Guess what i did for the holiday weekend

Yeah i spent the better part of my holiday weekend hitting the books. Yeah, everyone kept saying to stay away but honestly that was the time i had to catch up with my readings, assignments and stuff.

Anyways, lets talk about my assignments from last weeks. I got to do a bunch of sedation cases last week. For the most part, the sedation cases went very well actually. I had one really really sick patient who really bottomed out his blood pressure but we fixed him but he never desated. But our last sedation case was intense, this last patient was really healthy actually. No past medical history except for losing his/her voice and came in for an endoscopy to see what the problem was. Anyways, towards the end of the procedure the patient totally desated to the low 80s. We had the yell at the physician to stop the procedure ( this MD wouldn't stop no matter what we told this person) and we had to ambug this patient a bit to get the sats back up. WOW!!!!that was an intense moment.

Besides that patient, i had a really really sick patient who was getting a diagnostic laparoscopy and in the end this patient did great with anesthesia but unfortunately the disease metastasized and they MD decided not to proceed. It was a pretty sad situation. There's nothing else left to do.

Had a couple of breast cases as well. With these type of cases, you get a lot of PONV. So i tailored my plan to help with PONV. I suggest a propofol drip with the anesthesia (propofol has that antiemetic property) or a precedex drip (to reduce the use to opioids and decrease PONV). We ended doing the precedex drip.

One of my preceptors was especially hard on me this week. I'm really laid back and quiet and this preceptor is trying to beat the quiet out of me. And to be honest, its starting to work. Normally, if a preceptor said something i don't like i just swallow my pride. But this person was getting on my last nerve so i kinda told them off a little, not too bad and actually they took it pretty nicely. I guess that's what i needed to get them off my back.

I don't have my assignment for tomorrow yet. So as soon as i get it, I'll be working on my care plan tonight.

Good afternoon guys and have a safe 4Th of July

Peace out

Got into so much trouble this week Y'all

hey y'all,
got into so much trouble. In part because i'm so shy and quiet at times and i second guess myself a lot of times. And being so tired on top of it doesn't help either. I'm working on speaking up but not offending people.

So i get asked so many questions everyday and for the majority of the time, thankfully i manage to answer some of the questions right. But sometimes it requires a lot of thinking and reflecting or the preceptor has to stir me in the right direction. Some things are just not at the tip of my tongue.

So the other day, was so tired and sleep deprived and i got asked some basic doses and for the life of me, my brain was in sleep mode and just couldn't function. I drank coffee and anything i could to help but the tiredness would not go away. I was miserable and slow. And of course, people dont remember your good days, they remember your bad ones. So one preceptor basically labeled me as not knowing basic anesthesia stuff and not caring.

I mean i do care but that day i was so exhausted and slow. I swear, i couldn't move, i was in a twilite zone, and thats called sleep deprivation. Whatever, lesson learned, i'm sleeping earlier now.

See, there are advantages and disadvantage of front-loaded and intergrated programs. I met some students from the intergrated programs. And to be honest, they feel much more comfortable then i am in the OR now because they've been there since the beginning.
But, they've said how challenging it can be at times because they'll have a patient with a coexisting disease and they havent taken co exixting class yet and it can be difficult to intergrade coexisting disease into the anesthesia plan if they havent done it yet.

With me in the frontloaded program, i already know all that stuff but i have to constantly review because some of these classes i took in september and the material is just not on the tip of my tongue and i have go back and review. But, as far as clinicals i'm catching up to the intergrated people because i have clinicals 4 days a week and they have it 1 day a week. And what i learned today, i can practice again over the next three days. The intergrated people have to wait another 7 days to practice again what they have learned today and thats what frustrated them at the beginning. And when they come back, they tend to forget what they learned the week before. But there up to 2 days a week now but a shorter clinical day then i have.

So, in the end no program is perfect.

The weeks of up and downs.

Hey y'all,
this past week wasn't one of my proudest weeks. yeah, your definitely going to have ups and downs, highs and lows but you just have to keep on tract with what your doing. And remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Definitely, talking to your classmates helps a lot too. And its comforting to know that you are not the only one having really great days and some bad ones too. This past week was pretty intense and having a really tough and mean preceptor doesn't really help your cause but.....what can you do? just do your best and put it everything you have. And again, I'm so glad that one of our professors brought up the topic of having 2nd toughs about doing this anesthesia thing. its a normal reaction because 1) your sell shocked the first week and everything just seems overwhelming and 2) you are transitioning into this new role. You dont have that crutch anymore of running to the resident it is your decision now.

So, its a normal reaction and i'm glad that i wasn't the only one feeling this way. And at the end of class, he just said to give it a couple of more semesters and if anyone of us is still having doubts then thats when action should be taken on our part. Honestly y'all, i love anesthesia and i already see myself settling into this new role and i should be fine.

Anyways, let me tell y'all about a few more cases i had. I still can't believe that i intubated a couple of kids already. I mean, i havent done my peds rotation yet and i'm now learning peds in the classroom. Anyhow, i was so nervous. First off, we did an inhalation induction that put the kid to sleep. I overpressured my sevoflurane to 8% and i have a mixture of oxygen and n2O 30/70%. I stuck the mask on the kid's face and that little guy was out like a light in a matter of 1 minute. The fact that the little guy was crying actually helped the induction go faster. Then after he was out, my preceptor started the IV while i stared ventilating the little guy all the while my eyes were glued to his vitals signs and watching his little chest rise. Then we induced him with a little propofol while i turned down my sevoflurane (avoiding overdosing here). I gave a couple of more breaths then i was reading to intubate. This little munchkin was like 3-4 years old.

Guys, as i reached for my laryngoscope and blade i literally felt my pulse shoot up and i swear i began sweating. I just took a nice deep breath, cranks his little head back, scissor his mouth open with my right hand. Inserted the blade with the left hand all the way to the right of the mouth. Swept the tongue to the left and lifted up and pointed my laryngoscope towards the clock anchored on the wall of the OR. And voila!!!!!! I had the best view ever so far!!!!!! i had a full grade one view!!!!I told my preceptor what i saw, kept my eyes on the cords. He handed me the ETT and i inserted the RAE ETT pass the cord, inflated the ballon, attached the ETT to my circuit, check for condensation in the tube, looked for ETCO2 on the monitor, listened for breath sounds and we were ready. I turned my ventilator on, double checked to see if my sevo was on, double checked the settings on the vent (i set the settings up before the patient came into the room) and then we positing him for surgery. off course we did a lot more after that before the time out, but surgery was smooth and emergence wasn't that bad. But when the kid came back to it, OH BOY!!!! he was not happy. He was out of control, he nearly sucker pushed me in the face!!! Man, those little guys are strong i was holding him down on the stretcher while someone else was pushing the stretcher. But overall, it was a great experience and i wouldn't mind doing more kids for anesthesia.

We did a couple of more kids after that but they were not wild on emergence like the first kid. But, you know what? peds anesthesia is not bad you know. I know i said i really liked regional anesthesia but peds anesthesia is definitely in the running as far as what i would like to do after this program is over.

Peds anesthesia.....we'll see
peace out y'all

Hey Y'all

hey y'all,
sorry for the late update. The first month of clinicals is really difficult, more difficult then i expected. I was just having trouble juggling things and fixing up my schedule to make time to blog. Its been a month now and i think that i've finally gotten a hang of it.

The first few weeks were really hard actually. The hardest part for me personally is just getting use to so many different personalities at clinicals. So far, i've had about 13 preceptors and each one thinks they are better then the next. And as soon as you've picked up a few tips from one preceptor, another one comes along and tells you that your doing things wrong and this is how you do it. Get the picture!!!

Anyways, i've learn not to focus on that aspect but instead pick up ideas here and there from each one and incorporate what i've learned from each into my practice. There are so many ways of doing anesthesia. And frankly, the hardest part if it all is emerging a patient from anesthesia. Wow!!!! Landing that plane after a smooth ride is not that easy. EVERYONE of the preceptor i've had so far does emergence differently.

Anyways, let me tell you about a few cases i've had so far.
lets see!!!hmmm

I had a brain aneurysm my 2nd week of clinicals. And you guys should have seen the looks on my classmates faces when i told them. Pure shock!!!!
i'm a novice after all. i've read what do in those situations but haven't put it into practice. lets just say that i was working like a dog. I had no idea what my assignment was going to be. We had just finished a case and my preceptor and i were walking and talking and mingling. Of course he was quizzing me about anesthesia stuff and all. His phone rings, he gives me this awful look and says " i know your new at this but we have to take this assignment, just do the best that you can, under normal circumstances you would never get this assignment on your 2nd week but we have no choice."
It wasnt too bad actually. In the beginning my preceptor and i were running around like crazy in the room setting up, gathering supplies for the worse case scenario. It was pretty intense the first hour and half. We actually went up to the unit to pick the patient. Brought he/she down and performed anesthesia. the patient survived and i learned a lot that day.

I had a number of laparoscopic robotic assisted surgeries. Those i find bizzar because the surgeon is literally sitting in the corner of the room controlling this robot. And frankly, the surgeon looks like a big kid playing a video game. He takes off his shoes and he literally looks like a big kid playing a video game. I mean, i know this is serious stuff. But men, this guy was having way way way too much fun for me at that corner.

I had a couple of bowel obstruction cases. Those were done with rapid sequence induction.


OOpps!!! look at the time.....i have clinicals in the morning.....i'll tell you guys more later.

peace out

And so clinicals/ residency starts.....

WOw!!!!what a first week!!!Absolutely amazing and i am learning so much. Dont get me wrong, its a lot to learn and a lot to remember from the didactic courses. But everything is starting to make a lot of sense and i am connecting the dots.

So far, the hardest part about clinicals is getting up in the morning. I am extremely exhausted but my body will eventually catch up. I'm just so use to staying up late till 3:00 am and waking up at 9 am to study. Going to bed early is certainty not fun but hey i have to do what i need to do.

Another issue Ive come across so far i having so many preceptors. it's only been 1 week and I've worked with 4 people. And each ones has their own ways and in between that there are also attendings that come in the rooms from time to time and they also want to teach you their own ways. And overall, this a lot to learn and with so many ways of doing one thing. whatever......

Anyways, getting use to the whole sequence on induction, maintenance and emergence of anesthesia. And don't forget, people are like quizzing you like crazy. The CRNAs that your working with are quizzing you and the attendings are also quizzing you as well. Anyways, you know quizzing puts you on the spot and can be nerve racking. But what can you do? you can only do your best and go home and review what you don't know and reread what you have forgotten. Of course, being the slick eyed monster that i am as soon as they ask me a question i'll ask them a question back as well and if they cant answer it, they'll leave you alone. Some people are really helpful quizzing and others just wanna make you look bad i feel. Whatever, i have thick skin and i can certainly handle the criticism with class cause i have a big ASS. LOL!!!

Anyways, school didn't start yet although clinicals did start. The trick now is trying the balance making these careplans every night for my patients and balancing putting in some study time for classes and for clinicals. I dont have any assignment reading for clinicals but doing care plans requires reading and i want to read over whatever i get wrong when my preceptor quizzes me.

I haven't intubated successfully yet. But its only the first week and right now I'm focusing on trying to learn the techniques of others then try them out for myself. Anyways, i haven't had any A-line or really sick patients yet. I've only had the typical hystorectomies, myomectomies, D&Cs, gastric banding, LMAs and ETTs.

Having fun guys!!!!
see y'all later

I had orientation at the hospital

Lets just say that i didn't have a typical orientation and that the welcome to the anesthesia world was interesting.

So, this past week i went for orientation. I knew that it didn't involve any paper work because as i mentioned before this hospital is hardcore, these people just don't play.

Anyways, to start off the OR is HUG. Man, my preceptor had to basically force me to leave the OR and walk around. I was so afraid of getting lost. It was like 4-5 different hallways and countless room. Of course, my preceptors sent me to find some pressors. I was so lucky i didn't get lost, i swear. But i finally left the room after a couple of hours, wondered around the storage room and got myself familiarised with the setting. People were nice and actually this guy took time out to show me around the anesthesia work room and i'm pretty comfortable around there.

Anyways, our first case of the day went smoothly; the patient was successfully intubated, maintained and did well. And that's pretty much the better part of the day. After that, it went downhill. Pretty fast!!!!

So, our second patient, middle aged with hypertention, but not severe enough to warrant an Aline so my perceptor induced this person and i taught this was going to be a smooth course like the first case. Hey right!!!!

Anyways, this is orientation and I'm not allowed to do anything yet. I'm here to observe and they pounded that into me, YOU ARE HERE TO OBSERVE FOR TODAY DO NOT DO OR TOUCH ANYTHING. Ok fine!!!! you don't have to tell me that twice. Clinicals start next week anyways and my insurance didn't kick in yet. No worries.

Anyways like 15 minutes into the case (by the way, i cant go into details ya know HIPPA laws and stuff) while my preceptor was looking down charting, i (the big eye beast that i am) was looking around and BAM!!! the patient's BP was in the toilet and i have no idea why the alarm on the monitor didn't go off. You can not imagine what BP i saw. I swear i was frozen in terror for like 2 seconds (my first instinct was to reach for the phenylephrine or the ephedrine but I CANT TOUCH ANYTHING). So, i go to my preceptor (who by the way was lost in his/her charting and whatever else) and say look at your blood pressure. I swear, i never saw a human being move so fast in my life (the BP was really low guys-you have no idea).

Lets just say that after 50 mg of ephedrine, i don't know how many mcg of phenylephrine, 80 units of vasopressin later the BP was in the toilet. Of course we had to call for backup, the situation was getting out of hand.

Anyways, basically this patient had an allergic reaction. Of course, we don't know which drug because we pushed like 5 meds back to back during induction and on top of that the surgeon injected some locals. So, he/she ended up stabilizing the patient and putting an A line.

Then my preceptor turns to me, smiles and says "so what do you think?". I simply smiled.


what do you guys think of my orientation?

Anyways, clinicals start next week and for some reason I'm not at all nervous. People keep saying they are so nervous. I didn't want to look cocky or overly confident in front of my classmates so i said i was nervous too, but really I've been reading a lot these past few days and i don't think I'm at all a rock-star but I'm just not that nervous anymore. I just wanna get this show on the road.

Anyhow, I'm enjoying my last weekend before clinicals.

Wish me luck guys!!!!

grades are in !!!!!

Grades are in and I'm pretty excited!!!!!All the hard work paid off and i am counting down to the first day of clinicals. This is one of many miles stones completed in this program.

So, 3 semesters down and 4 semesters to go. While clinicals start soon, i still have a heavy class load. With clinicals and class time eating away at 5 days a week, I'm only left with the weekend to study. I still have some more core anesthesia classes to take. I am no where near feeling 100% competent yet but I am definitely on my way.

I know that the first rotation, the preceptors don't have high expectations from you. They expect you to know basic anesthesia knowledge but don't expect you to successfully intubate every time around.

My first few rotations are general rotations and i start specialty rotations around april 2012. my classmates are so nervous about their peds rotation, but I'm actually looking forward to it. It should be fun fun fun!!!!

I got my mass general pocket guide, the hard to find Ezikiel pocket guide, i got my Ipad2 with lots of anesthesia apps, my nurse anesthesia pocket guide and i am ready to go.

I am so thankful that ive made it this far. Remember a while back, towards the beginning of my blog i spoke about my friend who failed out of the program. She got dismissed after the didactics portion. This is certainly not a reflections of her intelligence and i will say that this last semester was really hard and i can understand where she fell thru the cracks.

Now with clinicals its adjusting to another type of stress; waking up early, setting up the rooms before your preceptors come, answering questions on the spot, getting yelled at by your preceptors, doing actual procedures on my patients. No more mannequins. Well, maybe once in a while I'll sneak into the lab to play with the mannequins, we'll see.

I'm done!!!!

Ew!!!!
what a semester....and i am glad to say that i am done. All the hard work paid off, the grades are coming and i am loving it. Looking really good!!!!

And i am so nervous for clinicals but you know what they say "the antidote to anxiety is preparedness" and with that i am ready and preparing for my big day in the OR. I have orientation next week at the hospital. Ill be taking a tour, meeting the preceptors, getting my badge, locker and learning how to do the machine check.

I actually practiced the machine check this week. But you know that it is nothing compared to the newer machines that they have now. That hold thing from the simulation lab must be at least 15 years old (not kidding). That thing is so hold, some of the knobs and valves don't work; and the alarms on that hold thing goes off like all the time. Drives me crazy sometimes!!! Hard to practice when you are constantly trying to get that thing under control.

Any how.....trying to prepare for clinicals and I've been looking at the motorola zoom or the Ipad 2. Some of the Apps on those tablets are pretty cool and would be great accessories for clinicals. All my books would be at easy reach and quick access when i want to look something up for anesthesia.

The countdown is on to the first day y'all.....i basically have a little over a week to go.

Birthday!!!!

Had an amazing and surprising day a few days back. My classmates surprised me with a birthday party. I was shocked, cant believe they did that for me with their busy schedules and with finals upon us. I truly have amazing class mates. And not to forget the cake was great and so tasty.
Got a couple of birthday cards and lots of sweets.

Now i have 2 finals left to go and with that we come to the end of the didactic portion of our program. Everyone is so hyped and nervous about going into clinicals. I'm so nervous!!!!cant wait!!!!

Finals!!!

Finals week!!!!

Its been busy this week, finals, papers, preparing for clinicals. Barely have some time for myself.

Looking forward to the upcoming 2 week brake then its off to clinicals. I'm pretty nervous actually. Unlike a writing test, you are quizzed on the spot and that can be very nerve racking. preceptors are know to ask so really bizarre questions just to put on the spot. And some have been know to yell at you for giving the wrong information, meanwhile they information they provide is completely wrong. They might be practicing and know what to do in an emergency situation but they might not know the science behind what they are doing.

Rumor has it that the first place that I'm going to is pretty tough. Essentially, i will be studying and reviewing before i start clinicals the whole 2 weeks. So much for resting.

Anyways, one of my classmates told me that we have a little over a year before we graduate. You know, i never looked at it like that and she does have a point. Graduation is in summer 2012. Wow, now thats given me a burst of energy to continue on my path.

see y'all

Almost to the end

Wow!!!!
So much going on lately, i swear, i don't even have time to catch my breath. First off, we got our clinical sites and I'm in the process of contacting my first site right now. I'm so nervous!!! my first site has a reputation of being absolutely strict and tough. I know I'll learn a lot from there but still it's nerve racking. Like they say, preparation is the best solution to anxiety.

Speaking of preparation, i freakin nailed my clinical scenarios. Ok first off this is how it works. You have an hour long on one session with one of the faculty members where they give you a clinical scenario. I have the anesthesia machine available, i have a fake dummy, ET tubes, medications(propofol, ephedrine ect...), LMA tubes, mask, leads and everything else that you find in a OR.

You walk in and they throw a clinical scenario at you and you basically simulate what you would do in the OR. Nerve racking right???? and during the simulation, they throw like a gazillion questions at you.

Anyways, needless to say i was a mess before my clinical scenario. Studying medications like crazy, practicing intubation and everything else possible. i walked in nervous like crazy and boom!!!! I honestly don't know what came over me. I was functioning like a robot. And every question thrown at me i answered like crazy. My professor just looked at me and was like: " wow, that was amazing. Perfect!!!!excellent!!!! you can work anywhere!!!".

I was totally shocked myself!!!!!

Anyways, finals are next week. And being studying like crazy. I haven't seen sunlight since yesterday. I'm definitely taking a walk around the block tomorrow and catch me some Vit D. :)

The count down is on for clinicals. End of semester numero tres is almost here, and with that is the end of the didactics portion of our program.

Guys, i'm so excited!!!! cant you tell? :-)

peace out
Going back to my studies now

Sorry for the long absence

Hey y'all so sorry for the long absence.

Wow!!!!

Where do i start????

First off, i got my clinical rotations. I'm so excited but i'll admit that i didn't get a couple of hospital that i wanted. But i'm happy with what i have. I wont be that miserable for the next year and half at least. I think...

Major major issues with one particular class. Class average is horrible. And this professor is just not getting it. Curving is only a partial solution. We need to learn the material. I swear, we literally end up teaching each other. If someone understands a concept really well, we all get together and explain these concepts to each other. I overheard people talking about going to the dean...lets see what happens.


The other classes are going well actually. No other issues with those. Everyone is learning and happy otherwise.

Remember way back when i told you about my classmate who wanted to get pregnant. We'll, it happened alright and it hasn't really been an easy road for her. I gave my honest advice but its a personal decision that i respect. Yeah, its been a little hard for her to keep up but we all chip in to help her out a bit (ie photocopy our notes when she's not feeling well).

Everyone is just so excited and looking forward to our new experiences in clinicals.

what i've learned so far in CRNA school

If i had to give advice to anyone going to CRNA school or in CRNA school this is what i would say:

1)take you CCRN certification- a fair number of people don't have it actually and some schools don't have it as a requirement. My advice is just take even if your school doesn't require it. When you go into anesthesia school you are expected to have a certain level of knowledge that is based from the CCRN exam. I dont have it and, well i do regret not getting it. We always get a couple of funky questions on our exams and our professor always says: "this is basic CCRN material that you are expected to know", which it so true. It will help a lot.

2)use review books to study like one of those anesthesia board review books. Its pretty helpful and helps you get familiar with the type of questions you'll get on the boards.

3)do study groups-i know most people do, but i never was a study group type of person. And actually, I've grown to like it. You bounce ideas off each other, you get to quiz each other and you learn new study techniques and you share mnemonics as well. If you live too far to travel to a study group then skype.

4)Remember to take some time off for yourself-that's one on thing I'm learning to do. I swear last semester i was always in the library like 24hrs/day 7 days a week and had major headache. I've cut back just a little, not too much now cause I'm definitely not the slacker type but i have less headache and i has helped me enjoy studying now. I actually do look forward to my study sessions more now.

5)Bad test scores happen to all of us-Everyone does them, especially in the first year. Don't beat yourself up about it. Understand what you did wrong and learn from the them.

6)Be Confident & Assertive-you'll be surprised at how many of my classmates are afraid to ask a question in class or email the professor. I'll do it, i don't care. No question is ever stupid. Don't jeopardize your study because you're afraid to ask a question.

7)Be Enthusiastic and dont be lazy- yeah, some of our classmates are a little lazy and we taught that the professor didnt see that. Nope... you would be wrong. Of course she pointed out that SOME people are lazy. She did say something mean the other day something to the effect that 2 of the seniors didn't pass boards and that she wasn't surprised because they were so lazy. O Ouch....

8)Feeling Overwhelmed is Normal- Virtually everyone will feel overwhelmed at some stage. Breath in and out, relax, do yoga for 30 minutes. we all go through it.

9)Have an outlet/voice-like me and my blog (although i have much more to say but sometimes just too mentally exhausted to write)

10)You Can Do It-Remember you are smart and you do deserve to be there.Perseverance is the key.

11)You Can and Will Have a Life-You will adjust to the workload and you will have a life and that is one that i have learned the most. Most of all, have FUN. I love practicing in the lab then hanging for a few hours with my classmates afterwords once a week. We have a dedicated friday night that we all hang out and complain about everything from the test to the teachers and the school blah blah blah. Its decompression fridays.

see y'all

Anesthesia is not always easy

Hey guys,
Its like 1 Am and i have an exam on Tuesday. So, i was with my study group today and we went over stuff we didn't understand and helped each other out. Then after the studying session things took another direction. everyone just started talking about their personal struggles.

This one girl started to talk about just feeling like she's loosing confidence in herself and how this program is far more challenging then expected. She feels depressed at times. And every one just started to talk about how they felt and, to be honest, it was a pretty cool moment.

Its comforting to know that everyone else shares those feelings. People started talking about how stressed out and depressed they get. Some people admitted to crying sessions in there private times. WOW!!!And plenty admitted to second guessing themselves.

I've definitely had those feelings. Overall, things are going OK actually this semester but coexisting diseases is killing us, that class is insane. And that is the root of every one's concern. We had this professor before and it just seems like everyone is struggling in that class like the previous semester. He is a great person but his teaching style is awful and confusing. The highest score in the class was in the low 80s. And everyone just seems so anxious and uneasy with that class. I do too. I swear people just seems depressed and confused in that class.

Meanwhile, the other classes are going great. The averages are much higher and we are honestly learning the material and being prepared for clinicals. The other professors have great teaching style and know their material really well and that helps a lot.

It can be a struggle at times. Anyways, looking forward to spring brake.

More spinal pictures

Next stop, intubations!!!!!

My first spinal!!!!

Hey guys,
Here are the pictures that i promised. Sorry, i was M.I.A. I had midterms back to back and was hitting the books pretty hard. Midterms are over, so now i'm in the lab practicing my techniques. And honestly you guys, i am enjoying every moment of lab time. Its fun, stress free and i get to practice with some great and very intelligent classmates.
This semester is pretty rigorous I'll admit. And from the seniors accounts, this is the biggest didactic hurdle in this program. Once you survive this didactic portion, then its on to a different type of stress. And that is the stress of clinicals.

I love talking to the seniors. Most of them are very encouraging and relate with what we're going through. And they are so helpful and give great advice. Honestly, i don't know what we would do without them. I just hope that one day i can give out great advice and help other juniors like they have help us.

And on that note please enjoy my pics. I was practicing spinals and intubation with my classmates. I'll have some more picture for y'all.
peace out

I'm still here

Hey guys,
its been a minute now since i last wrote. Yeah, anesthesia school is keeping me pretty busy. I promised more pictures and they are coming. We just learned how to place spinals and epidurals and just barely started intubating. So, we're about to hit the practice lab soon on our own and the pictures will be arriving shortly.

Its been the same routine pretty much lately. Going to classes, hitting the books although I'll admit that i do more studying at home now. I guess after a while you just get so tired of the library. I've never really studied at home and the change of scenery has been very motivating. Plus i get to stay away from this doctor that always harasses me in the library. We are good friends but he always finds a way to offend me.

I was minding my own business when he comes along and starts talking about that he doesn't understand the reasoning behind the idea of nurses getting there DNPs. Blah blah blah.... that nurses want to be like doctors and that nurse anesthetist like myself are only taking jobs away from doctor and adult nurse practitioners are doing the same thing as well.

I swear, he just wouldn't stop talking and whatever i said to him just wasn't good enough. And then he goes on to say that nurses shouldn't to have DNPs because hospitals need a hierarchy and at the very top of that is the "doctor". Needless to say, our conversation ended there.

I find that very offensive.
What do you guys think?

Money saving ideas!!!!!!!!

Well, since CRNA school has practically engulf all the money that i have saved up, i had to come up with ideas on how to save some money (I'm always looking for bargains).

I recently discovered that most of the anesthesia books also come as international versions that they sell in India and for south Asian curriculum. I was pretty hesitant at first to get the international counterparts. But, i decided to take a chance and see what happened. End result, i have saved a lot of money.

The books have the same material as the American version and can be lighter because they are made from different material.

First example the Miller's anesthesia book. US version is $500 before taxes, international version i got for less then $250 including S&H straight from India(same material difference is that the international version is lighter and says international version on the cover).

Second book Stoeling's anesthesia and coexisting disease US version $150, international version $40(the book looks really different from the US version but as you read thru it, again same material). And so on.....get the picture.

I'm still looking for more money saving bargains here......help

Congrats!!!!!

Congrats C.O!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got the best news ever a few days ago. My coworker from the ICU got into CRNA school.
Best news ever, i know your going to make a great CRNA one day C.O.

What's funny about our situation is that we didn't tell a lot of people at work that we were applying. When I was applying last year i basically didn't tell anyone except for C.O. I remember being so nervous and hounding my poor co worker when i was at work because i didn't have anyone to talk to about it. I know C.O probably found me incredibly annoying . Oh well!!!!


Congrats buddy and good luck!!!!!!!!!!!

More CVP and A-Line pictures

Yes, some pics of my classmates and myself practicing our A-Lines and CVP technics

I did my first Aline and CVP line

Great week guys!!!!

I got my first A-line and first CVP in this week. Had a couple of days of practicing on the mannequins. I must say it wasn't easy, had to learn my landmarks and was very frustrated when i couldn't get blood return on the first attempt. But the hard work paid off, i successfully place my first Aline the first time around, and a successful CVP placed on the 2nd and 3rd go around.

Can i give myself a pat on the back? I worked it, and to top it all off i passed both checkouts too!!!!Sweet.

That's definitely one stressful element that's done with for this semester. Next thing now intubation.

Took some pictures during my practice sessions. I swear i'm the biggest geek ever but i love what i do and why not document the whole experience, so i want to incorporate real life pictures on the blog.

Feels like i picked up where i left off

Oh, i'm exhausted.
Had a pretty heavy day of studying, and its only the first week. Yay!!!!!
There is no time to ease back in slowly into things, I'm basically going full force studying already, feels like I'm picking up from where i left off last semester.

First week back, seems like everyone is back this semester. Didn't notice any absent faces, i'm glad. Wasn't exactly thrilled about seeing this professor, but hopefully "A" will make up for our recent disastrous semester. Everyone was miserable and hated that class. But believe me, its early and professor "A" said something that i believe that most of the class didn't pick up on because we were taking a brake and i can already see trouble brewing in the horizon.

Our schedules are pretty full this semester. We have to learn A-line, CVP and Swan ganz insertion. We'll learn how to intubate as well. Excited!!!!! We are also learning about regionals. You know, i never though about having a career only on doing regional anesthesia. Our instructor is a regional God, from what i hear. So lets call this one regionals. So, regionals was rumbling in class and was like if you hate the anesthesia machine, you can have a career doing only regional anesthesia in certain locations.I found that interesting, a life without the anesthesia machine. Not bad. Sounds interesting.

And, this semester i get to actually see the inside of an OR. This should be interesting. We're not in clinicals yet, but we get a pre-clinical experience to warn us up, interesting idea.

I think that at this point, i can officially say goodbye to my social life until graduation, like i had one anyways. This semester is packed and next semester we start clinicals. oh well, its the name of the game. what did i expect?


I'm out......

I'm back in action

Yup, my winter brake is officially over. Its a new semesters with old professors and new ones. I am in my 3 semester of CRNA school already. I swear time flies when your on vacation, and the semester just seem to drag. This is the final hump until i start clinicals. Excited!!!!!And that means one step closer to accomplishing my dreams.

Sorry guys, i know i was MIA. I went away, when i came back and gave the blog a new look for the new year. Then my laptop was off for repair. I swear, i was a little hard not having my line of communication. I kinda grew fond of my blackberry.

So, made some major changes. First of, i quit my per diem position. Yeah, it was only a couple of times a month, but you know what I'll stay broke until graduation. I was forewarned by the seniors, this semester is the hardest. I am bracing myself. I'll use my down town to spend it with someone special with someone special :)
It was definitely sad to leave, i didnt really tell everyone i was leaving, just my trusted ICU buddy, the_Nigerian_God. TNG is cool, hopefully TNG gets into CRNA school too. Good luck, the interview is coming. Go knock them dead!!!

Anesthesia and coexisting diseases , and regionals are the major classes this semester and the regional professor is not joke from what I've heard. So, i used this weekend to party, mingle, had a few drinks and now I'm ready for this y'all. y'all know I'm going to try my best to give you all the details about studying, the material and all that.

Its school mode now.
Wish me luck y'all

I'm back: preparing for the new semester

Hey Y'all,

yes I've been MIA of course. I was on a much needed vacation with my people. Since my return, its been nothing but resting and watching TV.

Started preparing for the coming semester. Doing some reading now before the semester starts just to get warmed up and reading ahead for the first couple of weeks. I read just to get an idea of what's coming up, i don't too much into details.

But, we did have assignments to look over during the break, the reading wasn't too bad. Its mostly about A-line, CVP insertions and stuff. I'm not a fan of reading things like that because I'm a visual learner. So, i basically read to get an idea of line insertion and complications. But nowadays, YOUTUBE is not meant only for watching music videos. There are cool videos showing A line, CVP and Cordis insertions; pretty cool. Check them out.

The class load this semester is heavy. Regionals is not a joke, a per the seniors, and anesthesia and coexisting diseases requires a lot of reading. But i am looking forward to inserting lines on the dummies, i cant wait.

I'm not looking forward to the first day of classes because I'm afraid a familiar face might be missing. We'll see. I hope everyone is back.