Jaelle625

CVSICU not only does open heart cases, but also (V)ascular cases. So your "typical" cabg, valve, transplant with the addition of AAAs, TAAs, carotid endarterectomies, etc... I'm sure individual units will vary slightly in the types of cases they take.

BSN, RN, CCRN as of today! I used Laura G and Pass CCRN (question bank only--the book is WAY too involved). Good luck to all who are studying!

I don't plan to apply to Case Western, but I'm curious about the math questions? Are we talking gtt calcs? I feel like a math quiz in the middle of an interview would make me miss a beat...

Hi all! I've recently been looking into VCU's combined MSNA/DNAP program and have a few questions for anyone who may know. I'm curious as to how much additional study time these students had to allot for the extra courses each semester. Clearly, it's doable or the program wouldn't be in existence, but I wondered if in hindsight the students wished they would have gone the more traditional route and separated the two degrees? I see that the combined program replaces a semester of clinical with one of the dnap courses as well.. Thoughts? Thanks in advance for any input!

Missnurse01: Coursera? I briefly looked into what it entailed. Care to elaborate? It looks as though its college courses without the college credit? Would you recommend supplementing grad level classes with some courses from coursera? I've been skimming Dr. Najeebs lectures and love them. Thanks for the insight!

It does get better. One day at a time. I've only been off orientation for a few months and I've already had a few situations where the proverbial **** has hit the fan. I was AMAZED at how fast my coworkers were in the room. As the LNRN11 posted, you are never truly alone. When other nurses' pts code (or they notice a critical change in pt status), I make it a point to ask exactly what they did. Of course, I also participate in any emergent situation that time allows for. I've also learned that when participating in a code, that being the charting rn allows me to learn the most about the situation. All of that being said, I know EXACTLY how you feel. I have good days and bad days. As a whole, my days seem to be getting better. I can only assume my experience will continue on the same path. Cheers to the best specialty in nursing!

Thanks for the responses! I will definitely have to look into this further. I did see that at my facility, there is a time commitment of 8 months after the semester is over. Not an issue for me if I take summer classes, however. I don't plan to apply until next fall and most schools I've looked into don't begin until the following year after interviews are over.

I really wanted to use my employer's tuition reimbursement as well, but it seems as though I have to be enrolled in a degree program. Did you find a loop hole or did your facility not have that stipulation? Thanks for the insight!

We give CaCl regularly on our unit in response to hypotension. Your serum Ca may be normal, but your Ionized Calcium (free floating, available to be used Ca) may be low. MD is correct in that it improves contractility and therefore BP. It's the policy at my facility that it only be administered via central line because of its vesicant properties. Serious Kudos to you for researching before administering!

Rd, I sent you a pm but its not showing up in my "sent" folder. Let me know if you didn't get it.

You guys are great! Thanks for the advice! There's a CRNA school near me that let's you take advanced patho and suggests taking a research class that's required for their program. Rd: What graduate classes did you take besides patho? I'm glad you're doing well!! Which school are you at?

I have seen many people suggest calling schools to see what they recommend. Is it better to call with a bunch of questions, or would they allow me to schedule a meeting in person? Either would suffice for me. I just didn't want to call and start rapid firing questions if most would prefer face-to-face interactions. Thanks again!!

Thank you for the feedback! I took general Chem I and ochem in undergrad and got As in both. Would you suggest taking general chem II (it wasn't required for undergrad so I didn't take it then)?

My "young and dumb" days are finally catching up to me... I'll save you all the gory details and just get to the point: A&PI- B A&PII- C Microbiology- C All were taken 2004-2005ish. There are other *blemishes* on my transcript (Quite a few withdrawals, F in English comp II, D in College Algebra... both of which I retook the next semester and got Bs in:crying2:). Got my head on straight in 2006 and finished with a 3.9 for my BSN (once accepted into nursing school) and 3.5 overall. So my question is as stated in the subject. Should I retake these subpar classes? Or should I take graduate level courses? Traditional classroom setting or online? I realize that the B in A&PI isn't tragic, but thought it would be helpful as an overall picture. ANY advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

This was my response from a similar previous post: I can't speak for experienced CVSICU nurses as I'm new to this specialty myself, but I can give some insight from the "newbie" perspective. Questions. Ask them. A lot. The amount of knowledge these nurses possess is staggering. Be a sponge! You are in a unique position to learn without all the stress of extreme expectation. If you don't know the answer, say you don't know. Trust me, your preceptor knows the answer and can smell BS from a mile away. Study, Study, Study. When you think you're done studying... study some more. i make it a point to make a list throughout the day of things that are mentioned that I want to know more about. Then I look it up as soon as I get home. If you have down time (which is rare, but may happen from time to time), and your preceptor doesn't mind (which they shouldn't), seek out interesting cases, new admits, transfers... anything that you haven't been exposed to or want to know more about. You'll know almost right away if this is the specialty for you (or so I've heard; I couldn't imagine not absolutely loving it!). I could go on and on about how amazing this unit is, but in all honesty its not for everyone. Its fast paced, crazy intense, and you're expected to be on top of your game no matter what rolls out of the OR. You MUST have thick skin. You WILL feel dumb at times. You WILL screw up. Learn from it and move on. The gym, my family, and chocolate cake get me past the tough days. ?? All that said, I wouldn't trade it for the world! Let us know how it's going!