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Quick, everyone buy stocks in the sedasys!! JK, to be honest I just don't see it though. "Anesthesia is an art that must be carefully monitored". Besides this machine is only "projected" to be narrowly used anyway in only specific circumstances. Besides, haven't they have already been replaced by CRNA's anyway ...

What (in your opinion) qualifies a "good" anesthesia school. Through researching schools I have found it varies so much on how the curriculum is presented, number of cases, locations they are done, who is instructing the courses/how the school is run ie. medical school or strictly a nursing school or a pharm teaching pharm vs a RN etc.

Absolutely. The use of a rotoprone bed is good for the patient. But yes, it is a MAJOR PI the A. The AACN article by Culpepper and Goldhill, you should be able to search them and find a good study/evidence

Yeah thank you for the info/reply. I think after careful consideration and review, in conjunction with my life currently what is best for me is flight nursing. Meaning, non CCAT. Either way the experience and care I will deliver will be fun and exciting. Not to mention the patient population that I get to work with :)

what do you mean by "wings"?

I am currently a critical care nurse looking to take on a new challenge and gain a different perspective and challenge my critical thinking skillset. Additionally I want to be a part of something bigger and work on a more global scale (so to speak). I have thought about going active but for now, reserve or air guard is a better fit at this point and time. I have looked into both CCAT and Flight nursing with the AF and recognize both are a big time commitment. Both require weeks of training that would take me away from my current ICU job. I was also informed that since 80% of AE units do transport there is a almost guaranteed chance of getting deployed. I am also good with that. I also enjoy the aspect of being able to be a part of the "crew" as I love flying and being a part of the team. Figuring out what to take, load, weight, capacity for patients/flight crew is great! Along with training I take with me for a lifetime! Where I start to see an issue is job duty. If I am taking care of med/surg patients I would feel my clinical skills would suffer as the "time commitment" in the reserve as a flight nurse is heavy. I was told a realistic grasp is drill 1 weekend/month + 1 weekend (2-3 days) of flying, THEN deployment for 4-6 months. That is a full time job and some! So, if I am going to be spending that much time with it, I want to ensure I am using my skills and testing my knowledge. Can anyone shed light on this?! As for the other edge of the sword. CCAT is not in my immediate area and going for that would be great but with the same commitment AND driving 4 hours one way to the nearest squadron seems unmanageable. If anyone has insight to a) their current job and how it relates to CCAT, flight nursing or air guard...please indulge b) PRO's/CON's of everything c) deployment opportunities with each d) general satisfaction with current job and being reserve or air guard please pm me or reply! Much appreciated!

Hey all, Recently spoke to recruiter about process, paperwork, commitment etc and wanted to reach out to see who could enlighten me on the more intimate side of being a critical care AF reserve nurse. Pro's/Con's, drill, how it works (or doesn't) with personal life/job. I am at the crux of my decision and want to hear first hand from someones experiences. thanks

I wouldn't worry about overloading yourself with books upon books to read. Get yourself one book...specifically one you can reference if needed. A good critical care book (the book from nursing school did great for me, it was amazing looking back to now and how much I can put relavence on and how much of it makes so much more sense) and a pocket guide (I used "the ICU book" by marino). the rest will come with time. As a side note-do not come off trying to impress the manager too much. You want to seem teachable and impressionable in your new environment.e

Interesting article. Especially when cost effective! I find at my facility, we do not use this combination enough (IMO) What do you use at your facility??? Opening the floor do discuss this article. http://ccforum.com/content/18/3/R122/abstract

Agreed. SICU is an amazing work environment where you see multi-modalities and lots...lots of different patient issues. You have many different types of groups following these patients. Not to say MICU is bad or you won't learn or gain valuable experience but it tends to harbor the more chronic of patients. ESRD, Infections, HTN, DM. A lot of turn/water/feed patients as they say.

I do not have enough "posts" to p.m. people on the site yet so I attempted to add you.

well could you shed more light as to HOW you chose a school. There is obviously the financial factor, but does rank matter? Do clinical sites matter or is it more about hours of clinicals? Is picking a front loaded program better? Should I pick a school based upon whether I think I will get a job in the area (as in-same state)...questions like that.

well to be honest. it is task oriented. only after you get to the point of understanding what you are doing. obviously you have to be thinking about things critically and using clinical judgment and you absolutely have to "know" your patient for nuances in vaso gtts, meds etc...etc...but after a while there are highly repetative tasks. all i meant by that. i don't negate using your brain

well, that is the job you/we all chose. sorry to be blunt but it is true. nursing is difficult not for the hours, not for the tasks or attention to detail, not for being spit at, cursed at or cleaning s**t nor working for weeks to no end to see a patient suddenly expire...what makes this profession difficult is seeing humanity at its most elemental core. Haha, there is always someone to save when money depends on it!

It is an intellectually and emotionally difficult unit. You will soon discover! As for "what to do" that will come with time but in essence. Be a sponge. Things to learn would be: drips (about 15 main ones-receptors they effect, dosage, what effect the drug has on the patient etc), vent settings (3 main ones), chest tubes (differences between pleural and mediastinal), all of your hemodynamic parameters/values and later down the road ecmo and vads. That is a short and sweet answer but there are a lot of good resources out there!

Well. In brief, don't throw the towel in-move units if need be but don't let it get to you. It is the nature of our work, being emotionally challenged and put in situations that are ******. However, in my experience no. It is a last ditch effort and the doctors that consent the patient (or families rather) are fully aware of what is happening and they explain this to the family. On that note-you should be able to discuss that because the family and whoever is making the patient's decisions should know what the situation is about, especially at that point and time. Now-on that note-yes, it raises questions as to "why", but then again working in an ICU environment should in general. What "we do" in an ICU is not always ethical and is not always pleasant. Yes sometimes it is about numbers but those numbers are statistics that can be used to help. That is medicine. But it also largely has to do with our society, the american culture has difficulties letting go and therefore wants EVERYTHING to be done NOW to save someone. When it would often times be more appropriate to go home with some dignity and peace. food for thought. don't give up

The questions you must ask yourself are these: am I oganized to the point of mild OCD, do I enjoy being task oriented, am I highly observant in my environment, am I intelligent (now, let me be clear that there are PLENTY of stupid ICU RN's out there-I am just indicating it is a good quality to have), am I highly motivated, do I have strong morals/ethics, do I want to be challenged... those are some questions that arise often. If you want bigger and better things that challenge you mentally and emotionally. that is your best bet

the book i utilized through school and in an ICU setting was "the little ICU book of facts and formulas" by Paul Marino. Information saturated but good book.

So for those of you that HAVE graduated and DO have CRNA liscensure, what qualities would you say (if you had to prioritize them) are important for choosing a school. I am polling several sources and have a list of my own improtant factors but would love to hear what is important for those who have made the leap now that you can look back.

Hello! Well I can't speak to Portland OR specifically but can tell you I work at a level 1 trauma center and teaching facility-aka a large hospital that gets the sickest of the sick with lots of innovative implementations. The unit I currently reside in is STICU. A typical day consists of getting shift report on my patients. Depending on their acuity I could either have 1 or 2 patients. I then begin the routine of assessing my patient, administering medications and tending to any unanswered questions from family, the healthcare team or specialists following that patient's case. Again-can't emphasize enough how big a role the nurse plays in facilitating team communication. That also goes for family, dealing with any family or patient psychosocial issues is an integral part in patient/nursing care. As the shift progresses things (hopefully) settle down and the role I play as an ICU nurse is simple. "Maintaining perfusion and oxygenation". Making sure my patient remains safe and stable through a shift is not always an easy thing, bringing me to my next point as to why I love trauma nursing. The people I work with play a huge role, but the patient population is vast and diverse. On any given day you could see: Ortho traumas of all shapes and sizes, burns, septic patients, motor vehicle accidents, drowning, neurologically damaged patients (our unit recieves a fair amount of patients suitable for NSICU-bolts, EVD etc), surgical patients of all shapes and sizes (occasionally vascular cases, a lot of GI patients or liver/kidney/pancreas transplants), GI bleeds, GI resections and many of these patients are vented or are in traction. Often times things go wrong fast, really fast. So whisking patients to surgery within minutes of a change in symptoms or rapidly infusion boluses or high volumes of blood via a "Level 1 Transfuser" is not uncommon. If you enjoy a wide variety of patients with multisystem disorders with high doses of adrenaline, STICU is a good place for you. Hope that helps-but if you have more specific questions feel free to message me

Nice, it looks like a good resource. As for the research you want to focus on-what led you to PTSD specifically? Will that be a project you continue to work on with a team somewhere (ie. lab/schoo/teaching facility) and how do you hope to apply that to your clinical work?

Curious to know what research topics CRNA's are interested in/partake in? I have found a few websites that have pointed me in the correct direction ie AANA. But outside of school and some kinda of senior thesis, are there any CRNA's out there that are currently involved in research projects or anesthetic subject matter that would like to share some things they are involved in? I am interested to gain more insight into the world "beyond CRNA work". Meaning, outside of job duties and "punching the clock" how are you positively adding to the profession on a professional level and utilizing the Masters level education that allows you to review journals and critique research?? New to the topic so I am just breaking the ice and interested