Treated as a peer....

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Last week I had an ERCP at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. Just before my case the MDA and I chatted (they do general anesthesia for these cases). He told me that my GI doc told him I am a RN, so I told him I had been accepted to an anesthesia program. Suddenly his whole demeanor changed. He was cutting up, showing me all the equipment, and giving me the lowdown on all the drugs he was using. He treated me like a peer. It was awesome! When I was in recovery he kept coming by over and over, chatting with me and my hubby like we were old pals. When he came by he would stay for about 10 minutes, talking to me about our field, etc. He was just so cool and it was obvious that he saw me as one of his own instead of just a nurse. I know a lot of AA's try to say that MDA's hate CRNA's but here was proof to me that there are doc's out there who think CRNA's are pretty awesome. He treated me like he would a fellow MDA and I haven't even started my program yet! It was a really great experiece and I'll never forget him. His last words of wisdom to me...."it's not the anesthesia that makes you sick (i.e. N/V), it's the surgery." He told me that I'll figure this out in school, so let's see if he's right! CRNA'S ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

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The MDA was dead wrong,, anesthesia and ancillary drugs cause more nausea than the surgery does.

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The MDA was dead wrong,, anesthesia and ancillary drugs cause more nausea than the surgery does.

Sorry, let me clarify...the MDA was referring to visceral surgeries such as mine that involve the bile & pancreatic ducts like mine. He was so right too. It's 2 weeks out and I still can barely eat anthing. I have had a bout of pancreatitis from the ERCP and have suffered with N/V daily since. They say it can take up to a month for those symptoms to improve. The MDA wasn't generalizing ALL surgeries.

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Specializes in ER, OR, MICU.

In my experience there are great MDAs and not so great MDAs...I think it really depends on whether there are alot of CRNAs practicing in that region and also how the chief MDA responds to CRNAs also.

I'm glad you had a great experience and for the most part, my experiences have been good also. I find there are MDAs who ask you nothing and MDAs who will ask you everything during clinical or maybe I just feel like they ask me nothing cause I end up knowing the answer and when I don't know the answer, I remember...hmmmmm???!!!???

I used to work with an anesthesia group that didn't hire CRNAs and then they started to get SRNAs to rotate in the OR and after like 4 years of rotation, the head of the group decided to hire CRNAs so even if an MDA is against CRNAs/SRNAs this just goes to show you that if you show them you are well equipped to perform in a safe manner, you can earn their respect and a JOB! :-)

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Specializes in DNAP Student.

Just a note:

Baylor uses a lot of CRNA now. The number is growing and for the most part we have good relationships amongs MDA and CRNA.

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Specializes in PER,PICU,Flight,SRNA 2008.
Sorry, let me clarify...the MDA was referring to visceral surgeries such as mine that involve the bile & pancreatic ducts like mine. He was so right too. It's 2 weeks out and I still can barely eat anthing. I have had a bout of pancreatitis from the ERCP and have suffered with N/V daily since. They say it can take up to a month for those symptoms to improve. The MDA wasn't generalizing ALL surgeries.

Neurogeek,

I'm glad that you had a really positive interaction with the MDA..... I recently had a lap chole and experienced the same thing, in fact was invited to shadow the same MDA after my surgery. I agree with FLAreN in that some are great, and some are not so great. I hope that you feel better very soon! :saint:

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Neurogeek,

I'm glad that you had a really positive interaction with the MDA..... I recently had a lap chole and experienced the same thing, in fact was invited to shadow the same MDA after my surgery. I agree with FLAreN in that some are great, and some are not so great. I hope that you feel better very soon! :saint:

That's awesome! So did you shadow the MDA? I'm feeling better, thanks. The first couple of weeks were B-A-D. Nobody tells you that an ERCP is actually surgery & not just as simple as a scope. I thought, "gee I'll be over this in a couple of days." NOT TRUE! The doc was really great, and he put a stent in my pancreatic duct (did I mention that he found I have pancreatic divisium so there are 2 pancreas's and 2 ducts?) to help prevent pancreatitis. I developed a mild case though anyway. I have a new found respect for pancreatitis pt's....I always thought they just wanted drugs. But I gotta say that even just having a mild case I was in P-A-I-N. I mean, I equate it to labor contractions. I hurt through to my back and was miserable. Plus the fun of even having water make you nauseous! I just started eating regular foods about 2 days ago, before that was rice, mashed potatoes, and soup. Yum! I lost 12 pounds. Too much for me cuz I'm naturally thin anyway so now I look like stick arms and legs with huge belly. Ha! Anyway, I have the joy of going back in 2 weeks to have the stent removed but it's not supposed to be as bad (I'll believe it when I live it!) :yeah:

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"He was just so cool and it was obvious that he saw me as one of his own instead of just a nurse."

:(

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency.

Neurogeek, I'm glad to hear that you are doing well following your ERCP. I just want to add that I have had equally positive experiences with MDAs. When I was still at the bedside I told all of the MDAs that I worked with about my acceptance to CRNA school and I received nothing but support and encouragement from each and everyone of them. They aren't all evil spawns... :devil:

I don't get to visit this site very often as of late, my program starts in a week. My A&P instructor has already given us lecture material for the first week of school. Let the punishment begin :banghead:. Take care and good luck at TCU...

Army

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Neurogeek, I'm glad to hear that you are doing well following your ERCP. I just want to add that I have had equally positive experiences with MDAs. When I was still at the bedside I told all of the MDAs that I worked with about my acceptance to CRNA school and I received nothing but support and encouragement from each and everyone of them. They aren't all evil spawns... :devil:

I don't get to visit this site very often as of late, my program starts in a week. My A&P instructor has already given us lecture material for the first week of school. Let the punishment begin :banghead:. Take care and good luck at TCU...

Thanks! Yes, I feel like a new person now that the post-procedure pancreatitis is resolved! I am now eating foods I haven't eaten in over 9 months due to the sphincter of Oddi! :dzed: Man, that is one problem you do NOT want! Anyway, received my orientation pac from TCU this week. Time to get the ol' physical! :yeah:

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Specializes in PER,PICU,Flight,SRNA 2008.

I did take the MDA up on his offer and shadow him for a day. It was a pretty light schedule, but a great learning experience. Glad to hear that you are feeling better, neurogeek. Armynse, best wishes for your busy months ahead. 10 weeks and counting!!!!:eek:

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency.
I did take the MDA up on his offer and shadow him for a day. It was a pretty light schedule, but a great learning experience. Glad to hear that you are feeling better, neurogeek. Armynse, best wishes for your busy months ahead. 10 weeks and counting!!!!:eek:

Enjoy those 10 weeks. If your experience is anything like mine, you will wake up one day and wonder how that time got away from you. Classes start on Monday...OMG, that time has finally arrived.:bugeyes:

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