Why do you love anesthesia??

Hello all.

I was just wondering...curious, really...

The whole idea of anesthesia scares the crap out of me...putting someone to sleep. It seems like there is so little room for error and any errors made can have drastic effects. (I chalk my fear up to a REALLY, REALLY bad epidural experience with my first child--so much that I went COMPLETELY drug-free with #2).

Anyway, money aside, what do you love/intrigues you the most, about putting someone to sleep??

Hmmm....Maybe I should re-phrase the question...

Why is administering Anesthesia appealing to you? What do you like about it? I understand that it is a very responsible, autonomous position, but there are lots of jobs that have those characteristics as well. So, why Anesthesia??

(It seems like somebody out there knows why they love it.)

It's really not a rhetorical question. There seems to be a lot of interest in getting in to a CRNA program, and I am honestly trying to understand why...like I said....the whole idea just scares me to death!!

Thank you.

I have been accepted to crna school and would also love to hear how others came to chose this profession. What was it that sparked your interest? What was it that made going back to school preferable to doing something easier? What is it now (as a CRNA) that makes you look forward to work? Is there anything you don't like about your work? I am grateful for anything you can share.

etherchick

I am currently working on my BSN, with the next step being accepted into a CRNA program.

I will tell you the same thing I told a husband and wife anesthesia team (MD) in our open heart program... "This is not the most politically correct answer, but it relates to me the most. From hundreds of years of knowledge that will get conveyed to me, I can speed up, stop, slow down, or generally **** with virtually any process in the human body, and then reverse it." Their response.. "wow.. you'll do fine in anesthesia".

I like drugs, their interactions, what they do, and how they do it at the cellular level. I like having the ability to control and manipulate an individual so that I am giving them the most stable platform for thier surgery to be successful. That is what is pushing me onto CRNA school. Money, schedule, among other things is added fluff. Nice to have, but absolutly not the driving force.

I am currently working on my BSN, with the next step being accepted into a CRNA program.

I will tell you the same thing I told a husband and wife anesthesia team (MD) in our open heart program... "This is not the most politically correct answer, but it relates to me the most. From hundreds of years of knowledge that will get conveyed to me, I can speed up, stop, slow down, or generally **** with virtually any process in the human body, and then reverse it." Their response.. "wow.. you'll do fine in anesthesia".

I like drugs, their interactions, what they do, and how they do it at the cellular level. I like having the ability to control and manipulate an individual so that I am giving them the most stable platform for thier surgery to be successful. That is what is pushing me onto CRNA school. Money, schedule, among other things is added fluff. Nice to have, but absolutly not the driving force.

Hmm....I hadn't thought about it like that before. That makes a lot of sense.

Thank you for your response!

Good luck!

It is clearly the best profession there is--if you don't mind working hard, being very alert, using your brain and your knowledge, your hands and your intuition. I can bring the best of nursing--calming the fearful patient, relieving pain and making the sugical experience great--with the science of anesthesia. Also, the money, the respect, being a member of probably the best professional organization (AANA), a wonderful peer group, the most professional of all nurses and the independence and incredible number of practice options.

Today I got a lovely gift from a patient thanking me for the great anesthetic and telling me it was the only time she woke up from anesthesia without nausea and vomiting. What a great feeling.

There is a lot more I could say; I am in my own practice, run my own business and have fun every single day.

yoga crna

I love the procedures, epidural, spinal, nerve blocks, and the control and understanding of physiology that is everyday anesthesia.

Because every anesthetic, everyday is different.

Because every anesthetic, everyday is different.

Yes indeed. Every patient is unique. And every day, as another quotidian installment of life-long learning, you teach yourself something new.

deepz

Since i started my BSN program, many years ago, I knew that i wanted to be a CRNA. I had the "fire in the belly" burning desire to be physiologically in control of my patient.

Great comments everyone

Brian

I am applying to CRNA school for admission next fall....As an ICU nurse, I love hemodynamics, physiology, ventilators and of course titrating multiple vasoactive gtt's ...CRNA seems like a "step up" from what I am doing now...I went into the OR to "shadow" a CRNA and was totally amazed at the amount of knowledge they had. Made me feel like I learned nothing in my 6yrs in the ICU.