[krzysiu]

I attended Loyola University Chicago Accelerated BSN program. Basically, BSN in 12 months. I heard CRNA schools like if you can do well with a condensed case load. For example, I was told that Rush University treats their ABSN program as something comparable to the beginning of their CRNA program. Do you guys feel there is any truth to this? What is your take on the matter? Thanks for the input.

chris

[yoga crna]

You ONLY become a good anesthetist if you have tons of clinical experience. If you try to condense it, you will be missing out in the most important part of your education. There is no internship, residency or even more than a couple days orientation programs for CRNAs. You graduate, you pass your certifying exam, you do anesthesia. Get as much clinical experience as you can.

This is my strong opinion, based on the fact that I learn something new with every anesthetic and I have been doing this over 46 years.

yoga crna

[AcceptableRisk]

I am also in an accelerated BSN program, somewhere near krzysiu's part of the country. And, if krzysiu's program is anything like mine, I think that krzysiu will be at an advantage by going through this program, because in my program, we take all of the same classes (at twice the speed) and exams as students in the traditional program, and we have to put in over 110 hours more clinical time than students in our traditional program. And, in our clinicals, we are one-on-one with our preceptor, unlike most traditional programs where a preceptor usually has 4 or 5 or more students. I consistently hear nurses, that I work with in my clinicals, say that the nurses that come out of my accelerated program are much better prepared than nurses from the traditional program, and this is mainly because they get the one-on-one attention from their preceptor.

So, if your program is like mine and you do very well, krzysiu, I think you may be at a distinct advantage, because you will have shown that you can handle a high intensity and high stress academic program, and getting your degree from an accelerated program will make you more unique among applicants to CRNA schools.

(my 2 cents)

AcceptableRisk

[krzysiu]

thanks risk,

thats what i was looking for. i think yoga misunderstood my question a lil bit.


chris

[Summitk2]

I'm also an accelerated BSN student and agree that it's a testament to your ability to succeed in a fast-paced, intense program. As long as your program has the same number of credits and clinical requirements as a traditional program, I can only see it as a benefit to your application (especially if you performed well).

Yoga may have thought you were talking about one of the programs accepting students to the direct accelerated BSN/crit. care/anesthesia pathway. These programs have many benefits, but they can limit your clinical practice between BSN & anesthesia. My impression is that your critical care experience is more important than your BSN program, GPA, etc. But I figure you might as well sell whatever assets you have.

Summitk2

[Phishininau]

With good personal marketing skills, its possible to make anything that has happened to you sound positive.

[ellarose]

I graduated from an accelerated BSN program and don't expect CRNA school to be ANYTHING like it. BSN was a breeze. I expect CRNA school to be 100 times harder, from what I have heard anyway.

[AcceptableRisk]

Originally Posted by ellarose

I graduated from an accelerated BSN program and don't expect CRNA school to be ANYTHING like it. BSN was a breeze. I expect CRNA school to be 100 times harder, from what I have heard anyway.

I'm sure accelerated programs vary, like any type of program (e.g. compare Harvard Medical School to a medical school in the Caribbean islands), and your background before going into the program could have had a huge impact in how difficult the program was for you. All I can say is that I have a strong science background, and the program that I am in is still VERY intense, stressful, and time consuming. I spend 8 to 10 hours studying every day, and when I'm in my clinicals I hardly see my spouse and child (and that includes the weekends). I expect CRNA school to be more difficult, but "100 times" more difficult is a slight bit of an exaggeration, I would say.

[ellarose]

Ok, so maybe 10 times more intense, or even 2 or 3 times harder. It was just an exaggeration to make a point. I still don't see any undergraduate nursing program being close to the difficulty and amount of time that you will need to dedicate to a CRNA program.

I completed 53 credits in 12 months, including 2 graduate nursing classes, and all clinicals. I commuted at least 1.5 to 2.5 hours a day and still graduated with a 3.5. I did not, however, have children at this time. That is a whole different issue.

During this time my husband was going through a very intense 3 year graduate program and I didn't put in half of the time he put into his program. CRNA grad school and BSN undergrad school are just going to be on a completely different level. From what I have heard, I don't think we can compare our undergraduate nursing programs to our CRNA programs.

I have never heard of anyone being at an advantage applying to CRNA school because they graduated from an accelerated BSN program. But, then again I am not in everyone's interviews or on an admission committee. I just haven't heard this before.

Of course, this is all just my opinion.

Good luck in school and in applying to CRNA school!

[edcampbe]

I can imagine that most successful students completing an accelerated BSN versus a traditional BSN might have a better handle on time management when they graduate. Will this make them more prepared for CRNA school? I don't know. I am not in an accelerated program, but I am working full-time on top of my traditional BSN program. It has been a challenge to schedule studying time between class and work, but I've progressively become a better steward of my time over the past year. With only a year left before graduation, I do think learning to work with such limiting time constraints has better prepared me for the time management aspect of CRNA school; however, that is only one facet. I was talking with a CRNA last week and he explained the leap from a BSN to CRNA school on quantum proportions. He said is it similar to making the jump from high school to college. The course of study is more in depth, exams are more frequent, and there is less time to study and prepare for the next lecture. Regardless of BSN background, I believe the most successful SRNAs will be the students who are able to quickly adapt to new environments, efficiently manage their time, and appropriately handle stress.