Thank you for your comment or really questions. Janiece, don’t worry about the NICU experience or the interview. The only clinical questions that should be asked relate to your actual experience. We have had many very successful SRNA’s that come from with NICU experience. Actually, there is some things that you could use to your advantage, mainly weight based dosing. In adult ICU’s usually but not always, the medication dosing is mcg/min or some such thing while in pediatrics it always mcg/kg.

Just be yourself and have the confidence in yourself that should be born of experience. Nothing else will help.

David,

I am finishing up my application for USC and am VERY interested in going to that school. I have heard nothing but good things, not only about the anesthesia program, but also about the University in general (my uncle is attending there right now and my aunt teaches online classes there). My ICU experience is all NICU. I know you said that PICU is good, but what about NICU? I have also worked at USC Outpatient Surgery and have my MSN in Nursing Education…does those have any pull as far as helping me get an interview? As far as the clinical questions in the interview, are they tailored to fit your area of expertise or would I be required to answer adult ICU type questions? Also, is there such a thing as too many letters of recommendation? Thanks for all of your help! I just found this blog and am having so much fun reading your posts.

Thanks,
Janiece

It sounds like you have all your “ducks in a row”. Don’t worry about the interview, you have prepared with the CCRN. Just be yourself and positive. Good luck.
David

Do you have any advice for the interview? I have one at Northeastern University on the 20th and I am very excited but also nervous. I have a decent GPA, satisfactory GRE score, just received my CCRN last month and have over 2 years experience in a stroke ICU in a level 1 trauma center teaching hospital. I have heard they really drill candidates with clinical questions. I am going to review and be as prepared as I can but any advice would be welcome!

Kelly

Thank you for your comments. I agree with everything you say pretty much. No arguments from me. Excluding the cardiac room I will say that I would put a seasoned CRNA in any room and have no problem trusting they would do a good and safe job.

Advanced training is really important and I think that the physicians that do fellowships are especially qualified in their fields. I look to these for advice all the time and backup when needed.

Again, thank you for taking the time to comment. The polictics of health care is really getting under peoples hide. Me, I just want to take care of patients and be a “Team” memeber.

David Godden

First off, I work with CRNA, I enjoy working with CRNAs, and have nothing against them. I would just like to comment on these “studies” of safety that people keep quoting.

The studies that quote “no difference” between outcomes between anesthesiologist and CRNA makes no sense to me. The quality of cases are very different between these two groups. For instance, yes there are CRNAs and MDs doing cardiac surgery cases that can be compared, however, there is probably no comparison between a CRNA and MD in a cardiac case with severe mitral valve regurgitation complicated by endocarditis requiring TEE. Simply because no group in their right mind or surgeon would have a CRNA manage that case without extremely close supervision by a MD.

If I did a study between a PA vs. a 4th year surgical resident assisting a lap cholecystectomy and found that the surgical outcomes are the same, I would not generalize it as “its just as safe, so why hire a surgeon when you can have a PA for cheaper” If for some reason a vital structure is hit during this procedure, the 4th year surgical resident would have a far better understanding of what to do to keep the patient alive. And this is the main difference. It’s important to have the extra training when things go wrong. This is what makes it “safer” to have someone better trained.

Similar to Anesthesia, when things go wrong, the CRNA calls for the Anesthesiologist.

Again, my goal here is to not “put down” any one field. I just want to clarify how wrong a lot of people interpret various studies and make presumptions from them.