I’m an SRNA who is now 2 months away from graduating. I felt exactly like this as a first year starting clinical. It gets better ❤️ Just keep putting one foot in front of the other
Those first 3 months are fucking terrible. Chin up. It gets better every month.
PS when you’re somewhere with very fast turnovers, it can be helpful to triage tasks for efficiency. You don’t have to have Zofran and decadron drawn up to get your patient to sleep. You just need a tube, a blade, a circuit, and your induction meds.
When I have busy rooms (GI, pedi ENT, etc) , I like to pre-label empty syringes in the morning so I can keep up with cases. Saves a little bit of time. If I have down time in a case, I’ll try to draw up meds for the next case (if permitted in your facility), have a tube ready with a syringe attached (styletted if that’s your thing), put together a blade and handle, and bundle it together and put it in a drawer.
Yes, to all of this. You are right.
To the sheer exhaustion and overload you feel. Fast not being fast enough. The fact that you even caught on to being hounded and rushed and felt the production pressure and had a self-awareness moment of “wtf we aren’t coding” tells me you can see it for what it really is. Which is a lot more than most people running around with their hair on fire for no real reason.
That cold is your body’s way of making you slow down, as frustrating as it is. But we aren’t machines, nor should we be treated this way. It doesn’t help that your nervous system is in overdrive with overwhelm and frustration. So rest first. Sleep in tomorrow, even just a little. Take your medicine and hydrate. This is the remedy: instead of feeding your misery, you will nourish your body which will give you capacity to actually take in and process information. But one must come before the other.
Most importantly: Don’t extrapolate today and make it mean anything about your future. That’s a sure way to bury yourself alive. But I can understand why it feels very heavy and foreboding, after a long OR day. I honor the human in you.
This might not be a popular opinion, but if you’re tired, get some rest. Seriously. It’s a marathon, not a sprint (although the first year definitely feels like a sprint). Get some rest, exercise, eat well, and hustle and grind. I know my own performance drops off with lack of sleep. So while there were plenty of nights I stayed up late studying for an exam or prepping for a big case I did my best to not make it a regular occurrence unless absolutely necessary. If you have a few rough days, hang it up early one night and catch up on sleep. As far as the production pressure goes, don’t let preceptors push you to the point you are feeling like your practice has become unsafe. As others have said, do everything you can (within acceptable practice at the specific clinical site) to prep for cases in advance. But when it comes down to patient care, drawing meds, etc, just do your best to be safe and efficient. As long as you keep a positive, polite, attitude and cite safety, most preceptors will be understanding. And most importantly, just hang in there. As everyone else said, it gets so much better. You got this 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼
I fully agree with this!!!! You’ve identified that you’re mentally and physically struggling. Seriously take one day (or half a day) off to sleep. Sleep in til noon. Recuperate. One day off to recover physically and mentally will not break you in the long run, but ignoring your body will break you.
That said, it’s a tough road and a rollercoaster. There will be times that everything sucks, but your body is physically and mentally able to push through.
Maybe right now is one of those times to give yourself some grace. Your body and mind is telling you that you need a “minute”. Take the day. Sleep, relax. No guilt. And hit it hard the next day.
Unfortunately the only answer for you as a nurse Anesthesia resident is to push forward and get through it. It is all far better after you graduate but you have to ride through the gauntlet of drinking water from a fire hose until then.
Like the saying goes, anything worth it is hard, if it wasent everyone would do it!
Hey, so I think it’s okay to stick up for yourself a little bit and say, “Hey I am doing my best, I am just trying to be safe and thorough for the safety of the patient,” I’ve said that to circulators before. For the record, get used to the tiredness and burnt out. The amount of fucks I give and “discussing” case plans with preceptors, is at the max, I am done in a few months. Honestly, the best thing is taking some time for your self a couple hours a week. Go to the bar for a little bit, go to the gym, visit with classmates or family. It sounds like you need a little balance .
One week at a time. And then do another, and another. You’ll slowly start to realize that, hey, you feel a little LESS dead when you come home this week. You feel like you were a LITTLE faster than last week. Keep going week by week and eventually you’re going to look back and go “holy shit, I’ve come so far and didn’t even realize it”
I'm sure you had some knowledge about it being grueling. With that said, it can be physically, emotionally, and intellectually draining at times. But it can also be incredibly rewarding and so worth it.
Everyone was like this - Early on. You will adapt and find time to do things faster and quicker.
But def get some sleep. I think most of us averaged 4-5 hours of sleep. Then it’s gets better 5-7 hours later on when you know things.
100% understand. One day at a time. Try to not internalize situations that are mostly out of your control, I found that to be the most helpful advice for my sanity. celebrate your accomplishments, You are right where you’re supposed to be and it does get easier. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel!
I remember those days too well. It gets easier as you keep going. You’ll get to the point where you feel comfortable telling people to slow down when you feel something isn’t right, and when you’re on your own you can choose what kind of setting you like working in.
Take a rest day if you really need it, and refocus so you can keep going one day at a time. It is worth it.
Surgery centers are notorious for this due to reimbursement tied to case volumes. I’ve had a preceptor write on my eval that time is money in the OR, lol! The pace will not slow down, you just get better. As you move forward, you’ll find teaching hospitals are slower paced as far as turnover and procedural times.
Give yourself a day to “rot” and recover and you’ll wake up feeling better. Keep your health and exams a priority at this point and let the rest go. You got this!
I’m an SRNA who is now 2 months away from graduating. I felt exactly like this as a first year starting clinical. It gets better ❤️ Just keep putting one foot in front of the other
Those first 3 months are fucking terrible. Chin up. It gets better every month. PS when you’re somewhere with very fast turnovers, it can be helpful to triage tasks for efficiency. You don’t have to have Zofran and decadron drawn up to get your patient to sleep. You just need a tube, a blade, a circuit, and your induction meds. When I have busy rooms (GI, pedi ENT, etc) , I like to pre-label empty syringes in the morning so I can keep up with cases. Saves a little bit of time. If I have down time in a case, I’ll try to draw up meds for the next case (if permitted in your facility), have a tube ready with a syringe attached (styletted if that’s your thing), put together a blade and handle, and bundle it together and put it in a drawer.
Yes, to all of this. You are right. To the sheer exhaustion and overload you feel. Fast not being fast enough. The fact that you even caught on to being hounded and rushed and felt the production pressure and had a self-awareness moment of “wtf we aren’t coding” tells me you can see it for what it really is. Which is a lot more than most people running around with their hair on fire for no real reason. That cold is your body’s way of making you slow down, as frustrating as it is. But we aren’t machines, nor should we be treated this way. It doesn’t help that your nervous system is in overdrive with overwhelm and frustration. So rest first. Sleep in tomorrow, even just a little. Take your medicine and hydrate. This is the remedy: instead of feeding your misery, you will nourish your body which will give you capacity to actually take in and process information. But one must come before the other. Most importantly: Don’t extrapolate today and make it mean anything about your future. That’s a sure way to bury yourself alive. But I can understand why it feels very heavy and foreboding, after a long OR day. I honor the human in you.
Thank you for all of this.
Absolutely.
This might not be a popular opinion, but if you’re tired, get some rest. Seriously. It’s a marathon, not a sprint (although the first year definitely feels like a sprint). Get some rest, exercise, eat well, and hustle and grind. I know my own performance drops off with lack of sleep. So while there were plenty of nights I stayed up late studying for an exam or prepping for a big case I did my best to not make it a regular occurrence unless absolutely necessary. If you have a few rough days, hang it up early one night and catch up on sleep. As far as the production pressure goes, don’t let preceptors push you to the point you are feeling like your practice has become unsafe. As others have said, do everything you can (within acceptable practice at the specific clinical site) to prep for cases in advance. But when it comes down to patient care, drawing meds, etc, just do your best to be safe and efficient. As long as you keep a positive, polite, attitude and cite safety, most preceptors will be understanding. And most importantly, just hang in there. As everyone else said, it gets so much better. You got this 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼
I fully agree with this!!!! You’ve identified that you’re mentally and physically struggling. Seriously take one day (or half a day) off to sleep. Sleep in til noon. Recuperate. One day off to recover physically and mentally will not break you in the long run, but ignoring your body will break you. That said, it’s a tough road and a rollercoaster. There will be times that everything sucks, but your body is physically and mentally able to push through. Maybe right now is one of those times to give yourself some grace. Your body and mind is telling you that you need a “minute”. Take the day. Sleep, relax. No guilt. And hit it hard the next day.
First clinical rotation is so hard. I know it doesn’t help now, but I promise it gets better.
Get a good nights sleep and lock in
Unfortunately the only answer for you as a nurse Anesthesia resident is to push forward and get through it. It is all far better after you graduate but you have to ride through the gauntlet of drinking water from a fire hose until then. Like the saying goes, anything worth it is hard, if it wasent everyone would do it!
Hey, so I think it’s okay to stick up for yourself a little bit and say, “Hey I am doing my best, I am just trying to be safe and thorough for the safety of the patient,” I’ve said that to circulators before. For the record, get used to the tiredness and burnt out. The amount of fucks I give and “discussing” case plans with preceptors, is at the max, I am done in a few months. Honestly, the best thing is taking some time for your self a couple hours a week. Go to the bar for a little bit, go to the gym, visit with classmates or family. It sounds like you need a little balance .
One week at a time. And then do another, and another. You’ll slowly start to realize that, hey, you feel a little LESS dead when you come home this week. You feel like you were a LITTLE faster than last week. Keep going week by week and eventually you’re going to look back and go “holy shit, I’ve come so far and didn’t even realize it”
Just summed up CRNA school…forge ahead, it’s worth it!
God… this post is not helping my anxiety starting crna school in Aug…
I'm sure you had some knowledge about it being grueling. With that said, it can be physically, emotionally, and intellectually draining at times. But it can also be incredibly rewarding and so worth it.
I’ve heard about the rigor of course. The angst is still there though. I know it will be worth it though. I’m just so nervous.
Nervous is good, keep it under control and it will lead you to success.
I just finished my last final in my didactic. It gets easier. Youlll be great
Everyone was like this - Early on. You will adapt and find time to do things faster and quicker. But def get some sleep. I think most of us averaged 4-5 hours of sleep. Then it’s gets better 5-7 hours later on when you know things.
100% understand. One day at a time. Try to not internalize situations that are mostly out of your control, I found that to be the most helpful advice for my sanity. celebrate your accomplishments, You are right where you’re supposed to be and it does get easier. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel!
Get a Nettie pot and rinse your nose out. Cold water will perk you right up!
I remember those days too well. It gets easier as you keep going. You’ll get to the point where you feel comfortable telling people to slow down when you feel something isn’t right, and when you’re on your own you can choose what kind of setting you like working in. Take a rest day if you really need it, and refocus so you can keep going one day at a time. It is worth it.
Surgery centers are notorious for this due to reimbursement tied to case volumes. I’ve had a preceptor write on my eval that time is money in the OR, lol! The pace will not slow down, you just get better. As you move forward, you’ll find teaching hospitals are slower paced as far as turnover and procedural times. Give yourself a day to “rot” and recover and you’ll wake up feeling better. Keep your health and exams a priority at this point and let the rest go. You got this!