The End of an Era

It's hard to believe this journey has come to an end...and I made it out alive!



Graduation was quite honestly one of the best nights of my life, it's even up there with the day I got married....seriously, those two days are neck and neck at the top. If you've graduated from anesthesia school, you know what I mean!

UTC Anesthesia Class of 2011!

And oh, did we celebrate!

And then what?! Well, going from getting up at the crack of dawn every morning and spending 50 + hours in the OR every week to sitting at home studying was definitely an adjustment. But wow, did the house stay clean. I'm talking eat your dinner off the bathroom floor clean...OK I might not take it that far with a man living in the house.

I studied for 6 weeks. Now, I am not going to blow rainbows up anyone's behind and say I studied for 8 hours a day, everyday and even on the weekends. There's just no way. If you can study like that, more power to ya! I studied on average 4-5 hours a day, MAX. And for the first four weeks, none on the weekends. I went through Valley (which I highly recommend!) in the first four weeks and then studied the stuff I had trouble with for the last two weeks. I also focused most of my time in Memory Master from Valley in the last two weeks. I didn't purchase Prodigy but I did spend a little time in Core Concepts taking the practice exams.



I took my boards on Thursday September 22 at noon. I'm not usually a nervous test-taker but this was no ordinary test. I went to bed early the night before and tossed and turned all night. After siging over the naming rights to my first-born child to the NBCRNA, I was allowed to enter the testing room. I spent 5-10 minutes (I think I got sucked into a black time hole for some of that) staring at the screen before entering my answer for the 100th question. Then, BOOM. I was done. (Some of you may not know that the minumum number of questions on the certification exam is 100 and the max is 170....you can get any number of questions in between, but once the computer determines that you have passed or failed, it shuts down the test)



And then, the survey....really?


"How friendly was the staff at the testing center...blah blah blah" Ummm, couldn't we do this some other time? I have a lot riding on these results. Survey complete, I step out into the waiting room and the "all-knowing results-holding" guy says, "Wait, I need to print this on different paper". Cue panic attack. Slowly lower self to chair before passing out.





"This is torture, you know" I said to Mr. all-knowing, results-holding guy. "What?" He replied, "You don't know?" and hands me my results....






PASS














Oh Holy mother of God! I don't care what sort of fancy paper you want to print it on...this is good enough for me.













So, I managed to keep myself semi-composed while Mr. Letmeprintthisonfancypaper guy did his thing and handed me my results all official like. I RAN out to my car and pumped up the jam all the way home. Wow. I still get excited thinking about that day. And....I think it's now in the running for best day ever, right up there with graduation and getting married.





Daniel and I left that next day and headed to Orlando, FL to stay with his dad for two nights before making the drive to Miami on Sunday for a 7 day cruise through the Caribbean. We visited Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; St. Thomas in the USVI; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Grand Turk. It was FABulous! I even got some of my tan back :)
























Now it is time to wait on the AL BON to process paperwork and send my license in the mail. Let the waiting begin :)

It's Been Quite Awhile~

Wow how time flies! I haven't been on top of the blog in the past few months, obviously!

Graduation is in 59 days. We were officially done with class at the end of April and are clinical only til August 11th. The learning curve has been steep and not even the peak of a plataeu is in sight! Now that I am doing more and more cases by myself, it validates all that I have learned in the past two years. It amazes me to know that I have done almost 1,000 cases in the past year and a half. It will probably take four or more years out of school to do that many cases again!

I just paid for my board exam today, so I guess I need to get serious about studying soon! I plan to get my provisional (temporary) license once I graduate (AL is one of the states that allow this) and work 1-2 days a week while studying for boards. Gotta start making up for these more than 2 years of unemployment! I will then take (and PASS) boards in September and hopefully a cruise to somewhere tropical won't be too far following.

The stress of anesthesia school doens't disappear, just changes. Now it's on to dealing with finding a job; paying for, studying for, and passing boards; filling out all the paperwork required for graduation/credentialing, etc.

Our anesthesia program hooding ceremony will be Friday night August 12th and our par-tay is scheduled for Saturday the 13th. It will be here before we know it!

Holly Daze

So the class of 2011 took our last final of the semester today. Exciting stuff since we only have one more class to go in spring and then it's only clinicals through August 11-- our last official clinical day. Graduation has been changed to Saturday August 13 at 10am. Our private anesthesia hooding will most likely be the Friday night prior and the big blowout Saturday night. We've already started planning the big event and hope to have it at the Loose Cannon art gallery downtown with DJ "Taz", a friend of Daniel's that also DJ'd our wedding.

The ACE (Anesthesia Consultants Exchange) annual Christmas party was this past Saturday night at the Sheraton downtown and here are some pictures. We had a blast!

National Nurse Anesthestists Week

National Nurse Anesthestists Week is coming up January 23-29, 2011.

Borrowed from the AANA website:


Anesthesia Q&A

Q: Is anesthesia safe?

A: According to a 1999 report released by the Institute of Medicine, anesthesia today is nearly 50 times safer than it was in the early 1980s. New monitoring technologies and drugs, increased education, and more extensive professional standards have made the administration of anesthesia one of the safest aspects of a surgical or obstetrical procedure.

Q: Who administers anesthesia?

A: In the majority of cases, anesthesia is administered by a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). CRNAs work with your surgeon, dentist or podiatrist, and may work with an anesthesiologist. CRNAs are advanced practice nurses with specialized graduate-level education in anesthesiology. For nearly 150 years, nurse anesthetists have been administering anesthesia in all types of surgical cases, using all anesthetic techniques and practicing in every setting in which anesthesia is administered.

Q: Will the nurse anesthetist stay with me throughout my surgery?

A: The nurse anesthetist stays with you for the entire procedure, constantly monitoring every important function of your body and individually modifying your anesthetic to ensure your maximum safety and comfort.

Q: Are there different types of anesthesia?

A: There are three basic types of anesthesia: General anesthesia produces a loss of sensation throughout the entire body; regional anesthesia produces a loss of sensation to a specific region of the body; and local anesthesia produces a loss of sensation to a small, specific area of the body.

Q: What determines which type of anesthesia is best for me?

A: The anesthesia chosen for you is based on factors such as your physical condition, the nature of the surgery, and your reactions to medications.

Q: Do different types of patients require different types of anesthesia?

A: Many factors go into determining the best anesthetic and administration technique for each person. Pregnant patients, children, older adults and patients with hereditary disorders such as diabetes or sickle cell anemia all require special consideration. Even lifestyle choices such as the use of complementary and alternative medicines, tobacco or alcohol can influence the anesthesia selection process.



Q: Why haven’t I heard about CRNAs? Are you a new profession?

A: Nurse anesthesia was established in the late 1800s as the first clinical nursing specialty in response to the growing need surgeons had for anesthetists. Nurse anesthetists, pioneers in anesthesia, have been administering anesthesia for nearly 150 years and have played significant roles in developing the practice.

Q: What is the difference between a CRNA and anesthesiologist?

A: The most substantial difference between CRNAs and anesthesiologists is that prior to anesthesia education, anesthesiologists receive medical education while CRNAs receive nursing education. However, the anesthesia part of the education is very similar for both providers. They are both educated to use the same anesthesia process in the provision of anesthesia and related services, and both adhere to the same standards of patient care.

Q: Tell me what to expect when I go for my anesthesia?

A: During the procedure, anesthesia allows you to be free of pain. All anesthesia care is provided with the highest degree of professionalism, including constant monitoring of every important body function. In addition to the nurse anesthetist’s role in the procedure itself, they also make many preparations for the patient before surgery. So it is important that the patient take an active role in these preparations by communicating and cooperating with their nurse anesthetist and surgeon. For example, frank and open discussion with the nurse anesthetist is key in the selection of the best anesthetic. In particular, the patient must speak freely and follow instructions closely regarding the intake of medications, food, or beverages before anesthesia. Such substances can react negatively with anesthetic drugs and chemicals.

Q: What educational qualifications must all CRNAs have?

A: As advanced practice nurses, CRNAs receive their specialty anesthesia education in more than 100 accredited graduate programs offering a master's degree. Admission requirements include a BSN or other appropriate baccalaureate degree, RN license, and a minimum of one year of acute care nursing experience. The anesthesia curriculum covers advanced anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology; biochemistry and physics related to anesthesia; advanced pharmacology; and principles of anesthesia practice, plus hours of hands-on experience in a wide variety of cases and techniques. Upon graduation from an accredited program of nurse anesthesia education, the individual must successfully pass a national certification exam to hold the CRNA credential. Thereafter, the CRNA is committed to lifelong learning, with one requirement being 40 CE hours every two years for recertification.

From the commencement of the professional education in nursing, a minimum of seven years of education and training is involved in the preparation of a CRNA. The bottom line is you don’t have to be a physician to administer anesthesia.

Q: Where can consumers get more information about anesthesia?

A: Consumers are encouraged to call the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists at (847) 692-7050, or visit the AANA websites at www.aana.com and www.AnesthesiaPatientSafety.com.

Bad First Impression

I try to keep most of my posts positive and avoid the "politics" of being in anesthesia school. After a recent discussion with a classmate of mine, I felt compelled to share an excerpt from John Marble, CRNA's book entitled What I Was Not Necessarily Taught in Anesthesia School.

Some of you who are currently in school or even if you've been a practicing CRNA for years, you can probably relate:

"..you too may be misjudged by an instructor. Though you may have remarkable cognitive and/or clinical ability, you will be asked to function in an environment that you've never seen how to act within. No one cares that you may have been the best ICU nurse on a thirty bed unit. What they do care about is whether or not you are going to display the need to be prompted in order to sense something that you've never been exposed to; whether ot not it's interpreting something you've never seen, doing something you've never done, or recognizing a number that you have no idea what it means."

"..You'll be judged primarily from the start on something that you're assured to initially fail at due to a lack of being properly prepared by both the facility in which you used to work and a comprehensive, but nonspecific didactic course load. Consequently and sadly, some will jump on the 'nostalgia bandwagon' with a chain-smoking classmate while reminiscing just outside the cafeteria doors about how they and their classmates were 'never' like that, and would have been kicked out of school on the very first day if they ever were; all while secretly knowing that you are within earshot, but acting as if they don't."

"Just remember that they were once there too and were probably worse than you. This is their payback for having to endure the same confidence teardown that they are currently giving you and your classmates. You'll have more time to win them over. Just don't hug them before you leave when your time at their institution is up, or your clothes will end up smelling like an ash tray."

For more information on John's book visit: http://www.whatiwasnottaught.com/book.html

Interview Tips

Although interviews for UTC's class of 2013 took place this past Thursday and Friday, I have had several people in the past ask for advice on the interview process. This post is my personal experience only and may not be all-inclusive. First, a list of the personality traits of a good SRNA:

1. Don't be too quiet (you will be labeled as "passive" or "apathetic")
2. Don't be too loud (you will be labeled as "pompous" or "too aggressive")
3. You must be just the right amount of obsessive-compulsive
4. You must be adaptable to change
5. You must have tough skin
6. You need to be able to master organization and time-management skills

I realize many of the above qualities are contradictory, but so has been my experience in anesthesia school. As the saying goes, "you can't make everybody happy" and never has there been a more approppriate place/time. It took me 18 months to figure this out.

UTC/Erlanger interviews have historically been conducted in front of a panel including the following people: the head of the anesthesiology department at Erlanger, chief CRNA, assistant chief CRNA, UTC's nurse anesthesia program director, and both assistant directors.

Interviews typically start with "Tell me a little about yourself". This is a great time to talk about your career/educational experience, when you first learned about nurse anesthesia, why you want to be a nurse anethetist and maybe throw in some hobbies/interests. (I would keep the personal stuff to a minimum though).

It would be a good idea to have a patient to present as sometimes they might ask "Tell me about a typical patient you took care of in the unit you worked in". Or be prepared to answer "Tell me about a conflict you experienced at work and how you resolved it".

The most important piece of advice I can give regarding UTC's interview process is: DO NOT bring up a subject that you cannot elaborate on or discuss in detail (ie, clotting cascade, DIC, etc). Once you start discussing a clinical issue, you will usually be led down the rabbit hole until they know you don't know the answer to their question. It is OK to say "I don't know". It is even better to say "I don't know, that is something I would have to look up." The panel wants to know you aren't going to BS your way through a problem or refuse to admit you need help. This is also a tactic to see how well you perform under stress.

UTC's interviews are 99% clinically based while UAB's interviews are 99% personal questions. (At least this was my experience). Hope this helps! Feel free to elaborate in the comment section if you have anything to add.

I see the light....at the END of the tunnel!

Less than 10 months until graduation. August 14, 2011 for those of you who forgot :) We are halfway through this semester and it's amazing to me that we only have one more class left in the program. (Our last summer is clinicals only.)

I'm in OB this week and I'm finally getting some epidural and spinal experience. I will be the first to admit, sticking needles in people's backs never appealed to me, but as I gain more confidence, it's definitely growing on me. I actually did 3 epidurals today without any assistance but I must've been due up for a little dose of humility because the next two required a LOT of assistance from my CRNA. Screwing up epidurals is alot different than missing an intubation or having a slow wake-up in a general anesthestic because the patient and often times, their family, are alert, awake, and very much so paying attention to what you are doing/saying, etc. Our class is very fortunate to have a GREAT CRNA at the OB specialty site we work. He allows us to focus on the technicality of epidurals and spinals instead of paperwork, and other site-specific concerns.

Interviews for the class of 2013 are next Thursday and Friday, Oct. 28th and 29th. Good luck to everyone! We are ecstatic to see another group of fresh faces milling about.







I also realize that it has been awhile since I posted any pictures on the blog....BORING! Here are some pictures from this past weekend when we attended the Tennessee Association of Nurse Anesthetists Conference in Murfreesboro. Enjoy!

Ridin' Solo

Summer has come and gone. We start back to class today, which I'm not looking forward to after having the past 9 weeks away from the books. Hopefully it will make time fly! Clinicals are becoming better by the day and we've even been running rooms by ourselves at times. Running my own room validates that this is really what I want to do one day when I "grow up". The class of 2012 starts down in the OR Sept. 7th and we can't wait to see them! Our on-call nights, 11-7 days and PAT days are a little rough now that there are only two of us working those shifts as compared to when we were juniors....but all that will change come December.

How Time Flies!

Summer is full blast here in the south...temps in the 90's and finally enough free time to enjoy the pool! So we finished up the spring semester in April and took the first summer mini-mester which incuded Health Policy and Economics (blah!) and Pharm. II. Those seven weeks flew by and now we're clinicals exclusively until August. It's hard to believe we only have two more classes for the whole program. (One this fall and one next spring).

Things on the clinical front are definitely changing. The attitudes (from CRNA's, MDA's, etc) are much more positive towards our class (now "sooners"-- not juniors, they started classes this summer but not quite seniors until the class of 2010 graduates in August). The everyday of the OR is becoming much more familiar and with most of our class having been in close to 500 cases already, we are just working on perfecting techniques and getting exposure to specialty areas and more complicated cases. The days of "what have I gotten myself into" still exist, but are fewer and farther between. Although we have no class for the remainder of the summer semester, we do have a "book test" (yes, a test that covers anything and everything in a whole textbook) at the end of July. Which, by the way, I need to start studying for!

We have a vacation planned for the middle of July...so excited. Headed to New Smyrna beach on the east coast of Florida since the oil has affected our favorite beaches in the Gulf. Well, I am spending the weekend at the Baroness (what we affectionately refer to Erlanger as). Doing 7p-7a tonight (Saturday) and Sunday night. Hopefully it will be a quiet weekend!

Happy New Year!!

Where did 2009 go?

My Christmas week off was fabulous, a much needed break and gave me a chance to catch up on sleep! Spring semester officially started yesterday and clinicals now consist of regular 7-3 days, 11am-7pm days (which is what I did today), call shifts (3pm-7am), my first of which is tomorrow, and weekend shifts. Our two classes for the semester are Advanced Pathophysiology (Wednesdays 1:30-3:30 with online lectures) and Advanced Principles of Anesthesia on Mondays from 3:30-5:30 (makes for some loooong Mondays!!).

Clinicals are getting better...there's still so much to learn but the basics are finally starting to feel routine. Until today I was 0-3 on inserting arterial lines, but now my record is 1-3. It ended up being pretty much like my first intubation....once I got it in, I was too stunned to know what to do next. Although we are basically working a full-time job (for free) and taking 2 classes, we get off time for call shifts and weekend shifts, so we have a little more time to relax.

For anyone interested in UTC's anesthesia program, I thought I'd pass on this information I received in an email recently:

"There will be a general informational session about the program on February 4, 2010 at 5:30 pm (EST) on the UTC campus-Metro Building 231 (518 Oak Street, 37403). We will provide info on the admission process, overview of the program, and there will be time for questions from interested applicants. Anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in nurse anesthesia is encouraged to attend."

Fall semester classes are OVER!!

Grades for fall semester were due yesterday....ahhhh, a little sigh of relief. But it doesn't last for long. This also means we started full-time clinicals yesterday. This means not only 50+ hours of clinicals a week, but two classes starting in January. I volunteered for this why?!

Some clinical days are better than others. One day things will "click" and I will be reassured in my decision to pursue this career, but then days like today, when nothing goes right makes me question if this is really for me. No quitting now though....I've got way too much time, money, and will-power invested!

I am definitely looking forward to Christmas. We have the WHOLE week off! I'm going to be spoiled getting to sleep past 5 am for 7 days straight. Just gotta focus on getting my shopping done!

So, how were the grades?! 2 A's and 2 "B"s. In quotations because those B's were a 90 and 91....A's in my book!! I'll take that any day though.

What goes around, comes around...

Interviews for the class of 2012 were last week and I can't believe it's been a year since one of the most gut-wrenching days of my life! When I left Erlanger that day I thought I'd never be back, and a year later here I am. If I can do it, anybody can! The stars must have been aligned that day. Rumor has it there were applicants from 13 states, even one from Hawaii. (I can't imagine what would make one want to leave Hawaii to come to Tennesee and endure 27 months of torture!!) But just as we were all so oblivious as to what we were getting into, I'm sure it's the same story this time around.

It's amazing at how much we've all learned since May and I'm sure it will be even more evident when the new class starts in 6 months. I think we are all looking forward to having a couple of people around that make us feel a little competent!

Clinicals have been interesting lately with the national shortage of so many drugs we have all come to love and depend on....rationing the "milk of anesthesia" has forced us to learn about ketamine and brevitol, who knew there was anything out there besides propofol??

We start full-time clinicals (7-3) December 9th. I'm somewhat looking forward to it, only two classes as compared to the four we are taking currently, but am unsure how I'll manage to survive without an afternoon nap at least once a week! And we also start taking call in January....I'm hoping for a few quiet nights here and there.

I will officially be done with core MSN classes (Ethics, theory, research) on December 2nd and might just have a party to celebrate! What a load of miserable torment.

Off to get a little R&R before my day tomorrow in the GI lab....without propofol, it should make for an interesting day!

Another manic Monday...

Clinicals are in full swing and going about as well as can be expected. It's been a challenge to even do the things I used to feel competent doing as a nurse. All of a sudden, starting IV's, putting on EKG pads and writing orders seems like rocket science! I could have sworn I was an ICU nurse for two years! We've had so much information shoved at us in the past 5 months, it's scary to realize how little I knew. Trying to retain all that new knowledge is another story....

Dealing with the different personalities has definitely been interesting. The sad thing about the medical profession is a lot of practitioners "eat their young". Don't get me wrong though, there are plenty of wonderful, knowledgeable, friendly CRNA's and MDA's out there, but many times the bad ones overshadow the good. I can understand how frustrating it might be to deal with a new group of students every year, but you think these people would realize that before they sign a contract to work at a "teaching" hospital. I try my best to just take it with a grain of salt, smile and nod, and check any ounce of competence I may have at the door.

Research is one of the most pointless, useless, time-wasting classes I have ever suffered through. What have I learned? That I hate research. Enough said. (I also advise anyone who is reading this that might be considering going to UTC to take this class before starting anesthesia school and also take it somewhere else!! just make sure it is the 4 hr. class)

The other 3 classes are bearable, but studying is a constant in my life. I feel guilty if I sleep past 8 am on the weekends, take more than a 10 minute shower, or spend more than a few hours away from my books/notes. I don't even think I have any clothes to wear this winter, but I have no time to shop! (I will have to make that a priority in the next few weeks)

Sadly, we have already lost two classmates due to personal reasons. If the rest of us can just make it through to January, hopefully things will begin to look up. Everyone always asks how school is going and my answer is usually some version of "it sucks". Then I get the dreaded "It will all be worth it in the end"....I know that, or else I would have quit already, seriously. I just try to remind myself that this too, will pass.

Back to the books!

Not enough time to think of a snazzy title!!

Clinicals are in full swing and with four classes on top of that, our plates are pretty full! My first week in the OR in children's was much better than I anticipated. I actually liked working with the little ones and the fast turnover meant there was never a dull moment. I intubated several kids, mask managed a few and even got to do a caudal (pretty much an epidural for a child). Although I wasn't sure of what I had done until it was over with and I started breathing again!

Last week and for the next 5 weeks I'm in the main OR at Erlanger just trying to learn the ropes and figure out all the crazy personalities....and there are lots of them! I think most of our anxiety revolves around our CRNA/anesthesiologist team that we are assigned to for the day. Let's just say that some are less intimidating than others. I've mostly been doing hands-on "skill work", IV's, intubations, mask ventilating and a little bit of charting. Once we get deeper into our pharmacology class and start learning more about the anesthetic drugs we can focus on the 'big picture'....until then I just try to get the tube in the right place and stay out of the way!

Early to bed....early to rise

My days of sleeping in are almost over! I've got to learn to function on 6-7 hours of sleep (if I'm lucky!!) instead of my usual 8-9. Clinicals start Monday so it'll be up by 4:30 for clinical days, M, Tu, Th, Fri...and 5 on Wednesdays (my "sleep in" day!). So we got our clinical schedules and of course I start out in the children's OR, by myself....there will be a senior student there, but no one else as virginal as me!! My senior "big sis" who was assigned to me at the start of the program was nice enough to take time out of her day this afternoon to show me around the children's OR (TC Thompson) which helped to ease my anxiety to some degree. I've never worked with kids much less even intubated an adult yet, so it should make for an interesting week! Hopefully, just like nursing school, I will be able to look back at laugh at all the silly little things I stressed over, but for now I think a little Xanax wouldn't hurt!

We were told today that interviews for the new class have already been set for November (letters haven't been sent out yet though)...it seems strange that it's almost time for interviews again! How time flies!

1 semester down....6 to go!

Summer semester is over, and fall classes resume August 17th. I'm trying to enjoy my last real break between now and graduation. Of course Daniel starts back to school Monday so while my classmates are at the beach, I'm stuck here in Gadsden!!! I've come to terms with it though. I've got a whole week to get some shopping done, not to mention this weekend is AL's tax free weekend!

My second day in the OR wasn't much more exciting than the first...I did start an IV, put down an OG and chart, but no "tube dance" yet. I'm sure I will have plenty of opportunities come fall.
Grades have been posted for the summer, and here is my "report card":


Semester: SUM 1 2009
NURS THEORY- B

ADV HEALTH ASSESSMENT-A

ADV HEALTH ASSESS LAB- A


Semester: SUM 2 2009
DIVERSITY/ETHICAL ISSUES- A

AD ANAT/PHYS NUR ANESTH- A

INTEG HEALTH SCIENCE NUR ANEST- B


I can live with those grades, especially since a "B" is now an 85-92 on the grading scale!

Fall is reportedly the most stressful semester of the program and I've heard things will finally start to "click" around April of next year...if I can make it til then, I've got it made! I'm not much of a morning person, but that will soon change. We will have clinicals for 4 hours a day, 4 days a week from 7-11 am. Although our scheduled start time is 7am, we are required to have our rooms set up and ready to go by 7, so for the first few weeks we will all be getting to the hospital around 5 am. (every week day except Wed.) On Wednesday mornings we will get to sleep in and won't have to be at Erlanger until 6 am! Wednesday mornings are set aside for clinical conference (discussion of cases, etc.) The afternoons are reserved for class time and the schedule is as follows:

NURS 501 NURS RESEARCH W 830-1200
NURS 543 AD ANAT/PHYS NUR ANES II TH 1230- 300
NURS 545 PRIN NUR ANES PRAC-BASIC W 130- 400
NURS 581 AD PHARM FOR NUR ANES I M 1230- 300

I've heard most of Research is online but we will still meet every other week, so this gives us Tues. and Fri. afternoons off. I guess I might have to become a coffee drinker too!

1st Day in the OR

Today was my first "official" day in the OR...a sort of mini-clinical before the real thing in September. My day was mostly observational, and I came in at 11 so the morning rush was over. I received some good advice: "Learn something new every day, even if it's only where the restroom is!" Here is what I learned today:

1.) At Erlanger, OR rooms 1-12 are to the right of the surgery board, the rest are to the left. I learned this after my instructor told me to go observe in room 6 and started walking down the hall to the left.

2.) If your CRNA tells you to sit in the breakroom for 5 minutes while she runs a quick personal errand, your instructor WILL happen to walk in the breakroom and ask "Do you need something to do?"

So, even though I didn't get to intubate or place an LMA, I learned two valuable lessons. Hopefully Tuesday in the OR (the 6:30-11 slot) will be more interesting!

So much to do....so little time

We are 4 weeks into the second summer semester, and busy would be an understatement. This semester we are taking Anatomy and Physiology, Integrated Health Sciences, and Diversity and Ethics (another one of those blah! classes). For the first three weeks we had a test every Monday and Thursday so every spare moment was spent studying...including 5-6 hours on Saturdays (I didn't even study that much for NCLEX!). We start "clinicals" tomorrow so the tests are starting to slow down, just adding new kinds of stress. Our rotations from now until August are mostly observational and include the OR, PAT (pre-addmission testing), PIV (starting IV's in pre-op), a day in the pharmacy and a day in the anesthesia workroom in the OR.

Our professors continuosly warn us about the "personalities" we will encounter in the OR once we start rotating through which is another point of stress.

Our class as a whole is very cohesive and hopefully our ability to work together and pull each other along will be greatly beneficial in the long run. Rachel and I have already made some great new friends and try to find a little time here and there to be social and get away from the books for a little while.

3 classes down...many more to go!

So it's already time to start the second summer semester this coming Monday the 22nd which includes: Integrated Health Science for Anesthesia, Anatomy and Physiology and Ethics. Seven weeks of those classes then Fall semester starts...


The first several classes weren't bad, Theory surprisingly turned out to be pretty easy just boring. Assessment was a good review of the things I'd forgotten from nursing school. Haven't received final grades yet, but hoping for all A's!



Since we only had class two days a week, we had some free time to explore Chattanooga and even had a chance to go to Riverbend a couple nights. We listened to Train, the B52's, Montgomery Gentry and the Commodores along with some local bands.





We are finally settled into the apartment and love it so far, although it's about 20 minutes to downtown and school, we like the area. Haven't had any neighbor troubles yet, and the pool is great for those hot southern summer days! Chip has even been to visit a few times and has actually behaved himself for the most part!

So my embroidered lab coat, which was a requirement by the school, got it's first use for our Assessment final. (We had to complete a pre-op assessment like the ones we will be doing at Erlanger...except I do believe this one was a little more in-depth than any pre-op assessment I've ever seen.) So I'll leave you with a picture of my fancy new coat...I've only got about 24 hours to enjoy a little free time before we start back to class!

2 weeks in...

So it's been almost two weeks since we started classes, and it has already flown by. Technically we have only been in class 6 days, but so much information has been thrown at us in those 6 days, it feels like 66 days! One paper down, 3 to go!


The next five weeks, classes are mainly on Tuesday and Wednesday. Rachel and I have car-pooled every day to save gas and usually leave my house areound 6:15 am....early! This puts us in Chattanooga around 8:40 EST (That time change is a pain!) Every day at lunch and some days after class, we rode around Chatt. and the surrounding burbs to look for a decent apt. (And discovered they are few and far between...unless you pay upwards of 900/mo.) So after looking at literally 25 different apartments, we stumbled across one we fell in love with. We were actually looking at another complex in East Brainerd (about 15 minutes from downtown) and when pulling out of that complex we looked to the left and saw some really pretty apartments off the road a little ways that peaked our interest. Our first thought when we pulled in was, "Out of our price range". Rachel ran in to get a brochure and find out about pricing...the manager offered to show us a unit so we had a look around. LOVED IT! These apartments were cleaner than my house (and I'm a clean freak). Luckily they are running a special for $220 off rent per month for the length of the lease and they had everything we needed, pool, gym, gated access, 2 BR 2 BA, pets allowed, security system, cable and washer/dryer included. We are planning on moving the last weekend in May. Below are some pictures from their website:





So...what have we learned in school? In Health Assessment we are going over basically the same assessment skills we learned in undergrad, just at a MUCH quicker pace. We even have "check-offs" on different body systems like we did in nursing school (I remember being so nervous I wanted to vomit). We also had a little time in the sim lab intubating dummies. I have a feeling that a few of my classmates, and possibly myself might be knocking out a few teeth the first go-around! The good thing about this class is that all of our tests (besides the check-offs, which we do get graded for) are online and open book!

UTC Nurse Anesthesia Class of 2011:

Theory class is just BLAH, for lack of a better expression. I guess you could call me a "realist". Class discussions, group projects and papers have never been my forte. Teach me what I need to know in the OR and leave the theories to the theorists! Our final is open book though, so that's one plus in a bucket of minuses.