nia_king

Hey guys, For anyone searching blogs on tips for boards, I thought I'd post what helped me. I just took it early this month and thankfully waited only 3 days for me result. I was not worried though. I studied my butt off 12-16hrs a day for 3 weeks and it paid off big time. I felt very confident leaving the exam center and needless to say I passed So just a few tips for those who may be taking it in Aug.... 1: Some people say Valley does not help anymore, I thought it was crucial! I came back and checked about 7 of my answers from Memory Master and the sweat book and got all of them correct! 2: Do not ignore the mixed reviews, I recalled about 3 questions from them (never the exact questions of course, just the drug, or part of the machine etc)...they really are recent topics on boards! 3: Go over the cards and Mixed Review at least 3x each. Some people advocate pulling out the lightning and bulls eye cards (recent topics but not as recent as the mixed reviews) and going over those an additional time. I took a slightly different approach: I went through all the cards x3 (or however long they take you to master) then I pulled out the ones I still didn't know down pat. It did not matter if they were the hot items or not, if I didn't know it, I pulled it out and went over them a 4th time (only about 5 cards per stack). 4: If you don't have time to read every chapter of Morgan and Mikhail, then know the key points at the beginning of each chapter and bolded text within. Some people swear it is enough. I did that but I don't recall any specific questions on them. Since it worked for some people, I would still recommend it. Of course reading the whole book is better 5: Another absolute essential (my opinion) is taking multiple choice exams. Either Prodigy or Core Concepts will work. I HIGHLY recommend taking at least 3 practice exams. Keep in mind you will probably do worse on these exams the more you study because they are written at high level but boards have varied levels of questioning. The practice exams not only test what you know but you will start to understand your pattern of answering questions and your emotional response to tough questions. Prodigy: http://www.prodigyanesthesia.com/ Core Concepts: http://www.ccanesthesiareview.com/ 6: I thought the exam was very fair; not easy, not difficult, just challenging but if you do your work, you will be just fine. This is just my opinion but perhaps, this might someone out there :) Read everything you have time to read. I thought the varied sources I pulled from (including select topics on different text books) helped. Every little bit of work you put into boards will pay off. GOOD LUCK!

I applied only to Duke; I got accepted and I start in January. Some people take the "throw darts at the wall and hope one sticks" approach but I did not. I knew where I wanted to go as far back as 2004, and every step I took after that was to bring me closer to getting accepted. I was very excited to receive the notification because all my hard work was not in vain. Do your research; pick a school, fulfill all their requirements and pick another one as your "plan B," preferably one with a different application deadline so you can work on your 1st choice first. I picked Upenn as mine but never applied since I got into Duke. You can PM me if you like and I'll be more than willing to tell you the things I did in Nursing school to help get me in (I am assuming you are still in Nursing school, pardon me if you are not). Good luck to you!

Only applied to Duke University; loved the interview :) Got accepted and I start in January, 2007... Can't wait. :monkeydance: Anyone else?

3.94 science, 3.68 Nursing, 530 math, 620 verbal, 17months experience. I don't know the excact number but i heard about 38 interviewed and about 20-22 accepted. (I sent you a PM :)

Thanks for the well wishes. To the best of my knowledge, most schools don't let you know if you are not granted an interview. I only applied to Duke so I am not completely sure about this. The process was a bit different form last year. There are still no clinical questions but instead of one panel interview that lasts about 30mins, you get one-on-one interviews that last a total of 80mins. There were 3 days of interviews (3 different groups of applicants), Friday, Monday and Yesterday. I knew I was going to get in because I had a great interview but I was not expecting to hear anything that soon. Best of luck to you as you apply to other schools

Looks like we posted about the same time :) Just found out today I got accepted!

I heard positive things about emmigrantdirect through Suze Orman (the financial adviser on CNBC). Love her show :)

Look into online savings accounts as well. They are paying up to 5.15% interest which is 1000 times more than you will get in any traditional savings account and on par with most CDs. They are all FDIC insured up to $100,000. They are great if you don't want your money handy... it takes about 1-2 weeks on average to transfer money between the online account and your linked checking account (they say 1-5 business days) so it is always a deterrent for me anytime I want to take money out. There are no penalties for withdrawing money, no fees whatsoever, and no minimum deposit or minimum amount you can have in your account. I think it's the best thing since sliced bread. However if you think that's still easy access, then go with a CD where there are penalties for taking money out and you may get maybe up to a quarter more interest. The online accounts are Emmigrantdirect.com HSBC.com INGdirect.com I think there might be more but those are the 3 I am familiar with and of course I use one of them currently to save for school. Look carefully at the fine print. Some of the advertised rates might be promotional in which case it reverts to a lower rate after a period of time. Look for one where the advertised rate is the one you get. Again they are online accounts which means there are no branches, no ATMs etc, that's why they pay so much interest. They are for low-maintenance customers. Check it out and good luck to you.

Hey you are really off to a good start. I always look for ways to set myself apart from other applicants. While most people start essays with generic stuff about how they always wanted to be a CRNA and all the essential but boring stuff, you started with a story which grabs the reader's attention and draws them in. Keep it interesting and even funny if you can. I started mine with a story about a CRNA that talked me into the field, and everyone I showed it to say it was great. Keep it atypical but eloquent, and don't forget to answer the questions or issues they want you to hit on. The key is to tell them everything they want to hear but do it in an unconventional way that is bound to make your essay memorable and you'll be fine! Hope this helps; good luck to you. Wish me luck to, I interview next month. :)

Just got a call too! :balloons: :balloons: As for the interview, I know they do not ask clinical questions. It is about a half day process and starts early (that's what the facutly member that called me said). I don't think you'll find any detailed info anywhere, most people don't talk about it, they are asked not to... Good luck to all. :cheers:

You are absolutely right. Everyone's feet respond differently to ventilation or lack thereof. My objection to Danskos and tennis shoes and Birks are not about how much they smell but the price. It's amazing how everyone reads my post and that's all they see. Of course there are people I work with whose feet do not smell. I am just saying if you happen to be one of the few who has that problem then Danskos will be a tough sell because you cannot wash them that often (they are pure leather I think). I hope the clogs work out for you Dfk. Like I said they get softer the more you wear them. You can always buy the more expensive ones if they don't work out but at least you know you didn't waste a lot of money only to find the shoes are not as comfortable as you hoped. I did that and I have pretty expensive shoes collecting dust in my closet because my feet hurt so badly when I wear them.

Hi, I hope you haven't purchased any of these expensive shoes because I could save you some money. Do me a favor go to http://www.allheart.com/ahcc1000.html and pick up their $8.99 clogs. I had really expensive shoes: Nike Shox, Adiddas, Reebok...whatever and they all hurt my feet and the Danskos and Birkenstocks are all great but they stink. Wear them with socks for 12hrs and take them off and boy you'll pass out when you catch a whiff of your feet. I discovered these really cheap shoes and I have been wearing them for months now and I love them. They are very soft and get even softer as you were them. I wash them 2-3 times a week and they always smell fresh. You can't dip them tennis shoes or danskos and Birkenstocks in water...at least none of my co-workers do or I wouldn't mind so much when they take their shoes off at work. So my dear b4 your drop some serious dough on shoes like I did, try these cheap ones out. If you don't like them then you can move up. But don't buy expensive shoes only to find that they are not as comfortable or they stink up a storm :)

HI, I am applying there as well and looking for info. I am really surprised no one answered your question. From what I know, they have a really good program (ranked 6th in 2003). However, this year, they lost thier excellent director and a new one is coming in July. They have a good support system for their students and they want you to succeed in the program. You need at least 1000 on your GRE to get interviewed though. Not sure about GPA requirement. Duke is hard to get into though...good luck.

PALM! PALM!! PALM!!! I had a Palm Tungsten E (now E2) that is not very high tech but will give good value for the money. I tossed it and got a kick a** DELL Axim X50. Spent close to $400 on it. Dell is windows based. My reasons were: 1: More memory on windows based PDAs 2: Wi Fi 3: the Axim was very attractive From the 1st day I used it I HATED it. You have to go through so many menus to get to where you are going, and the calender function is very frustrating especially if you are used to the Palm calender feature. With Palm, you can color code your To do's by categories so when you look at your weekly view you automatically know how many mettings you have (say you coded meetings in yellow) exams (say red), classes (pruple), work (blue) etc without clicking on each one to know what it it. It is a very attractive feature. With windows everything is one color (blue) so you have to click on each agenda to see exactly what you scheduled..FRUSTRATING! Bottom line is that I missed the simplicity and elegance of PALM. The new Palm TX has Wi fi, and 250Mb of memory which is more than you need for software (last time I checked they were also offering a free expansion card). Also I don't know of may softwares that are available in PC but not Palm but there are tons that are only available with PALM OS. I gave away my $400 PDA and fished out my raggedy old PALM. i will upgrade to the Palm TX as soon as i feel like i've made up to my Tungsten the wrong I did to it :) P.S: the Tungsten E2 retails for about $199. the TX is $299 Good luck.

Thanks Sandman; that was a great link :)