RaginCajunRN

Thanks everyone for the responses. I might not have put enough info into my topic. Yoga, this was my very first day in the OR as a student and I did not run the case. I had to share my time and questioning with 2 fellow students. The CRNA preceptor did not seem very concerned with the vision problems and performed a f/u assessment on her as well as sending over the MDA to assess the situation after we had left the PACU area. I had a genuine concern for the situation, but what am I to say at this stage in the game? I mean, I definitely would have stood my ground regarding appropriate f/u and tx if I felt my preceptor was blowing things off. My fellow students and I discussed it with the preceptor and felt like this would probably be a short-lived complication. As for her BP, I kept an eye on her MAP closely and she really did not stray too far from her baseline during the entire case. I thought about this all weekend and tried to look some things up in my textbooks with minimal success. One last thing, as far as the ointment in her eyes, I did get a washcloth when we got to the PACU and wiped her eyes out thoroughly, especially after her first c/o vision problems. That is one thing that I always did for any of my patients in the unit. How uncomfortable it must be to wake up with blurred vision from that goop in your eyes. Again, thanks for the responses and I'm sure i'll be back for some Q & A sessions. Starting Regional next week and looking forward to a busy summer.

35 yr old ESRD, HTN and Diabetic pt. Post Lap-Choly with uneventful case. Gave 10mg metoclopramide, 50mg zantac during due to pre-op N&V. Paralysis reversed with Neo and Robinul with smooth emergence and extubation while deep. Pt awakened and pain free. While taking pt to recovery, she complained of not being able to see. Since this was my first real case to be involved with from start to finish as an SRNA, i stuck around for a few minutes to see outcome of vision problems (no apparent changes while i was there). Pt. looked to have poor vision prior to surgery - signature on consents was all over the place as she signed them right in front of me. I know that anticholinesterases can cause miosis and some blurred vision but we gave her the corresponding dose of robinul, which hopefully would offset muscarinic effects. Has anyone ever had a pt. like this complain of vision problems in recovery. Could she have had sluggish response to Robinul due to ESRD OR an accentuated response to Neostigmine? Since I did not stick around for F/U (it was end of shift), I don't know if her vision got better. I can only hope that it was a short-lived drug rxn because eyes were protected appropriately during the case and no reason to think that high O2 or BP issues could have caused retinal issues. Any thoughts?

let me throw in my stats, which pale in comparison, but got me into school! bsn gpa: 2.865 (3.1 in nursing courses) graduate classes (11 hours) : 4.0 gpa gre: 950/3.5 mat: 53 experience: 1.5 years stepdown, 1 year same day surgery, 3 years icu/ccu, and 2 years ccu. certs: ccrn, acls, pals interviewed at lsu last year and made alternate list. re-interviewed at lsu this year with all of the above stats and made it in. starting next month and i'm ready to rock!!!! :rotfl: !!!

Yes Mummer. From what I know of the job opportunities available for CRNA's, most prospective employers offer sign-on bonuses b/c they know you will be looking for money to pay off student loans. I think this offer is always negotiable with employer, but some are set. I am beginning to learn more about this, but for now I'm going to focus on school and learning all I need to for getting that good job and being the best at what I do. Knowledge is power!!

I will also be at NTI this year since I live here in New Orleans and I really need like 20 contact hours to maintain my CCRN. This will be my first time too and probably last since I was accepted to CRNA School starting this August. Maybe we will run into one another. If I can, i'll put my call name on my nametag. RAGINCAJUNRN ---------------Be safe getting here. See ya'll in May.

Hey. I am the Charge Nurse in a busy 10 bed CCU. I have been doing this for a few years now and I always take a pt load, although sometimes this becomes a problem because i can not adequately keep track of my patients and the other 8 in the unit, especially if there is a pooled nurse on the unit. But, according to our manager we are just gonna have to "suck it up" indefinitely. I get worried sometimes about mistakes being made by others that I can't fix or don't know about and they come to surface at a later time. If I am going to be the "Charge" Nurse, then I feel like I need to be involved and know everything that is going on. I mean, I can't even keep track of when my nursing staff is calling MD's and for what. So, at the end of the shift when i am giving report, there are some things that i haven't heard about and I look misinformed and not in the loop with my patients on the unit and my staff. For $1.25 extra per hour, it has been a rough ride, but great experience. Not only do I get to deal with my CVVHD and Swan, but I get to go two doors down and play with a Balloon pump and fix a Continuous Cardiac Output monitor. My shifts are mostly pretty busy lately, but I am building on the time management skills and responsibilities for Anesthesia School. Regardless of everything that I do, my patient care comes first before anything else. After all, that is what I am there for and they deserve my undivided attention. Hope all is well where you are!!!! Keep on keepin' on!

I hope this reply isn't too late. If you have already taken the exam, I hope you did well. Otherwise, if you are still studying, I recommend you read the AACN Core Curriculum. The whole thing. Then look at the Core Curriculum study guides and go through each of the tests. Make sure to know your hemodynamics really good. Lots of Swan numbers on the test. Don't forget about your ethical questions, there thrown in there too. Cardiac and Respiratory sections are huge. Few questions on GI, and endocrine from what i remember. Just took mine in 03. Good Luck..... Derek RN,BSN,CCRN

The school that i originally applied to wanted a personal essay and the second school wanted a goal statement, so when setting out to write your essay/goal statement you need to decide which direction your going to run with it. I wrote about a page and a half explaining my history of getting into my BSN program (b/c it was very meaningful), how i persevered through schooling and the extracurricular activities along the way. Then, I spoke of my work experience after graduating and why and when I decided that i wanted a career as a CRNA. To end my essay, I gave an updated account of my personal achievements counting towards getting into school that I have achieved since working in the ICU setting (ie. CCRN, Graduate classes taken, and advanced certification). Start by sitting down and brainstorming ideas in outline form then piece it together. I'm sure you'll do great. PM me if you have further questions... Good Luck...

Looks like most of the people in this post are from the northern US. I'm gonna throw in the cog here!! Louisiana State University (New Orleans) - Applied to Last year and was an alternate. Reapplied this year and will interview soon. I just want to say congrats to all who have applied or interviewed. To me, it requires a great deal of dedication and perseverance just to get the paperwork together and get that interview. GRE scores, MAT scores, transcripts, letters of rec, goal statements/essays, etc...... Putting all of this stuff together is time consuming, but well worth it. I feel fortunate just to have an opportunity!! Good Luck to All!!

SleepJoe, I am telling you this from the perspective of a CVICU Charge Nurse and CRNA School applicant. I interviewed with a school last year and they asked me specific questions about the IABP. I think that it is good knowledge to have period, but it won't be the difference between you getting in school or not. How can you take care of a patient on this device if you do not know about the waveform that you are looking at and how to adust settings for optimal augmentation! Yes, I agree with other posts that you will not need to know how to manage one in CRNA school because the perfusionists usually manage them in surgery, but you do need to know it for your knowledge base now. Overall, I think CCRN certification is key when applying to school. This gives you a measurable advantage for getting an interview and getting in. The school I interviewed with told me that i should obtain my CCRN and retry next year, so I went and got my certification. Just studying for the test alone will increase your confidence level and make you feel like you have got that edge. Applying the concepts will be the task. Anyway, I think that obtaining CCRN certification is a no-brainer and would far outweigh any other certification when applying to school, but remember it is not ultimately needed when applying to most schools. Perseverance and diligence will pay off!! Good Luck!! Louisiana RN,BSN,CCRN - 5 years in ICU/CCU

Hey ashfost. I have a friend that I work with that came straight out of his BSN program and went into the CCU/ICU setting. He had a structured orientation which included about 6 weeks of training on a telemetry unit before coming to the ICU. He is applying for CRNA school right now and has been in the ICU setting for about 2 years. The amount of growth I have seen in his nursing knowledge base and comfort level caring for acutely ill patients from year 1 to now has been immense. I'll tell you, I think that extra year of effort and knowledge matured him and built his confidence. So, to answer your question, I think that you should work some on the floor, but I think you should really focus on taking care of every type of ICU patient that you can to encounter all of the experiences needed to be a well-rounded clinician. You need to see, touch, and manage all types of critical patients and the equipment needed to care for them. You must be confident in your abilities and prepared mentally for the challenge of CRNA school. CCRN certification would also be good for you because in studying for the exam you would cover a lot of the illnesses that you might not come across on a daily basis at work and know what to look for when you do see it. I hope that everything works out for you and remember to not be discouraged in chasing your dreams. Perseverance and dedication will pay off!! Louisiana RN,BSN,CCRN - 5 years ICU/CCU experience (7.5 Years in Nursing) Hopeful SRNA this Fall!!