“OH NO MR. BILL the CCNA exam is coming in a few days and even after years of study and preparation I do not feel ready”, the little voice whispers in the back of my head. What to do about those voices.

Just as all others that have come before and for those that follow there no way around this mountain except to climb each day a little further. I have kept a picture of K2 on my wall for many years and I keep whispering to myself that one day I will be over the crest. That day is so soon approaching that it is almost too much to comprehend.
Here is a plan for CCRN board exam preparation that I have used:

Attend a Review Course. I did the Valley Anesthesia Review, there are others?
Select a few concise books for reference.

• Morgan and Mikhail Clinical Anesthesiology
• Barash Handbook
• Sota Omoigui’s Drug Handbook.
• Valley Review Course material. The Sweat Book, the Memory Master and the Mixed Reviews.
• Anesthesiology Review by Ronald Faust

I have read through the Sweat Book twice and the Memory Master a couple of times and The Mixed Reviews from Valley anesthesia I keep with me all the time. I read through these frequently.

The Faust Anesthesiology Review is a great one to look stuff up quickly for refresher. These past three weeks since graduation I have spent 6 to 10 hours a day reading and reviewing questions and looking stuff up quickly that I needed clarification on. I feel that I am ready for the exams but still have so much to learn. I just found out about another on-line review that could be helpful. It is called Prodigy Anesthesia. This is an on-line review and workbook type thing. I checked it out and it seems very good. Highly recommended for someone that has more than a couple of days before the scheduled exam. Another board prep on line I found is CRNA Secrets. If you do check it out let us know if it helped or not with boards.
Thanks to everyone for the well wishes. Our class will get together for a big party once these exams are over so every one will know about our success.

The University of Southern California program of nurse anesthetist awarded Bob Naruse, M.D. the faculty award this year. Dr. Naruse is staff anesthesiologist at Cedars Sinai Hospital where many of us do our neuro rotations. It is here that I met Dr. Bob and became acquainted with the low opioid techniques for craniotomy surgery that are routinely used there. Today several of our classmates were able to present the award to him in person. Unfortunately I was not able to attend but sent my best wishes and called him on the phone as a follow up.

Our lives have been enriched by his mentorship and example of excellence in patient centered anesthesia care. Thank you Dr. Bob Naruse and we will all make you proud. What follows is a letter I received from him after today’s presentation.

Dear ‘SC Class of 2006,I must admit that I am truly touched by your award. Working with such a distinguished group of anesthetists made my job easy and fun. I can’t remember a class that I’ve enjoyed more than yours. I know that each of you will be outstanding anesthetists for years to come and I want to congratulate each of you for the great achievement of completing graduate school. I am proud of you.

Please pass along your knowlege, especially that which is not in the textbooks. I know that eventually your colleagues will be impressed with your airway management skills as am I. We owe it to our patients to provide the best care possible.

Take care and best wishes in the future. Fight On!!!

Yours truly,
Bob Naruse
Da cedarsgasman

So there you have it. This week many of us are studying for CCNA board exams. My test date is the 20th of this month. Pressure, a little, confidence, a lot. I will let you all know how our class does.

The Keck School of Medicine program of Nurse Anesthesia has graduated the class of 2006 this past Saturday. I am so proud to be a part of this class of winners and overcomes. We have all struggled with difficulties to one degree or another but this past Saturday we all stand together as graduates. What a blast that is!
The program for the graduating class took place at the Town and Gown on the University of Southern California main campus in East Lost Angeles. We were privileged to have Elizabeth Visco from the University of Washington as our Key Note speaker. Her credentials are too long to discuss. She was wonderful.

Awards to faculty went to Robert Naruse, M.D. as faculty of the year and Tracy Valdez, CRNA as clinical instructor of the year. Dana Grogan received a well-deserved recognition for her didactic instruction. Lifetime achievement awards from the Nurse Anesthesia program at the University of Southern California were awarded to Janette Peter and Dr. Vladimir Zelman. Student awards went to Robert Olson for Leadership as well as the Agatha Hodgins award while the other leadership award went to Karyn Embrey and the scholarship recognition went to David Godden.

After the festivities at the Town and Gown we all went our separate ways to celebrate with family and friends. Douglas Brannan and his family and I spent the evening together with our families at a little Greek restraraunt in Manhattan Beach. Douglas has been a great friend and fellow traveler on this road with me.

To view all of the pictures you can go to the flickr web site here. Follow along with me on this journey to see how this graduating class of 2006 soldiers on.