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!