BlakeS

Just to clarify, Nurse anesthesia programs require "critical care experience" which the program themselves define. Could be any of the ICU's, ER, PACU, etc. Someone stated that CCU experience wouldn't be as good. That's simply not true. Any unit that will get you experience with vents, lines, vasopressors, and the extras (IABP, CRRT, etc) will be just fine. I'm proof of that along with many others. I don't think any one unit is best. It's what you make of the experience that counts, regardless of what special letters define your unit.

I agree 100% I think my class is a bit too competitive when it comes to grades and I try my best to not get caught up in it. B's are great in my books and if I get some A's I'm ectatic and the wife, kids, and myself go out to dinner to celebrate. I try to find a good balance between school and family. Some days I do better than others. That balance provides me with some sanity. If I locked myself up and studied all the time, I'd burn out and not do as well. That's just me. I also agree about acheiving CRNA status but losing family. You are right, you haven't gained a thing. Blake

My out of house hours are as follows: Sunday: church and family time. Careplans for Monday. Home most of day Monday and Tuesday clinical 6:30am till 5:00pm. Dinner then study/unwinding/careplans until bedtime. Wednesday off: this is a study day. I frequently go to the library but sometimes I stay home to be with family. Quality of studying does suffer a wee bit. Thursday: Grand rounds at 7-8am. Class at 8 till 3 or 4pm. Home. Dinner and hang with wife and kids. Study for 2-3 hours then off to bed. Friday: Class 8-3or4pm. Home Dinner. Take night off for the most part to hang with wife/kids. Saturday: Depends. Test week I take off to library for 7-8hours and take Saturday night off for kids. Non-test week I usually stay home and study throughout the day. Mostly take night off to be with wife and kids. Sunday start all over. Total hours outside of house not counting travel time: about 50 hours. This semester is actually more since I travel on Sunday afternoon to my clinical site which is 1.5 hours away.

Hello, Just started my 2nd semester at Albany Medical College in NY. The clinicals and classroom work is very time consuming but I've learned an amazing amount and still enjoying it. On top of all that, I'm starting my thesis project. Any free time I to get, I spend with the wife and kids. They sacrificed a lot to move to NY and I need to be with them as much as I can. I've been coming to this board for around 3-4 yrs but don't post all that much. Probably should change that since I've finally gotten into school. Hope everyone is enjoying this adventure and good luck to all. P.S. Thesis is on anesthetic management in patients with LVAD's for elective surgery. Anyone have any experience with that?

I don't think the acceptance process is that simple. In my opinion, part of the interview process is to verify that "you are who you say you are" on the application. The interviewing committee may in fact base decisions on a "reason to accept" or a "reason to reject" different applicants. Give them more reasons to accept you that reject you. I agree that if an applicant is invited for an interview, they must have made a good impression on paper. It's then up to the applicant to make a better impression in person.

I just had this lecture and my limited understanding is that blood:gas coefficient measures solubility in the blood. The lower the b/g cofficient # the quicker the agent is taken up and eliminated (fastest onset). So des would have the quickest onset and recovery time. Oil:gas solubility indicates potency. The higher the cofficient # is, the more potent the agent is. So Halothane would be the most potent at 224, and nitrous the least at 1.4

I'm currently in my 1st semester of anesthesia school. I to had similiar concerns that you have mentioned in your post. My wife and I have two young kids and we decided that my wife would continue to stay at home with our kids. We were a little worried on the financial side of things, but so far, everything has worked out o.k. I took out a private loan from Sallie Mae. I also was approved for the Stafford loans and borrowed the full $18,500 and also qualified for additional private money thru the financial aid office at the program I attend. We don't have much at the end of the month, but it seems to be working so far. In other words, you can make it through school by using student loans and nothing else. I thought about approaching a anesthesia group before school started but decided to wait it out until I was closer to finishing. I thought I would gain a better insight as to what kind of practice I would enjoy after the two years of school. Best of luck, Blake, SRNA

Coming from a slightly different angle, we use cooling blankets for our patients on the hypothermia protocol (cardiac arrest with reperfusion, but remains comatose). We use a cooling blanket underneath the patient covered with a sheet and also apply cooling vests that pretty much cover the entire trunk. If we don't cool to target temp fast enough, we'll add ice packs and do gastric lavage with slush. We also place Foley caths with temp capabilities as this gives us an accurate body temp. I know this is kinda trends away from the original posts but thought I'd share anyway. B.

Just received notification that my Sallie Mae loan was approved and scheduled for disbursement. This was easier than signing up for new cell phone plan.

I was also looking into this loan to supplement the other finanical aid that is available. Here's my question. Is it a requirement that you stay employeed making the $15,000/year while in anesthesia school? I would rather work very little or not at all. I've made it this far and I don't want to blow this opportunity just because I can't borrow enough to provide for my family and thus submit to working. My other question is, does this loan effect how much federal aid you receive the 2nd time you apply for aid? Any info would be much appreciated. Blake

Hello, Applied to Albany Medical College: interviewed and accepted. Will start this upcoming fall. Also applied to U of Buffalo: interview granted but declined d/t acceptance at AMC. I picked AMC because of the small class size, diverse clinical sites, and that it grants a Masters of Science in Anesthesia upon completion.

If the ICU that you currently work in gets plenty of patients on mech ventilation, hemodynamic monitoring, and vasoactive gtts, you should be fine. Granted, teaching hospitals are where you will find some of the sickiest patients, but I believe you can get the experience required at other smaller facilities. I've worked the past couple years in one of the critical care units and a Level II trauma center and have loved the experience. I was lucky enough to take the sickiest patients (CRRT, IABP, etc.) on our unit right off orientation because we had experienced nurses who loved to teach and resource. I don't know if I would have been so lucky at a bigger hospital. You also might have an advantage taking a position where you currently are because you have already built a relationship with the nurses on the unit. Just a thought, Blake

Keep in mind that some programs require a BSN in order to apply. It all depends on which programs interest you. It might be a good idea to look at the programs you want to apply to and decide from there what degree path to choose.

In some cases, we induce hypothermia in patients that have suffered out of hospital cardiac arrest with prolonged resuscitation time and our protocol targets a cooling temp between 32-34 degrees and we rarely see any arrhythmias. Although I will say, some of these patients are on antiarrhytmics secondary to the cardiac arrest, but not all of 'em. I know situation is different from patients in the OR, but thought it was interesting enough to share. Blake

Was wondering if those that have attended ODU's NA program or those that are currently enrolled could give me some insight into the program. I'm interested in applying there. Any info about the program (i.e clinicals, cirriculum, tuition, the area) would be greatly appreciated. I'm also wondering what the admission process is like and if there is anything different than the standard stuff that NA programs look for in an applicant. Thanks in advance P.S. I've looked over their website, looking for an insider's comments.