Our ER staff work very well together, communicating sometimes without words…its a special team when you can say to someone “give me that thingy” and they hand you what you want from a pile of “thingies”. Sometimes you just loose your words when you’re in a hurry. Most of us can hand our doctors what they need before they ask for it, knowing each doctor’s preferences. My point is that we have certainly developed the necessary interpersonal relationships.

I can honestly say, though, that I’m never going to be bold enough to say that I heave “enough” experience in anything. I think more will always benefit, but that is how I feel about experience for me. As jmackie said, its a huge leap of knowledge and experience. I am hoping that CRNA schools are able to “weed out” those students who are truly not fit for the role of CRNA, or who are not yet ready for the field. I can honestly say it would hurt to be told I didn’t have the knowledge necessary to continue in a CRNA program, but I would appreciate not sinking myself eyeball deep in a situation where I can’t handle the situation and someone’s life depends on my insufficient knowledge, skill and experience.

I think moving forward and doing one’s best is the most logical thing to do. If you want to be a Nurse Anesthetist, then go for it. There is always a chance that you’ll find its not for you, but you won’t know if you don’t try.

These are the things I try to remember as I move forward toward my goals.

What I might confess, however, is that 5 years of acute care experience may not be enough to facilitate a smooth and safe transition from RN to CRNA. There is a dramatic leap in knowledge and responsibility from one to the other. I’ve assisted with dozens of rapid sequence intubations, but could not stop my hand from shaking during the first dozen of my own. Intubation is just a basic skill (not meant lightly), whereas volumes of compounding information must be committed to memory and practice. After a few months the shaking shifts to visceral organs, usually hidden to the outside environment. My only hope at this point, and i am very confident in myself and my instructors, is that 33 months of struggle will pay off – and i do not mean financially.

To be straight, a year may be enough for somebody else. You must search and know your capacities for stress, learning, and interpersonal relationships. All of my preceptors are great. They all do things a little bit different from one another. They all want me to perform the delivery of anesthesia in their way (even if they say otherwise). All are detail oriented. All of them perform anesthesia at the highest level. Given these conditions, an SRNA can expect to feel the pains of being moulded and transformed into an astute clinician. I am most grateful for these aches.

Do not let any thing deter your from your dreams. Hang in there and keep moving toward your goals is the best advice I can give you. Is it possible to be very successful with one year of clinical experience in critical care and then to go on to anesthesia training? The answer is yes for the right person. Remember that this is the minimum experience that is required by the AANA and “There I Said It” only is saying that for some this is not enough. Of course you see her logic is sound.

All I can say is that for you – stay focused and motivated to pursue your dream. Do not let anything distract you from your goals and you too may be able to carry the CRNA tradition forward. The best of luck to you but most of all I wish you determination and persistence, which is what gets the job done.