RNawoken2anesthesia

Blair, Congratulations on being accepted. My stats are close to yours. Do you mind sharing what schools did not offer you an interview. I am considering applying to several schools if I do not get accepted to my top 2 this year and your information can help narrow down my search. Thanks.

I would have backed off the fluids a bit and kept the total of fluids going in above but around the maintenance rate your MD has ordered. If you have say LR at 75, diprivan at 10, K at 10, and pressors/blockers going in at a high dose keep in mind the total amount of fluid being infused/hour for this patient. I have seen really high infusion rates in order to prevent vasospasms etc. but it is all according to your patients diagnosis/treatment. There is always more than one way to do things and thinking critically about a situation is something you will gain with experience. For the other posts, we give mannitol pre and post surgery, and sometimes not at all to patients with the same diagnosis. Just depends on the MD a lot of times, and the patient condition. Based on your patient, having a GCS of 3 then waking and following commands is great. Yes there is a chance they could regress and become very critical but at least they were able to improve to that point. I try and tell families it is great that they are able to follow commands and nodding appropriately and they are able to hear what is being asked of them and complete a cognitive task. But I also remind them that with any type of head injury and surgery the patient can become unstable again and that they should just think positive and hope for the best. Only time will tell the extent of their recovery. Best of luck.

I started working in the Neuro ICU as a new graduate and have been there for over 3 years now, currently the night charge nurse. Patients range from seizures, strokes, brain injuries, hydrocephalus (w/ and w/out shunts), drug overdoses, suicides, encephalopathy, basically anything that includes an altered mental status. We also get pre-eclamptic and eclamptic patients. Our unit also gets overflow from other ICU's so we usually have a few septic patients, CHF, COPD, DKA, chest pain, PE, DIC, so it depends on where you work but you might get the whole ICU experience with vents, a-lines, vasoactive drips, chest tubes, trachs, CVLs, PICCs, the whole deal. Typically our patients have a longer stay since most of them will be comatose due to a brain injury but their other vital organs are tip top keeping them alive, therefore families have a hard time pulling them off the vent as well as other reasons. Best of luck.

I have been a Neuro ICU nurse for over 3 years now and as with any type of patient care it has positive and negative aspects. Most of the patients we see are seizures, strokes (ischemic and hemorrhagic), craniotomies, and of course altered mental status (who isn't). AMS patients can be anyone from 90 year old nursing home patient that is still a full code to an alcoholic with hepatic encephalopathy. We also get non neuro typical medical ICU patients with CHF, DKA, respiratory distress, and other health issues. The only things we seem not to get are surgery patients (non crani/necks/backs). Most of the more difficult patients are drug overdoses, going through DTs, and altered patients that are very physically strong yet confused. I would rather have 2 septic patients with numerous drips on the vent instead of a confused stroke patient trying to get up out of bed every second pulling at their ivs through their restraints and mittens. Different form of nursing that takes a lot of patience. But as you can see I have been doing it for 3 years and wouldn't trade the experience gained. Best of luck.

Great to hear you were accepted and are about to graduate. Thank you for taking the time to reply since I am sure you are still extremely busy with school. An integrated system is what I am looking for as well in order to apply what I am learning simultaneously. Well I will brush up on clinical questions closer to time if given an interview. Last thing, even though you participated in 900 cases, did you feel you were able to see enough of each variety of case since they were all at the same hospital? Thanks again.

I agree. Keep an eye out for new openings while working at this job. Look for other types of jobs for rns. Home health, offices, hospitals. Look in the paper, craigslist, hospital websites. You have to try a little harder these days. If you can't find what you are looking for go back to school and get your BSN while you figure it out and if you are sure this is what you want to do. You shouldn't feel overwhelmed everytime you are at work or that unhappy. If so that is not the place for you. Good luck.

Plan on applying to CRNA schools at end of 2011. What major differences should I be researching in order to find the right program. Besides the obvious differences in: tuition, location, program length? Is there a difference between Masters in Nursing and Masters in Nursing Anesthesia? Which programs are easier to go back to school in the future and obtain a doctorate or PhD? Some are affiliated with universities while others are affiliated with hospitals, making it more difficult to obtain a doctorate in the future? Some programs have traveling involved with clinical rotations? Some offer distance learning? Some clinicals have a set time you will be finished for the day while others let out whenever the cases are done? Any other information that the typical person applying for CRNA school should not overlook and does not figure out until in a program? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

did you get into Gooding? How was the interview? Is the school meeting expectations? Pros/Cons

I know it's been a year since this post but how did your interviews go? Did you all get in and quit posting? How was the interview? How do you like the school if you did get in? Pros/Cons