really" need is the calculations you learned for drug calculations. as far as the classes to prepare - chem - whether it's organic or bio physics you will get in the program. there are differences for classes in and outside of the cirriculum. the physics you will take will be geared toward anesthesia. the chem though - there is an educational DVD set out by a group of people called "the standard deviants" they took a new approach to lectures. i found it @ the school library and watched it over and over. it helped a ton. i did not have any o-chem. good luck gc.

hey srna2be - the program i'm in did not require any more chem than a general class. i, however, would recommend taking @ least an organic chem class. we are taking a crash course in organic and biochem. not taking the class has been a challenge with the work i am working through now. good luck, as far as the $$ there are posts on this site that offer great help. gc.

hi - i have my first test on technology on tuesday. i know how you feel. i have studdied more now then ever before. crazy. gc.

thanks for the help. i will look for the eger book from 1974. i also have seen the DVD's that came out last year. they helped but it is a difficult concept. gc.

hi. i am a first semester srna, i am having difficulty with the concept of MAC. i understand the definition and how you can combine 0.5 mac of one VAA and 0.5 mac of N2O = 1 mac - but... is that it? oh, MAC hours?? i am reading stoelting, morgan, eger etc. thanks. gc.

hi. it's great that you are looking inward to see if this is the path for you. i am in the middle of my 3rd week, first semester and have not come up for air yet! the schooling is tough and non stop. just when you finish a pile of reading for one class, the next one is upon you. the job - seems to me to be the best job a person could have (except - nothing could beat being a rock star!) shadow, read, relearn all the patho, 12 leads, ANYTHING! then decide if you want to give up your life for 2.5 years (small sacrifice). good luck. gc.

hey nitecap - i know how you feel. set the date, take the test. you'll do fine. those practice scores are great. i found the reviews harder than the test itself. swallow hard, pick up the phone, set the date for next available time. you sound ready. gc.

hey there. i do not care if you are here to "stir the pot - turn the heat up." you do not come here seeking knowledge, you come here to piss people off. if you want to familiarize yourself with nurses, talk to them face to face, attend a staff meeting, get out of bed @ 3am and visit them. they are there 24/7. as a med student you must have plenty of time to do this since you apparently have so much time to spend here on a nursing site. do not come here and try to pretend your doing research. your insulting our intelligence. as a physician you wll have the opportunity to tell people what to do, write orders, decide a person's fate. decide what kind of doctor you will be. i do not mean surgeon, or cardiologist. i mean a good one or a bad one - have respect for ALL the people you will work with and encounter and you will be one of the good guys. gc. ps. you already know the answer to your first question - differences between crnas and anesthesiologists. it is why you switched right?

i have visited panama city several times, i have family in ft walton beach. it's a town in the midddle of nowhere. the city is limited, beaches are beautiful. don't missunderstand what i am saying. if i were single, it would be great. but i have children. when you are not used to small towns, it can get old when their significant other is busy 24-7. especially with little children. when my family and i looked at the possibility of moving there, i had them in mind. as far as the limits to their clinical, dave evy will tell you himself about the missing pieces of the clinical rotations. there are programs all over, different cities different clinicals. i interviewed @ gooding. everyone there was friendly and professional. i think there are advantages to multiple clinical sites. different places do things differently. thats all - you ask'd a public forum about an opinion about something. ps. there was NO DD when i was there last year!! gc.

the beach is great - but...

the beach is great - but...

what school did you get into? gc.

what school did you get into? gc.

they are not a university. they offer 1 clinical location, which lacks peds and maternity. otherwise i hear it's a decent program. small classes, one on one instruction. too bad it's in the middle of nowhere. ain't much to do in panama if you have a family in tow, and NO dunkin donuts for miles and miles :) gc.