Campus visit

Several months back, we had visiting day at the university. Essentially, they had students come in for a tour of the campus.

The first order of the day was several presentations made by various professors and personnel from the school. They basically talked about how great the school is, the history of the school, and how anesthesia was a great profession, and a lucrative profession as well.

We had a guided tour of the campus. They showed us various locations such as the nursing labs, financial aid office, and the gym (i will definitely be using the gym).

We also had lunch, which was nice, and we got to know each other. They also had upper class men come and speak to us. The upper class men were very professional and offered many help full advice. They addressed issues such as scheduling, clinicals and working while doing the anesthesia program (that's one topic i need to address in a separate post). Lunch was delicious, and i had a great time.

It seems like a great environment, looking forward to the first day of class.

Enjoy pics taken at the local zoo

More pictures from the Zoo

The zoo

Relaxing

The count down, to the first day of class, is on. I am savoring these last days of freedom, to savor the best in life. Tick tick tick... Once school starts, its all about hitting the books.

This brings back memories. Recall your first day of High school. Well, i remember mines very well. The day previous to the first day of school, i was a nervous wreck. I was fearful and timid. I took a shower, and i don't know what came over me, i left the faucet running as i left the bathroom. When i returned, the bathroom was flooded. Mother was so pissed off. Sorry.....

And my first day of first grade. I got lost in the school, and somehow ended in the 2Nd grade class. And they teased the hell out of me. Whatever!!!

I was sick as a dog the first day of college. The day before was labor day, and was partying like crazy. I went to the labor day parade, and it rained as i was dancing in the crowed, probably gyrating and showing off my best dance moves. The rain stopped, the sun came out, my clothes dried up. Then it rained again, and i was wet again head to toe. Needless to say, i woke up with a fever. And my mother forced me to leave for school, i was miserable, unhappy, uneasy and in the worst mood possible.

Hope this day of first is different.

In the meantime, enjoy pictures i took at the zoo. Again, let me reiterate , i am enjoying my last days.

My heart has been broken

So, i received some shocking and hurtfull news. One of my dear friends, an upper classman at another school, has decided to leave the CRNA program. For privacy reasons, i shall not go into details, but i will say that it hurts deeply. This is the person that i look up to, and admire dearly.

The decision is made, and i respect that. By no means is this program a measure of intelligence, or of one's nursing skills, but requires alot of dedication and focus. If you really want to do this, if it is in your heart, if this is your passion, if you put in the work, then you will succeed.

This came as a shock mainly because this person was to be my "go to person" for support and advice. By no means do i consider this person a failure. Instead, i look at this as an opprtunity to learn. The person had great advice, and basically told me to follow my heart.

I was devasted and wanted so badly to crawl to a corner, and cry. I had this overwhelming feeling of sadness coupled with fear. But i remembered one of my favorite quotes: The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”

I WILL go into this program giving the best that i can.
And, once again i thank you dear friend for your honesty, advice, and your gift of friendship.

The home stretch

So, it's been several months now since i received my acceptance letter. One can not describe the intense feeling i had when i received my acceptance letter. It was the best feeling in the world. I've been working towards this goal these last couple of years. I transferred to an ICU to fulfill the requirements for the program, took physics as a requirement for some schools, and even took the GRE. The biggest sacrifice had to be saving money.


Long ago, i realised the commitment it took to be a nurse anesthetist. I spoke to countless students, and newly hired CRNAs; the overall consensus was that at some point or another i would have to leave my full time job and go part-time, or per Diem. I saved as much as i could by not moving out of my parents house, i didn't purchase a new car (i kept my old beat up ride from nursing school and my friends made fun of me), and saved as much as i could whenever possible.

I am at the home stretch now; school starts in the next several weeks. I'm so nervous mainly because i have been out of school for a couple of years now. To alleviate my nerves, I've been reviewing EKGs, blood gases, and a few drugs.

THE BEGINNING

Heart bounding Thru my chest, palms sweaty, i felt faint. I had all these emotions rushing Thru, like a Tsunami. I was scared, didn't know what the letter was going to say. But at the same time, i was thinking, the wait is over. I caught myself saying once last prayer as i opened the letter. I whispered under my breath, "oh Lord." My eyes began to fill up with tears, my heart was racing. Those last few minutes felt like an eternity, i couldn't open that letter fast enough.
It's been a few months now since i received my acceptance letter to Nurse anesthetist school. All the feelings of excitement have steadily died down, replaced by feelings of anxiousness and nervousness. I'm still pretty excited but i just want to get this show on the road. These last few months I've been preparing for school by taking harder assignments at work, reviewing EKG and blood gases, and reading " Watchfull care: a look at America's nurse aneshtetist", and just relaxing. The count down is on until the first day of classes.
With all the pressures CRNA students are prone to, i decided to have an outlet for my experiences. I am hoping that blog will be cathartic. Each entree will be based on my personal experiences and, occasionally that of my classmates. I am attending a front-loaded program, and all the didactic classes come first. The good stuff, clinicals, come later.
I'm hoping that my experience will motivate hopeful nurses into applying, and i am hoping that other SRNAs will share their experiences with me.

Thanks guys, wish me luck.