longroadahead

I'm 23; found out I got in about a month ago. I turn 24 in August & start school in September. It's doable. Good luck! For the record, I'll have 2 years and 3 months worth of ICU experience when I start.

Forgot to say I'd also taken the two-term grad level course of advanced patho at the school I'd applied to. I'm certain it helped :)

BSN 3.79 GRE 1100 (math 640, verbal 460, writing like a 4...I think) CCRN, ACLS, PALS 1.5 yrs at level one cardiac-surgical ICU Multiple improvement projects on my unit. Starting at OHSU this September... :)

I AM!!! Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) class of 2011!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Everyone - For those of you in programs with no semester breaks, what do you do during those times? Is it just increased clinical time or do you have class as well? how does it work? Does anyone know how many programs do not include the semester break compared to those that break at the end of semesters? Thanks!

So, here's my scoop: GRE: Quantitative - 640; Verbal - 460; Writing 4 GPA: 3.73 BSN Program Started work in level one cardiac-surgical ICU in June 2007 (right after I graduated) Two awesome LORs. I'm 22. I'm taking graduate level Advanced Physiology/Pathophysiology and am planning on taking a Medical Biochemistry class this summer, possibly finish up my year of physics (completed one term of it in the middle of nursing school). I just sent my application to Barry University, and I guess I am FREAKING out. Should I retake my GRE to up my verbal score? I know I can do better than that, I just got a little behind on time and I knew it was my weak area so I started rushing through it. Any words of wisdom or relaxation for that matter? Does anyone know when/how Barry University contacts you for interviews? Early acceptance deadline is Feb. 1, but it is KILLING ME!!! There's nothing I want more than this. I'm completely ready to throw myself into the monster that is anesthesia school.

Love the Alaris!

The majority of those drugs are going to start working rapidly - what you really want to know is, once those drugs are up and hanging or once you've made a change in the drugs, how long is it going to take for the drug to wear off if the patient doesn't tolerate the change. For instance, let's say you've got a patient on a beta blocker drip for rate control with atrial flutter and all of a sudden you're pressure is in the toilet (even though you didn't change a thing on the beta blocker or any other medication). You're going to want to know exactly how long the effects of that beta blocker drip are going to last (once you've turned it down or off) and when you should start to see an effect of the drug wearing off (i.e., the pressure coming back up) and if you don't see any effect in the blood pressure after the drug should be starting to wear off what are you going to want to do next? You need to know the half-life. Same thing if you're weaning off epi - you're going to want to know the half-life in order to know when to shoot some cardiac numbers and determine if the heart is working adequately enough with the change in the epi. It's all about the half-life.

Just a side note... It's the nurse that doesn't know he/she doesn't know that's scary... if ya catch my drift...

Just curious.... But do those of you who have seen a decrease or no incidence in VAP use the Hi-Lo ETT or an ETT with a suction just above the ETT cuff?

I also like to compare the NIBP with the a-line at the start of shift. The majority of the time the MAPs correlate within 5mmHg but often the SBP and DBP will be off. But if the A-line has a good wave I always trend the a-line and if for some reason I lose my A-line I have a general feel for what it would be compared to the NIBP reading.

If your goal is to work in the ICU, then work there. I just graduated in June and start my job in a level 1 cardiac/surgery ICU next week. This is what I want to do. I'm not wasting my time working a med/surg floor for 1-2 years because it's ICU skills that I need to learn.

For those of you who took the GRE - what prep books did you find most helpful? What ones do you not recommend? Thanks - this board is a lifesaver!

I don't think I ever even read the objectives in the syllabi :uhoh21: And I graduated in June with a 3.75, but it all really depends on the instructor...

I really like Bend. I don't know about nursing there though (I'm still just a student). It's a bit resort-like, but really nice and growing exponentially.