apaisRN

Congratulations! All that work and struggle is over!

My preceptor today was Filipina. I don't know her story or where she studied nursing, although her English is so good that she must have been here a long time.

The information provided in the news story does not make it clear that the CRNA deliberately killed the patient. Giving a patient fentanyl in the recovery room is as routine as flushing the toilet! And I've never seen a CRNA ask a surgeon before giving narcotics. Not saying she didn't - but - it's a far-fetched reason to kill someone and I'd want to see some pretty solid evidence.

I have NOT been taught that in school or heard it from my preceptors. In fact my professors have emphasized the need to avoid atelectasis and tissue damage by running N2O or air with our O2. Tell me more!

I think anesthesia is intrinsically more stressful than the job of most NPs and CNSs, although not perhaps of midwives. Your decisions have to be instantaneous, with no time for a friendly consult or room for error. No time to mull it over. No second chances.

The stress level and pressure are higher than most realize.

In my very first rotation a preceptor spoke highly of this technique, although we never used it. I was still pretty overwhelmed with figuring out the bed controls so I don't remember her rationale.

You don't sound like it's what you want to do at all. Tell daddy he should become an anesthetist if it's what HE wants to do.

I am class of 2007. The class of 2008 started today. It feels very weird that it's been a year and those new juniors are where I was a year ago! I still feel like I don't know anything (much)! Congratulations to the class of 2006 and kudos for staying the course. It must feel unreal, in a very good way. Do something really fun with that first paycheck!

I do understand where the longterm ICU nurses are coming from. New ICU RNs require a lot of focused attention and don't stay long if they have anesthesia plans. However, as an SRNA (who worked 2 yrs in the unit) - what else can we do? CRNA programs require one year and often accept after one year. Should I stay in the ICU, working nights for RN wages when I can be advancing myself personally and professionally? The working world is not altruistic and no one enters any unit with a primary goal of making the lives of other nurses easier. Maybe the schools should change the policies. I dunno.

It's a long haul. The sheer length of it is my nemesis. 16 months to go.

Just FYI, money can be a touchy subject around here. Some may resent those who express interest in the profession which is perceived to spring from financial considerations alone.

Wow - well, if you can do pharmacy school, you will be a shoe-in for admission and success in anesthesia school. Admissions committees will LOVE you! All that science and pharmacology background. Your classmates will beg you for tutoring too. (this pharmacodynamics/kinetics stuff is making MY brain hurt . . . ) Anesthesia pays well but I have no idea what pharmacists make and whether you will gain or lose. Going to school is pricey and once you actually start CRNA school, you will not have a lot of time to work as either an RN or a pharmacist. I am so impressed with your drive - I just hate school (all school) and I don't think I could motivate myself to go back and change careers after I finish with anesthesia. Best of luck!

Great post, ellarose.

Sheer terror for several months.

If the patient is free of risk factors like coagulopathy (hematoma risk) or infection (epidural abcess, very bad) there's really not a lot you can do to seriously hurt someone while placing a spinal or epidural. I was petrified of neuraxial anesthesia and while my skills are still rudimental, I now approach the patient with much less anxiety. Worst case is generally headache or unsuccessful block. An ugly airway, now, that's scary.

I think there might have been a time where admission was that easy, but not any more! It's a competitive and stressful process these days. To the OP: If you are willing to work hard and you really want this, you can do the academics. However, it sounds like you need to work out some kinks in your personal life first. I am happily married with a husband who has accepted all this insanity with grace, and CRNA school is hard enough for me with all that support! I don't see how you could possibly make it through while starting out in a nonfunctional relationship. Marriages are strained a lot by school as well. In your situation, you will not have the emotional energy to devote to school. Good luck with your career and your personal situation.

What a great analogy! I couldn't begin to describe the experience. In general, if you have what it takes to get in (lots of hoops to jump through, long-term focus on goals) you will make it work once you get there. It is very hard. It feels like a worthwhile thing to be doing. Nursing school felt like an enormous waste of my time. (not nursing, you understand, but nursing school.) I am counting the months. Might even start counting weeks, although maybe it is a bit early for that since I have 17 months to go.

I did something similar. I had exactly 2 weeks to send a large check to secure my place, and I had interviews scheduled at two more schools. The second I was accepted at another school I preferred, I informed the first placeI wasn't coming, and forfeited the money. It was about 5 months before school started. Plenty of time for an alternate to rearrange his/her life. The alternate will be thrilled and the school kept my money. I don't think anyone was harmed.

I didn't get my loans through them, but the process was a HUGE hassle. I was using a temp PO box right after I moved and they kept saying they couldn't process the loan until I gave a street address. I called FOUR separate times and gave it to another person, each of whom apologized profusely for the screwup. Finally, after school started I went to the financial aid office and had an advisor call, and she straightened it out in five minutes. It was Nelnet, by the way. I can't recommend them.

I am grateful that my program has been around for 10 years (relatively new). When we talk to earlier graduates they recall a lot of kinks to be worked out during their student years. There weren't as many clinical sites and it all just sounds a little haphazard. Also, I applied to a program in which I would have been in the 2nd class. The director told me that my science background wasn't strong enough, and that in the first class two students had failed their basic sciences and been dropped. Frankly, I think that's unacceptable. Either they're not admitting the right people, or they aren't giving the right kind of support. No one has flunked out of my program. We're in the 3rd semester and we've lost one who discovered it wasn't her cup of tea and one who dropped back a year to deal with some personal issues. I know some have struggled with academics but our faculty is committed to getting us through, as long as we're willing to do our part. I would worry less about accreditation and more about how smooth and well-coordinated the whole experience will be. School is hard enough without logistical goof-ups and administrative issues. My program runs like clockwork.

Huh? Why would they ask about your spouse?

I think you should apply. If you are accepted, you can think hard about whether you feel ready to go. You may be able to defer your admission a year, or if not you know you've been accepted once and can probably count on at least one admission the following year. The plusses are that you go through the admissions experience and are better prepared to do it again if you so choose, and if you don't get in the schools like to see persistency in applicants. Also, getting your ducks in a row as far as paperwork (essays, recommendations, transcripts) is a great thing to get finished. That stuff was all a PITA.

dfk, I would really love it if you used a little more capitalization and appropriate punctuation! Easier on my burned-out SRNA brain.

Yup, be honest and have some patter prepared about what you have done to change your life and address substance issues. I think if it was 8 years ago and you've stayed out of trouble, and you're good at your job and meet the criteria for admission, it is reasonable to give you a chance.