GCShore

Support is the most important aspect of this post! When I started NA school, my oldest daughter was 5 and my youngest was 18 months. Currently in my last semester of classes and clinical ending in August, oldest is almost 7, middle is now 3 and I am currently 8 months pregnant! Yes, it can definitely be done......as RNLou pointed out, I definitely am not the parent I would like to be.....yet! But would I do it again? YOU BETCHA! My oldest tells everyone that she wants to be a CRNA when she grows up, so it gives me alot of opportunity to educate the public about us! No, the current pregnancy wasn't planned (it was supposed to happen next year), but my program is AWESOME in working with me! I haven't been sick, missed any days or took any PTO.....saving it all for April when this little booger arrives! Hang in there, do what you got to do and if you feel that your support system can handle it.......then GO FOR IT! Good Luck! GCShore

:yeahthat: I think that this is the first time I have been truly angered by a posting.....avlis, I hope that with time, you can be a little more open-minded and DO NOT FORGET your birth control pill!!:angryfire

Hi, I did CCU first, wound up in pediatric/general OR then CVOR, then went back to MICU to pursue CRNA school. The OR experience is priceless.....especially when starting clinicals. You know the environment, what to touch, and what not to. You also know instrumentation and equipment, not to mention positioning. Now, CRNA can be done without OR experience and is daily; however, for me, I can't imagine doing CRNA school without previous OR experience. I have been called "bilingual", because I know suture, instruments, how to adjust the cut and coag of the bovie, etc. Best of Luck GCShore

Our program (Wake Forest) gives us one day in the holding room to brush up on those skills. I felt that same way, Focker, and after a couple of hours in the holding room, my confidence was somewhat restored! Of course, I was still nervous about the kiddies, still get that way......I think I will always be nauseated in certain situations! :chuckle Best of Luck to you all! GCShore

:balloons: Well said! I am finishing up my first year of school with 6 year and 2 1/2 year old daughters! Yes, it can be done with an AWESOME partner! No, my children are not suffering....they see me daily! In the beginning, I thought that single people had an advantage.....I have since revised that thought.......I have a wonderful man who is doing laundry, cleaning my house, cooking us meals, doing homework with a kindergartener, potty training a toddler, and paying my bills! I have the advantage! When I get home and see my family.....doesn't matter if it was a good, great, or bad day.....I feel blessed! Not only that, but when your kid is telling everyone that they want to be a CRNA one day......talk about a conversation starter! Good luck to all! GCShore

I'll be there also.......completely understand the week off from clinical, AmiK25!

Wow! I was doing clinical last week and lost power....fortunately, the generators did function and my patient was spontaneously breathing......I asked my CRNA if I got an A for the day since I didn't void or defacate during the event.....

:lol2:

I agree! In the beginning of clinical, basic math (like for a drug calculation) was a challenge with certain instructors! I think that sometimes we are harder on ourselves than we need to be......my husband has to constantly tell me that "if I knew how to do anesthesia, then I wouldn't be in school"! The learning curve (at least mine) is steep!:smackingf Hang in there, it will come! GCShore

It definitely can be done! People have laughed when I compared these two things, but I promise, it is real! The feelings you had during your interview (catecholemine surge, nausea, diaphoresis, apprehension, etc) are the very feelings that you learn to live with in anesthesia school. Rayman, I will gladly inform you (since your kids are the same age) that my oldest told me last semester "that it really hasn't been that bad"! I was running errands with her (makes her think that it is "our" time) and praising her for being a new kindergartner and a big helper to her daddy with household chores.......of course, after she made that comment, she asked me if we were still going to be able to go to Disneyworld! My bribe for being "gone" for two years is a 10 day trip to Disneyworld......kids, they are priceless! And another great thing about them, they love you whether you got an A or B, whether you had a great day or a rotten one, and they think that you are awesome......especially if you take them to Mickey D's! Take care and God bless, GCS

BlakeS, I am sure that you will agree by your comment that you made regarding the "quality study time does suffer a wee bit" that seeing your family is high priority. I am okay with a high B (even a low one at times) if it means quality time with family! Do not mistake this comment for lack of commitment, but if I gain my CRNA status and lose my family.....I won't be gaining anything..... GCShore PS Best of luck to you!

I am a junior at the Wake Forest/UNCG program (which is an integrated program) and I will give you an example of my last 2 weeks: (My commute time is ~ 40 minutes to Baptist hospital and ~ 1 hour to UNCG. My longest clinical commute is 90 minutes.) next to last week: Sunday-church morning and evening with nap in between services and ~ 1 hour study time before bed Monday-class at Baptist hospital 8-4; anesthesia resident conference 4:30-5:30 pm (which is mandatory); ~2-3 hours study time before bed Tuesday-class at UNCG 8-12; ~6-8 hours study time since I am at a clinical site where I do not have to pre-op an do a careplan Wednesday-clinical 6:30-3pm (but I have to be there by 5:45 am to set up and the drive is an hour away); ~ 3 hours study time Thursday-same as Wednesday Friday-same as Wednesday Saturday-breakfast with family and then off to study ~ 5-7 hours; dinner with family and ~ 1-3 hours study time before bed last week: Spring Break Sunday-same as last week Monday-Friday-clinical at a site where I have to be there at 6:30 and the drive is only 35 minutes; ~ 4-6 hours study time each day without additional class material being added:D If you are in clinical at Baptist Hospital, you have to do a careplan for each day of clinical and that can add ~1-4 hours of time to your daily schedule. You also have to be at the hospital ~5ish in the morning to set up your room. Our clinical schedules vary with 8, 10, and 12 hour shifts. It also includes call, holiday, and weekend shifts. I haven't really calculated an hourly amount for the two weeks, but there is definitely no way to possibly work a part time job, much less a full time position......and these were 2 great weeks! Now, I have 2 children that have adjusted beautifully, but it is due to God's grace and an AWESOME hubby. Gracie is to be 6 in April and Chloe just turned 2 in January. They still go to bed at ~ 7 pm each night, so usually we can have a couple of hours of family time daily with me being able to get back to the books after their bedtime.....With all this being said, it is still very demanding and HARD! It stinks sometimes having to turn down "fun mommy things" to keep up with my material; however, I know that it will be worth it in the end. I am also being a great role model for my daughters, as is their dad, in showing them that you can have it all! I have given up a lot of roles in my church because of the time demands, but I still am able to maintain Sunday as a day of worship and rest! Anesthesia school is hard - regardless of your situation. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it! It doesn't take long though, once you start clinical for you to realize that no matter what you have to do, no matter what you have to do without - you can never go back! IT IS WORTH IT! Take care and God bless! GCShore

2nd semester at Wake with graduation in August of 2007. First test last week, another this week, and about one per week until May like JennieK. Loving clinical and honored to be here. Agree with Goose, the worst part of school is not seeing my girls (Gracie is 5 and Chloe is 2) or their daddy very much. Had a date with him last night and it was AWESOME but felt weird since I cannot remember the last date we had........... Don't drink, but I love to exercise and surf the web. Best of luck to all! GCShore

I agree with Pete495, let it come when it comes. I asked the same questions and regardless of what anyone tells you, anxiety will abound.:uhoh21: Preparation is essential and ATTITUDE is vital. What I mean by that is, you are there to learn, and that excitement and eagerness will spill over into your disposition.....also, remember that EVERYONE has had to be in your position at some point or another. I am in my second semester of an integrated program and I am loving it!:heartbeat No, I don't know it all, and yes, I am enjoying it at the same time that I am enduring it!:rotfl: Try not to beat yourself up worrying. There was a group of my classmates that spent several weekends prior to the start of clinical in the OR. We would scavenge hunt to locate supplies, practice machine checks, practice ploss cart setups, etc. It really helped especially in the desensitization realm......you know, when you walk through the OR door, your HR increases by about 30 bpm. After being in the OR environment for a little bit, the HR seems to stay WNL. Take care and God bless! GCShore Also remember, the seniors are always glad to see the juniors come into the OR because it takes most of the heat off of them!:wink2:

:rotfl: No, just blow him a kiss! :rotfl: