As a nursing student stuck with pages and pages of powerpoint slides, I needed a great study guide. But how could I do that efficiently? CRNA school doesn't leave me much time to fiddle with microsoft word... so I use this hack I learned back in nursing school to utilize the PPT slides as the foundation for my guides that I can easily study from.
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I completed my first clinical rotation as a nurse anesthetist student and I can say it was amazing! Prior to starting clinical I was having doubts about whether I made the right decision to start CRNA school, but once I was hands-on, actually intubating patients back-to-back, titrating anesthetic gasses, adjusting ventilator settings and extubating, realized how much I truly enjoy it!
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I had every intention of integrating board review into my everyday routine as a CRNA student. I figured, we’re constantly doing “board prep” by learning the material right? But interestingly enough, I found myself still going through an intensive 5-week plan to prepare myself for the NCE or the National Certification Examination (no one actually calls it this). In the nurse anesthesia world, it’s “boards.”
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On your first day of every rotation, you don’t know where anything is, where to park, what doors you should go in, where the locker room is, how to get scrubs…etc. The list goes on and on. Here are 6 basic tips to help you survive your first day of anesthesia clinical.
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I’ve got a year and a half before I finish schooling…and the first thing on my mind is the NBCRNA Boards. I recently purchased Apex, and so far I absolutely love it. First of all the content of the modules is in a format that’s easy to read and understand. It is mostly in short paragraph/bullet point format with nice diagrams and pictures. In addition, it includes workbooks that are associated with each module.
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The CRNA school interview is a daunting task. It’s a major event separating you from acceptance to your top school. Adequate preparation is needed to be a successful candidate.
There’s no specific recipe that you should follow to stand out during your interview, but there are things you can do to prepare to sell yourself with humbleness and grace. The most important thing is,
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I applied to CRNA school the moment the application was available on July 1, 2015. My recommendation letters were already in, and I was scheduled to take the GRE the following month. Once I took the GRE's, my scores were received by the school August 25 and my application was officially marked as complete. 2 weeks later I received a notification that my application was being moved to the interview round! (This is why I stress preparing for your interview once your application is in). A month later, I was at the school, a nervous wreck, interviewing for one of the 16 seats in their 2019 class.
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I've come across a lot of people who have made the final decision between NP vs CRNA solely on cost. CRNA school is not cheap, but on top of that, a majority of students cannot work during the program, especially once clinical begins. Here’s how you can pay for CRNA school.
Whether this is your first semester or last semester, it’s important to get organized prior to it starting. Most courses will post your syllabus beforehand, so print them out (or not) and have them ready! Some schools do not provide a syllabus for you (I just learned that) So if you don’t have a syllabus…I’m sorry, that’s quite devastating.
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Embracing self-care as a nurse anesthetist and proven ways you can de-stress.
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At my current clinical facility, drugs are drawn up in the morning, then locked in the anesthesia cart in the room. My first day, I was told to draw up the drugs and even though I'm a nurse, figuring out which syringes they wanted to use slowed me down the first couple times. Here's a quick guide to how I draw them up. It's best to draw your drugs up in order of what you'll be using, that way you won't forget anything.
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I had no idea I'd get to this point this fast in life. Switching my major from Pharmacy to Nursing was tough. I was waitlisted initially and the other schools I applied to wouldn't allow me to graduate til' 2014. So how did I end up choosing CRNA school? Learn more in this post.
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I wanted more out of my career and my life so it was essential that I made my dream a reality. Getting into CRNA school wasn't easy, however it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. For those already in critical care, here's what I did to get accepted into CRNA school.
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