doubleA

I was accepted into CRNA recently. Some points to consider when applying: 1.) Is this the right school for me? Meet or beat admission requirements? How far out are clinical sites? How soon do you start clinical? Do you have to move? Program length/cost? 2.) Are you ready for the hardship of anesthesia school? Mentally/financially? 3.) Nursing background. Do you feel prepared as an ICU nurse for a demanding clinical experience. 4.) Obvious stuff: need your GRE for most schools, PALS, ACLS, BLS, CCRN is a plus To answer the question. Pick a school that fits YOU and during the interview ask the questions you stated. It is hard to know if/how many blocks and lines you will get unless you ask. Most if not all anesthesia skills have a minimum that must be completed for program completion. good link: Should SRNAs be allowed to count simulations?

Hi, congrats on nearing the end of nursing school! 1.) Any hospital experience is fine if your goal is to be in the acute setting. You can always move to a larger hospital in 1-2 years (or less). I moved from home for my first nursing job at a rural hospital and do not regret it one bit. 2.) After being a nurse for just over a year, the amount of time on orientation needed varies from nurse to nurse. We do up to 3 months for new grads, less time for others. The biggest challenge I had to overcome was figuring out the charting system, and the flow of the hospital. Good luck!

I've been a practicing nurse for almost a year and pretty much settled in now. Not as many questions to ask, I help out the new nurses, try to deal with the politics of my hospital, and hope the previous shift did not leave me with a mess. I am still learning from day-to-day, but med-surg is not where I see myself at this point. I do not want to rush out of of MS, but the ICU is where I see myself long term... when I get the chance to take care of a more acutely ill patient, I love it. So interesting, well until they are transferred out. That is where MS stinks, you have the patient you are trying to keep stable before they are transferred, discharging one home who needs to be taught how to do dressing changes, getting a post-op, while two others throw up, and one can't pee. Currently, I work in an average sized community hospital on a surgical/medical/tele unit... our intermediate care is small (7 beds), and our ICU has 12 beds I believe. We must first train in intermediate care in order to get to the ICU and from what I understand this will take at least a few years due to our size. I truly like the hospital, my coworkers, hours, pay could be better (but I did not become a nurse for the pay), and not want to leave. I am starting by BSN this year, as it seems to be the trend, plus I will need it for furthering my education. So what to do? Those who have been in my shoes or similar I would love to hear your thoughts. To wait or not to wait?

our lab can process a UA up to three hours from collection. agree on foley advice.

It is hard to disagree that patient acuity makes a HUGE difference on actual patient load. Yes, at times, I do think we are getting more patients than is actually safe. I never thought about how it is my license on the line... thank you for your input.

Hi Everyone, I graduated from an ADN program and have been working in med/surg day shift for 6 months now. My floor is mainly ortho, but we get a mix of medical patients, and other general surgeries. Overall, I have loved my time learning on M-S these last few months but lately things are getting rather frustrating. We can float to any unit (cardiac, neuro, hospice, general medical), and at anytime, without notice. Not a huge a deal, but it is guaranteed, one of our nurses will float elsewhere each day. What has become frustrating is our staffing... over the last month, our nurses are consistently having 5-8 patients each day. On the average 5 patients is no big deal, 6 can be tough if some are needy, but 7-8 has become increasingly more common. I can not keep up, I am always behind, and my clinical leader can only say sorry. In addition we have been down a secretary at times, and one of our aides (2 for 20+ people), are often pulled to other units. What kind of patient loads do you others nurses have? I have come to a point where I can deal with what is on my plate, but my patients get ignored, get average at best care, and it is just not fair to them or myself. That is my rant. Thank you for reading, and your feedback is greatly appreciated. -RN

Just took the exam and got the following... is that the good message? Our records indicate that you have recently scheduled this exam. Please contact your Member Board for further assistance. Another registration cannot be made at this time. PS. That exam was tough!!