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Episode 122

Episode 122: Retaking Undergraduate Courses For CRNA School- Social Q&A

Jun 21, 2023

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Retaking undergraduate courses for CRNA? Explore alternative paths, online options, and career insights as we navigate your questions and redefine the journey to becoming a confident and accomplished healthcare professional. In this short and informative episode, your host, Jenny Finnell, takes a moment to connect with her audience by answering questions submitted through her social media channels. Jenny addresses the dilemma faced by those whose outdated science classes prevent them from working in the ICU. She shares suggestions on how to strengthen your application and take proactive steps while navigating this situation, going beyond the option of retaking science classes. As the episode goes on, Jenny explores further questions and provides numerous strategies, including worthwhile suggestions for internet alternatives to re-enroll in science courses for undergraduates. Jenny also touches on the intriguing topic of CAAs (Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants) and sheds light on the differences between CAAs and CRNAs (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists). Don’t miss out on this engaging and educational episode that directly addresses questions from the CRNA School Prep Academy community. Tune in to discover new resources and expand your knowledge in the world of CRNA training and career advancement.

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Retaking Undergraduate Courses For CRNA Social Q&A

In this short episode, we’re going to answer some questions that were left on my social media. If you do follow me on social media, whether that’s on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, I highly encourage you to leave some comments on some of the posts and ask questions because I’m going to start incorporating this into the show a little more frequently, to make sure that you are getting recognized. I appreciate you so very much. If you’re not familiar with what my social handles are, it’s always @CRNASchoolPrepAcademy. If you google CRNA School Prep Academy, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, you will find us. Without further ado, let’s go ahead and get started on the questions.

What Else Can You Do?

The first question is, “I’m not able to work in the ICU yet and my science classes are old. What can I do for my application other than retaking my science classes? Thank you.” If you are currently still in nursing school or getting your Nursing degree and you’re not able to currently work in the ICU, you feel like you are stuck in this stagnant limbo land where you want to do something, you want to work towards something that’s going to benefit you down the road as you embark on your CRNA journey other than retaking old Science courses, here are some other suggestions that you can be doing.

One of them that I often say, which is a great starting point for anyone pursuing this  path is job shadowing. I do think job shadowing should be done early and often. As I spoke to in the past, it shows persistence and interest over time. Even if you’re very early on and you’re still getting your Nursing degree, starting to try to job shadow is a great way to get exposure to this career path, have a better understanding of this career path; be sure to also document it!

Document your experiences over time to allow yourself to see your growth in the process and what you’ve learned and also see what interests you. That way, when you do get to your interview day, your application and you write your personal statement, you can speak passionately about this profession because you’ve had a lot of exposure to it. Job shadowing is a great additional thing that you can start doing to beef up your application. Make sure that you are documenting your experience.

We have a free shadow documentation form. You can also find it on my Linktree, Instagram and things of that nature. You can also document it on a piece of paper. You don’t have to make it fancy. A lot of schools have their shadow form. I do encourage you to check there first to see if your future CRNA program has its own shadow documentation form. Document your experience. It’s a great way to track your progress. You can always submit it with your application in the future as additional documentation, which will show persistence over time in your pursuit of becoming a CRNA.

What else can you do other than retake your old science classes? Additional things that you could do will depend on where you’re at in your schooling but I know it was possible for me so I want to make sure I highlight that it is potentially a possibility for you. It’s depending on where you’re at. Maybe you’re in your senior year in nursing school, for example. You’re retaking some old sciences. The other opportunity that you may be able to do is to petition to be able to take a graduate-level course in your undergrad.

Maybe you have time and some space in your schedule. Maybe you’re not taking a full course load or something like that. You can take a graduate-level statistics course and get that out of the way because it’s required for your graduate program. I was a senior nursing student at the time that I did this and I was able to have a petition filled out where I would get graduate-level credit as an undergrad student for taking a graduate-level course.

Not all schools are going to allow this but the fact that I know it’s a possibility, it could also be a possibility for you. It’s something to consider if you have this room in your schedule. Speaking for myself, for example, I was a fifth-year senior. I had a lot of space in my schedule because I got rejected from the College of Nursing on my first attempt.

In my fifth year in school, I didn’t have a lot to do other than my nursing courses. I had the space. That’s why I wanted to make use of my time. I went ahead and took that graduate-level statistics course but I had to make sure that it would count as graduate-level credit even though I was technically still in my undergrad degree. That’s something else to keep in mind.

Other things that you could do if you have the time and space while you’re not working in the ICU yet is start mapping out different volunteer activities that you’re passionate about and want to get involved in. Maybe that’s some type of volunteer work. It’s some community or club. It’s something that lights you up that you feel like you can do consistently over the years that you can add to your application and resume down the road.

This could be joining student nurse associations, getting actively involved in those associations and finding committee work to do. You can start trying to find maybe some research opportunities as even a nursing student to do maybe a literature review for some physicians that you’re in clinical with. You never know until you ask. You might think, “I’m just a nursing student. Who am I?” You never know until you ask. Most people are not going to turn down free help.

If you’re willing to offer your services for free, meaning my time to do a literature review on whatever graduate-level project that one of your clinical coordinators is working on for their DNP project, Master’s degree or whatever it is, you can be a part of that. You can help them and they may include you in their publication. That would be another great way to start thinking of these early application boosters. Those are some ideas that came to mind as far as different things you can do other than retaking undergrad Science courses.

I’m grateful that you recognize your Science courses are older and you will need to retake them but I do think it’s important- before you go sign up to retake all your undergrad sciences- I want to make sure that you guys are connecting with your future CRNA programs, to make sure you know which courses are necessary versus making assumptions. I’d hate for you to spend precious time and money retaking something that isn’t necessary. Like for example, maybe you have an undergrad Science course like Intro to Chemistry and something like that. Maybe you’re thinking, “I’ll retake my Intro to Chemistry because it’s over ten years old.”

Maybe your CRNA program would prefer you to have Gen Chem 1 and 2 and that was not required of you for the first part of your degree. You retook an undergrad course that’s not going to do you any good and you still have to take Chem 1 and Chem 2 or Chem 1 and O Chem. You’d be better off finding out these little nuances before you rinse and repeat what you’ve already done, so if there’s some kind of variance in what you all have already received, to make sure you’re tailoring your Science courses to what they’re looking for. I want to make sure I point that out as well before we move on to question number two.

Online Options For Retaking Undergraduate Science Courses

Next question. “Do you have any recommendations on online options for retaking undergraduate Science courses?” I haven’t even pre-read these questions before I started recording this episode but it’s funny because it’s over a similar topic. We have compiled a list. It’s hard for me to give blanket recommendations because there are so many variations out there so I don’t feel comfortable giving you a blanket statement. However, inside the academy, we have an ongoing excel list, PDF list or whatever you want to call it of what other students have used and what courses they have used these colleges for.

MTSA, for example, I’m pretty sure has a popular advanced Physiology course but there are so many. Some people need a specific Math course or another but it’s like pre-Cal Math. They need specific Math courses to apply to CRNA school or that type of thing. Before you start looking into taking undergraduate Science courses, remember undergraduate Sciences do not move the needle the way graduate-level Science courses will move the needle for you in your GPA score. The reason is because of the rigor of the program, you’re going into a graduate-level Science-based program with a very high rigor to the courses.

If you don’t have any graduate-level Science courses and all you have is undergrad Science courses, especially ones that you maybe didn’t do so well in, they’re going to question your ability to be able to keep up with the rigor of a graduate-level Science curriculum. That is why they place heavier weight and also calculate since your GPA is heavier because it’s weighted heavier. It’s worth more credit hours but the gradual-level Sciences will give you more bang for your buck.

Do not just go repeat undergrad Sciences please, unless you have to. Unless you received a C or less or you were told to do it or they’re over ten years old. Those are the reasons why it makes sense to retake the undergraduate level but remember, as I said in the previous question, make sure you’re not just rinsing and repeating an old course that they don’t even care about. Make sure you’re taking a course that’s undergraduate level Science that they want to see you have taken, like Chemistry 1 and O Chem versus Intro to Chem. Some colleges don’t even count Intro to Chem as a Chemistry course. People are like, “All my nursing colleges need it.”

Do not just go repeat undergrad sciences courses unless you have to. Share on X

Unfortunately, they end up having to retake these undergrad courses that they never ever had to take and never knew they had to take because it was not required for their Nursing degree. They assume when they apply to grad school that their requirements are met because they got a Nursing degree. It’s not always the case. I should have a preference on what else you can do prior to working in the ICU as far as boosting your application. Go to open houses. This is your free ticket to talk and get direct advice from the program faculty themselves, which is also why I encourage you to come to our future CRNA Conference coming up on July 15th and 16th, 2023.

If you have not bought your ticket, I highly encourage you to do so. We will have 22 CRNA programs in attendance at our virtual conference. It’s virtual so no cost of travel. You can be in your pajamas. Everyone’s burnout on virtual but it is so easy. It’s cost-effective and the barrier to entry is low so we have 22 schools participating. That would never happen in person. We would never be able to coordinate 22 programs to drop everything, fly across the country and come to an in-person conference.

This is a great opportunity for you to hear from a variety of program faculty and get these questions answered. This would be a great question to ask ten schools at the conference because you will hear a variety of answers. It will give you a lot of great insight on, “I didn’t even think of that. That’s a good point. I never thought that I would have to do that.” These are the types of questions that you should be bringing to a conference like this to hear directly from program faculty and not just one program.

Ask them all and go into all their private Zoom rooms. They all have separate private Zoom rooms where you can go, be on a Zoom call, see them directly face to face and ask questions or go in there, be a fly on the wall and spy on other people and what they’re asking. Take notes because I guarantee, you’re going to get so many gold nuggets out of it. With that being said, it’s hard to blanket statement this question into, “Take this Science course or undergrad Science course.” I don’t highly recommend retaking undergrad Sciences unless you have been told to retake it because you got a C or less in it.

Keep this in mind. In some schools, if you get less than a C, they may not care about retaking courses so it does not matter if you retake it. If that’s the one school that you think you want to apply to and they don’t consider retaking courses, the answer is you shouldn’t apply there. You’re not going to qualify as their applicant pool. That’s a hard reality to face but it’s the reality. Some programs don’t consider retaking courses, meaning they take your first grade and if it’s a D, you live with that D forever more. They don’t ever consider a retaking course into your overall GPA, which means you more than likely will not ever get an interview at that school.

That sounds harsh but that’s the minority of schools. They’re like, “Can I have that rule?” Some schools do. Other schools will omit the lower grade and take the higher grade in your GPA, while other schools will average the two. Those are three different ways that schools can look at your undergrad transcripts, meaning they don’t retake. They don’t even count retaking courses. What is set in stone is set in stone. You wrote on your tombstone and you can never erase it. There are some schools that will average the two grades if you get a D and an A to take the middle ground.

The other option that schools can do is you got a D and an A. They’ll take the A and omit the D, which is very generous. If that’s what your history is like, I will sniff out those types of schools because you’re more likely to get an interview at those types of schools than the ones that either don’t count or don’t consider retakes or average the retakes. These are the little nuances that are so vital to find out before you even consider applying to a school because you want to assess where you would stand as far as a competitive nature in the applicant pool. It’s competitive.

There was a CRNA program that I talked to the program director about. They have 450 applicants for 34 seats. I’m hearing similar things from program directors all across the country. Back when the pandemic hit, I had no idea. I predicted the wrong prediction. I predicted they would get fewer applicants to CRNA school because everyone’s going to be preoccupied and in survival mode. I thought they were going to see a big dip in CRNA applicants but the opposite occurred and it’s been the opposite ever since.

They’ve saw record numbers of applicants and have consistently seen record numbers of applicants going back for CRNA. I understand the situation better. We’re all coming out of the fog of what we went through but it’s because everyone’s burned out. As an ICU nurse, they’re like, “What else is there for me? This cannot be it.” CRNA is the option for a lot of ICU nurses so it’s incredibly competitive.

I’m not trying to say that to discourage you. I’m trying to paint a realistic picture- so you know that picking your school is so important, understanding what’s in your background and what you’re going to be up against to make sure that you can make good choices going forward so you can increase your odds the greatest. That was a tangent and I’m sorry about that. That was my tangent about undergrad Sciences and understanding what your school will do if you retake a Science course and knowing where you would then fall with your GPA and things of that nature.

Nurse anesthetist and a nurse standing over a patient on the operating table

Undergraduate CRNA Courses: Picking your school is so important in understanding your background and what you’re going to be up against to make sure that you can make good choices going forward and increase your odds the greatest.

I don’t know if that was the answer this person was looking for but that was quite a mouthful. I don’t know if I recommend any specific undergrad Science courses other than trying to figure out why you think you need to retake them first. Once you answer that, I would be able to guide you better. If you got a C and maybe the C was in Biology, would it be more worth taking maybe a Bio-Chem course instead? Maybe but you won’t know that, versus taking the same undergrad class; You wouldn’t know that until you’ve connected with your program directly.

I say start there. Start with connecting your program, go to the open houses, come to our virtual conference and ask these questions there. That is going to be the best way for you to find out this information. If you’re a CSPA student, you can use that giant spreadsheet that we have that has ongoing tallies of different schools and courses at schools. We had Dr. Richard Wilson, who is a CRNA faculty, review that list and give his thoughts on the schools and courses that he was aware of. Also, how he graded those courses and whether he thought they were good, bad or okay.

He gave them a score of good, bad and average. We’ve also received a lot of feedback from students who have taken certain courses at colleges who are like, “Stay away,” or, “This is a great course. Take it.” We have that spreadsheet. It’s on the resource page. You can go find it if you’re a CRNA School Prep Academy member.

The rest of that question, hopefully, helps give you some direction which is starting by going to open houses and talking directly to your program faculty before you sign up for any undergrad classes. Graduate Sciences are always going to give you more bang for your buck than any undergraduate-level course. They’re not going to be impressed with that. They’re going to be more impressed with you getting an A in an advanced level Science course.

How Many Schools Should You Apply To?

Onto the next one. “How many CRNA schools should I apply to?” The more, the better. “How many did you apply to?” This number is going to be different for everyone. This is no one size fits all type of question. When you’re deciding on what number of schools to apply to and I do have a number in mind which I will get to and why, you need to decide again. If you’re picking to apply to ten schools, why? Is it because you feel like you need to cast that wide net because you have a lower GPA or is it because you’re fearful?

To me, the more schools you apply to, it’s usually because you’re afraid of not getting in so you’re going to throw a bunch of spaghetti out there and see what sticks. I’m not saying that’s the wrong technique. I do encourage it for those who do have a lower GPA who are probably going to face more rejection than acceptance in the big picture. With that being said, if you’re applying to a lot of schools, like six plus schools, this is my advice for you. That is a lot of work and that’s okay.

I want to make sure that you know, going into that many applications, what you’re up against. Every individual application has to be unique to that program, which means you cannot write one personal statement and submit it to all. You typically can’t even submit the same references. You have to ask for individual references. That’s a lot of references if you’re applying to 6 schools to ask, especially because schools require 3 references each sometimes and you’ll have to be asked over and over again.

Every individual application has to be unique to that program, which means you cannot write one personal statement and submit it to all. Share on X

You might have to have more than three people that you’re asking so you don’t fatigue them out. You also have to make sure that if they are writing a blanket reference for you that they’re at least tailoring it to the individual school that you’re asking them to write it for. It’s making sure they’re not putting the wrong school name on there or something like that. That’s a lot of work. It’s okay to do that but if you don’t need to do that, I don’t think you should have to do that.

The number I had in my mind was three. The reason why three is a good goal to have. It does give you more chances and opportunities not only for exposure to the interview process and the application process but it increases your odds. If you’re an applicant who is going into CRNA school with greater than a 3.0 overall or greater than a 3.2 Science GPA and has leadership skills, good ICU experience, different committee involvement, have job shadowed, done all those things and have a well-rounded application, three schools is a good number to have.

A nurse anesthetist and other medical professionals in the operating room

How Many Schools To Apply To? Three is a good goal to have. It gives you more chances and more opportunities.

If you have less than a 3.2 Science GPA and maybe your GPA is closer to that 3.0 mark, I do think applying to more than three schools is going to be in your favor because you will be casting that net wider. Make sure you’re not throwing random spaghetti at the wall. Make sure that you are taking the individual time that you would probably have if you were only applying to 1 to 3 schools. Make sure that if you’re applying to 6, 7, 8 or 9 schools, you’re making sure that you’re understanding what the unique nuances are of that individual school and tailoring that admission statement.

Why do you think you’d be a good fit for their program? What’s unique about their program? What is it about their clinical sites that you like? What is it about their school that you like, the faculty, whatever it may be? Make sure you understand what that piece is. Don’t just have a one size fits all. A lot of students make that mistake and they don’t stand out during the interview process. God forbid, they make mistakes. They mix their schools up or even put the wrong names on their mission statement or personal statements and things like that. Make sure you’re careful. It’s not hard to do.

Trust me, it’s easy to read what you think should be there and you read one school’s name. You have another school’s name there because you’re getting fatigued from all the applications you’re submitting. If you plan on applying to more than three schools, I recommend that you give yourself a very long window to do so.

Do not wait until 3 to 4 months before the applications are all due to submit 6 applications. You want to rip out your hair probably. Hopefully, you won’t lose hair. Don’t do that to yourself. Give yourself at least 7 to 9, 10 plus months and spend 1 month on each application at minimum. That means multiple reviews, note-taking and going to open houses.

If you’re applying to 6 schools, make sure you’re taking 6 months at minimum to spend one of those months within that 6-month period researching that individual school. Make sure that you are tailoring your application to that program. That’s my recommendation there. Hopefully, that helps. You have to know what you’re up against. If you only have one school that you’re like, “This is my only shot because this is where I live. I have obligations, I physically cannot and will not move,” then you have one school.

You have to understand that school in and out and where you fall in the competitive nature of that program. All programs will be different as far as how competitive they are. There’s an average acceptance rate across the board. I got a study that ended in 2020 so it’d be interesting to see what they do in the next years of study from the COA. Back then, between 2018, 2019 and 2020, the average competitive percent of acceptances was right around 15.5% as far as the number of applications they get and the number of acceptances across the boards.

I do know it’s gone down because, since 2020, it’s skyrocketed in applications. Even from the study from the COA, you can see from 2020 to 2019, the applications went up by thousands but seats didn’t go up in the program. The competitive nature skyrocketed in 2020 and it has continued to do so. Know what you’re up against if you only have one shot. I hear this all the time, which is unfortunate. I’ll meet people out at a conference and they’ll be doing something else. They’ll be like, “I tried for CRNA school. I gave myself one shot and I figured if it didn’t work, it didn’t work.” I can’t help it. I’m okay if you don’t agree with me but I can’t help in my mind thinking, “You didn’t want it.” That immediately comes to my mind.

A part of me feels like if that’s the way you go into applying to CRNA school, that’s toxic and that’s not going to get you in. That means you’re willing to give up, you’re okay with no and you accept defeat. For me, if I want something, I’ll be damned if you tell me no. I will kill myself to get what I want and physically do whatever it takes to get that yes. That’s how you have to want this so badly because if you’re willing to give up on your first rejection, you will probably be part of the statistics that are not going to get in.

That’s the harsh reality, given how competitive this is. Good candidates get rejected every year. That’s also heartbreaking. Some part of it is you could have gotten in had you maybe tweaked things. If they didn’t want it bad enough, why wouldn’t they tweak things? That’s where I’m at. If you’re willing to give it a shot, see how it goes and if it doesn’t work out, then you’re good, to me your heart was never in it. That’s how I truly feel. If that offends you, I’m sorry. That’s how I feel. I’m speaking my opinion.

CAAs Versus CRNAs

Let’s move on to the next question. “What do you think about CAAs? How different are they from CRNAs?” I have an entire episode on this. I don’t remember the episode number. I do apologize for that. I didn’t pre-look these questions up. Shame on me. With that being said, keep scrolling. It was like, “What’s the difference between a CRNA, MDA and AA?” I think it’s what the episode’s called. You can find it on the show or YouTube channel. I go into more detail there. I would recommend it because that’s an entire episode. I can’t go into that entire episode.

What I want to preference before I even answer this question is if you’re a nurse and you’re considering AA, my question would be why? There’s usually a why and I’m always interested to know what that why is. When I have found out this why and I asked, it’s usually because they’re afraid of getting rejected from CRNA and they think AA is an easier route. Whether I’m going to get a dagger sworn at me for that, I’m just speaking what I have heard when I’ve asked opinions from people who have told me this statement. I don’t think that that’s a good way of thinking.

When you are a nurse, you should own the fact that you are a nurse. You should be proud that you are a nurse. You should pursue CRNA, which is an anesthesia provider that can be independent. You have a lot more job opportunities. I don’t remember what the number is. I know at one point it was only fourteen states. Maybe it’s up to seventeen states in 2023. The numbers are real as far as you can only work in seventeen states as an AA as far as job duties go for the most part, depending on where you work. It depends on the practice. They are very limited in where they can work. They have to work under the supervision of an anesthesiologist physician.

They’re limited on where they work. They can’t just work at an outpatient surgery center because they’re not going to have the supervision they need to do it. They’re usually stuck at centers that have what they call the ACT model where it’s a direct supervision model. You can Google all this stuff or listen to the other episode. I went over the different types of practice models. All this means is how are you reimbursed by the government. That’s essentially what this comes down to. How do we get paid for our services? That’s all supervision is about. How do we reimburse?

Whether you’re working at a facility that’s an independent practice as a CRNA, you don’t need a physician to get reimbursed. You practice under your independent license. Nurse practitioners do it too. It’s not anything new. This gets so confusing and people are like, “What the heck?” There are different practices like ACT supervision and independent practice. They’re all different as far as staffing ratios between whether you need a physician to cover you and who that physician needs to be, things of that nature. It gets complicated.

If you work at a facility as a CRNA and you work with AAs, for the most part, you would probably be doing very similar cases. Some facilities only let the AAs do certain types of cases. They don’t do OB or peds but that’s not all facilities. It’s facility dependent whether they limit the scope of practice. It depends. I can’t give you a yes or no concrete black-and-white answer for that. I can’t even speak to that because I have never ever worked directly with an AA. When I was in training, they had 1 or 2 AAs. I know they have more now because this was back in 2013. It was a long time ago. They had gotten some of their first AAs. I don’t remember a whole lot other than I didn’t even know they were an AA until I looked at their badge and I’m like, “What is that?”

With that being said, as far as you saying you don’t want to become the CRNA and do an AA instead because you think it’s easier, I would question first why you think that. I would question, “Have you ever assessed what your problems are as far as why are you getting rejected from the CRNA school?” I don’t necessarily think that’s the answer to becoming an AA instead. You’re limiting your potential future career. Once you do that, you’re set in stone. I’d be very careful with that. Can I plead the fifth on the rest of this question? That’s all I have to say about it.

A CRNA placing an anesthesia mask over a patient's face

Undergraduate CRNA Courses: If you get rejected at CRNA school and think that the answer is to become an AA instead, you’re really limiting your future potential career.

I go into a lot more detail in the episode where I compare them. I compare education and everything. If you want those types of nitty-gritty details, you can go listen to the previous episode on that. If you’re a nurse, you need a rock being a nurse, in my opinion. Be proud to be a nurse. We are awesome. Personal opinion, nurses have a special power, I believe. That special power is we have that connection from the bedside.

We have a bedside manner. We have that care and compassionate empathy that makes us a very unique and good anesthesia provider. You can’t get that as an AA. If you come from outside of nursing and become an AA, you’ve never worked bedside or clinical and all of a sudden, you’re providing anesthesia, you’re going to miss that key sense that nurses develop as they get their ICU experience and get that bedside experience.

You can’t replace that. You’ll be missing. Part of your heart is not there versus doing the motions. Nurses tend to have more compassion for their patients because they have that experience with the bedside. I’d probably get daggers thrown at me for that but I’m going to say it. The special sauce of a nurse is the fact that we have that bedside manner, compassion and empathy. We go into nursing because we want to help people, not because we want to be a mad scientists, although that’s part of it too. We like Science. Typically, if you ask a nurse why they become a nurse, it’s because they have compassion. They care. That’s a unique breed of CRNA. We can be anesthesia providers but we care.

Nurses tend to have more compassion for their patients because they have that experience with the bedside. Share on X

I encourage you to read this book. It’s called Watchful Care. You can buy it from the AANA’s bookstore. It’s like $30 from their bookstore. Don’t go on Amazon. You’ll be robbed blind. Go to the AANA.com. They have a bookstore and you can buy the book Watchful Care. There’s a new copy coming out. I don’t know when but it’s coming out soon, which I’m excited about. It tells you the history of nurse anesthesia and how it all started.

It makes you feel incredibly proud because nurses, we own that. We paved the way for this career path. If it wasn’t for nurses, that was technically free labor because we cared about the patient. We wanted better outcomes. That was all it was about. It’s not about how much money we can make. What about the patient? I don’t want them to die through the surgery. I don’t want them to bite a bite block or drip all this ether on their face, suffocate and vomit and not even know it because we’re watching surgery instead.

Nurses are like, “I care about this patient on the table. They’re human beings. They’re someone’s mother, father, brother and sister. I’m going to make sure they’re okay. You do your surgery. I got them.” That’s how anesthesia all started because nurses cared about the patient. That’s enough of that riff but that’s what I’m going to leave at that. That sums up this episode. If you enjoyed this, let me know. If you haven’t left a review for the show, I appreciate those reviews. If you follow me on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, leave some more questions. I’ll be doing more of these episodes. I hope you enjoyed it. Take care and we’ll see you next time.

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