[neuromancer2]

Hello, all. I am clearly a newbie to your forum and have been quite impressed with the quantity and quality of the information here. I am an active duty navy nurse in an ER. The navy has a fully paid program at Georgetown in which approximately 16 officers are sent for CRNA each year. The party line in the navy is that critical care experience from any source is acceptable (ICU/CCU, ER, OR, NICU, PACU) with ICU/CCU preferred. I have only ER experience. I'm CEN but not CCRN and am wondering if Georgetown will even look at me. Craig mentions in his FAQ that ICU is nearly an absolute requirement. Do I have a chance? BTW Craig, your blog is a fantastic view into a rather hectic world. A heartfelt thanks from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

[kmchugh]

Neuromancer

Normally, I'd tell you that at MOST programs, ICU experience is the requirement for application. Some programs take ER experience, but not many. A check of the Georgetown web page shows that they require one year clinical practice in critical care, but they do not specify what constitutes critical care. (Their web page is at:

http://snhs.georgetown.edu/academics/graduate/na.html
)

The real deal is that the military is a separate animal. Some of what applies to civilian nurses may not apply to military nurses. It sounds as though they have a program to admit so many Navy nurses per class. They may also have a special deal worked out with the university as to what kind of experience is acceptable for Navy nurses. Check with the program director or your Education Officer to find out. Certainly, I'd think you have a pretty good chance, especially since you have your CEN certification. Let me know what you find out. I'd be interested to know.

On another note, when I was a student, I met several military CRNA students at conventions and such. If you have no problem staying in the military while you get your CRNA, this is a great way to go. School is paid for in full, and you continue to recieve your salary as a Naval officer. Most civilians graduate CRNA programs with debts ranging from $50,000 to $100,000. You won't have that. One down side is that once you graduate, by virtue of the population you serve, most of your patients will be ASA I or II. Pretty healthy kids, mostly. It's tough to keep up some of your skills in that environment. Just a thought to keep in mind.

Kevin McHugh, CRNA

[nilepoc]

Ok, I spoke to some of the Navy folks here.

They all say that you are in a perfect situation to find information on becomming a Navy CRNA.

Basically they said the first step is to get to know the CRNA's at your current station. You will have to do this anyway, as one of the required parts of the application is a recommendation from a practicing Navy CRNA. So i would start there if I were you. From there you and find out about the rest.

As far as critical care experience goes, several of the Navy folks switched to work in the ICU fo the period preceding the evaluation of their package. I would recommend the same.

Beyond this limmitted advice, I can't add much.

Good luck.

Craig

[neuromancer2]

Kevin and Craig, thanks for all your help. I'll contact the CRNA's here about putting in for the program. Yeah, we do have a generally healthy population minus the large medical centers where we see lots of retirees. I've been in the navy for 15 years so I'll do some more time for school if they'll let me. Does anybody think my MBA will make even the slightest bit of difference? Do the addmissions folks at these schools care about non-clincal masters work or is that just fluff.

David Anderson

[nilepoc]

From what I gather, the Navy decides on their own about who go's and who doesn't. Don't forget you can go to USHS also.

BTW one of the guys in our program is going to be at retirement in terms of years served, so he will have to spend more than twenty years in due to becomming a CRNA. So your years served won't be a problem.

Go for it.