meep meeps

What has worked for me during school is making sure I have stocked up on everything I could possibly think of before school started. Laundry supplies, dish soap, cleaning products, canned food, TV dinners, pasta/rice, etc etc etc. I got an amazon prime account and can order items while I'm on the bus or taking a class break on my iphone. I have several recurrent internet purchases on q3-4month delivery (ie cat food!). I also bought an auto litter box and automatic cat feeder (which has been AMAZING!). I highly recommend buying enough socks, underwear, sheets, towels, etc to allow yourself to keep functioning if you can't get to the laundry for awhile. I also recommend buying a deep freezer and filling it with homecooked food or easy to prepare meals. I try to keep my errand running to a minimum (obviously). I've basically created a bomb shelter in my home so I can hunker down and study without having to worry I'll go hungry or have to wear a bikini as underwear to finals (like a classmate of mine!). I'm sure I sound nuts, but this has helped me so much through school. I can focus on what's important and what's not. I am grateful I found an apartment with large closets. I also keep a detailed calendar of things that need to be completed (ie pay the credit cards, apply for financial aid) so I can keep on track of everything. My boyfriend and I share an app that we can create lists in, so I can share a grocery list etc without having to spend time sending it to him. The goal is to stay ahead so it doesn't become a burden. Between semesters I take care of all the "life" paperwork that has piled up and get organized again just in time to start again. If you can afford it (which I can't) I recommend getting a house keeper who can come by like once a month and tidy up. Hope it helps. It's totally do-able and it sounds like you have a very supportive spouse. It will be a test of your relationship but I hope you would do the same for him if the roles were reversed.

I'm in an integrated program, so we get more and more into clinical as the semesters go by. Once I'm closer to graduating I'll switch to clinicals 4 days a week and then 5 for the last semester. When we do our rotations through Children's Hospital, we are scheduled 5am-5pm. When we do our specialty rotations (neuro, CT surg, OB) we are frequently there 12-14 hours a day. So, it will get worse, but I believe the classwork starts to lighten up by then. Semesters 1-3 have the hardest and most intense course work. At least, so I'm told.

I'm just finishing my 2nd semester, so I'll give you my normal week schedule. Monday: Clinical, wake up at 5am, be in the OR by 6am, leave around 3pm. Go home, relax a little, do my management plan for the following days cases, eat dinner, pack a lunch, pack my bag. Study if I have to (test weeks). In bed by 9:30. Tuesday: Clinical, same hours. Go home, relax a little, prepare for class the next day. If I have a test I'll study until bed. Wednesday: Anesthesia class 10-3, Pharm class 4-7 PM. Go home, eat dinner, pack a lunch, prepare a management plan for the next day in the OR, try to be in bed by 9:30 (usually doesn't happen). Thursday: Clinical, same times, 6am-3pm. Hustle back to school for class from 4-6pm. Go home and drink a glass of wine and pass out. Friday: Sleep in, to try to catch up and study all day. Usually 8 hours of studying. Saturday: Take care of life, run errands, cook food, clean house. Study at least 6 hours. Sunday: Study, etc. I probably study 6-8 hours on Sundays. Prepare for clinical and do a management plan. On the weeks where I have exams, I will literally study all day over the weekend and after clinical if I can stay alert enough. I'll also study at clinical during my breaks. I have a phone app to do flash cards while I ride the bus to school if need be. You just study as much as you have to. The potential fear of failing an exam always hangs overhead, no matter how many times you don't fail. Oh and don't forget to add training sessions, conferences, mentoring workshops, volunteering, fundraising, etc to the list of things you have to do! My advice: get an amazon prime account so you don't have to waste time buying things in stores, buy a month worth of underwear, and fill your freezer to the brim with pre-cooked homemade food. Recap: Clinical: 30 hours a week Class time: 12 hours a week Studying: at least 24 hours a week Management Plans: 3 hours a week Getting to school/clinical each day: at least an hour a day spent waiting for the bus, parking, getting to class a little early etc.

People in my program range from 23-42, most people fall in the 26-32 range but I have no idea the class average. I'm 28 and sometimes I feel like I'm one of the oldest ....

I just noticed you did your BSN at Pitt? If so, work your contacts. I have several classmates who did their undergraduate at Pitt.

Hi! I am currently a student at Pitt and want to let you know to please apply. Pitt has strong acceptance criteria, but from judging my classmates, it's a lot more than merely your GPA. I have nothing but amazing things to say about Pitt at this point. I am so grateful I was accepted and so grateful I have decided to go. The director is absolutely amazing and considering how much we interact with him, it's worth enjoying your director. He taught me to intubate and place a spinal personally. That said. Apply to the program with your stats. Write a great looking resume and a great looking essay. Call the program and ask if you can take a tour of the facilities and meet with someone in the program before the application deadline. I have no idea if they will do this, but it doesn't hurt to show interest in a program. If you get an interview, come dressed appropriately, be friendly, courteous, and knowledgeable. I have no idea what admission criteria they use and we have hardly discussed our GPA or GRE scores from our pasts. Not a single one of my classmates is cocky or arrogant. We are all down to earth humble people who have a strong personality and a strong sense of determination, fire, and direction. They are absolutely not looking for applicants who know everything. They will teach you everything they want you to know. The interview is very comfortable for the most part. The faculty is amazing. So far I'm really impressed with the program and hands down think it deserves to be where it is. Good luck!

I've seen schools require upper division statistics course and for some reason they are very focused on your grade, so get an A. I've also seen programs require organic chemistry and physics, both of which I didn't have and did reduce the amount of schools I was eligible to apply to. I've been admitted to a program, but have yet to start. I don't know if taking these courses would help in the program, but it will allow you to apply to as many programs as you're interested in, and help you get into the programs as well, if you have great grades! Hope that helps!

Air Force RN, Can you let your co-worker know about this for me? I created a facebook group for Pitt's Class of Dec 2013. I'm trying to locate people in the class so we can get to know each other a little before school starts. If he/she is interested in joining the group, have them email me at [email protected] Congrats on your admission to Drexel!! IF anyone out there got into Pitt for the class starting in August, feel free to email me. I've found several people already and we're all excited about getting to know everyone!!

I was asked about my shadow experience at every single interview I went to. I highly recommend shadowing a CRNA (instead of an MD). I was asked about specific types of cases I had seen. Thankfully one of the CRNAs I shadowed was really excited I was applying to the school he graduated from, and he offered to write me a recommendation letter on the spot. I also recommend having a recommendation letter from a CRNA. That being said, I had a difficult time getting into the OR to shadow. I found a lot of dead end paths. I met a CRNA who said she'd let me shadow (I asked her during a bedside report in the ICU) and she never responded to my email. One of the nursing educators tried to get me in touch with someone (oddly the same woman as before) and that was a dead end. I talked with my manager who said he'd get me in contact with the OR manager, and that never happened. So, I called up a friend who was friends with an anesthesia resident. He emailed a director for me and he actually wrote me back and invited me in. He was really really friendly and spent two days bouncing me around in several ORs so I could see a variety of methods/airways/cases. I felt I was missing a really big open heart case, so after another dead-end, I finally just asked the surgeon if I could watch a case. I showed up early in the OR that morning, and after a lot of confusion, someone finally agreed to let me in. I was with an anesthesia resident and attending, but at least was able to see a large open heart case. It was a very awesome experience and did prepare me for that question in the interview. But, make sure you give yourself plenty of time. It took me probably 4 months to get it all done.

I believe everyone who is invited for an interview is capable of completing the program and passing the boards. Maybe they choose based on interpersonal skills, personality, and ability to represent Pitt well out in the community as a SRNA and CRNA. You can have the resume of a god, and a personality of a doorknob. I'll choose to person with less of a resume who has a personality, is likeable, and is equally capable of doing well in school. A great resume just takes time to build. Someone amazing with one year of experience could have that resume in 10 years, but has chosen to move ahead sooner than that.