[BeachBoy]

Hi there, I am about to get out of the Army and go into the nursing field and found this website, and dang glad I did, I have posted the long version of my "story" on the other forums, but in a nut shell, I want to be a CRNA, I am not going to lie, I first noticed the money, but in reading the threads I got to learn how special the jobs is, how personal I guess is what I really mean. My questions are, How realistic of a goal is it? and also what is the salary really like? and also what are the hours/conditions like, Keep in mind that I have been in Army for 10 yrs. thank you for your time, any advice is GREATLY appericated

[fossil78]

In texas to become a crna they want you to have a least one years experience in critical care. The schools are very competitive, they take 7 applicants a year and usually 2-3 dropout after the first semester. the program is 3 years and very stressful. You can forget about a full time job. You might be able to work during there semester breaks, but don't count on it. The pay is about $130k per year. It's not for everyone. I've looked into it but couldn't afford to be out of work for 3 years. Pushing gas is not my cup of tea. I'm happy in icu.. Good luck to you if you choose to become a CRNA.

[droopy1592]

You're kind of like me. I'm an ex-marine, went to telecom, now going to Emory for nursing in the fall. I seriously suggest you shadow a CRNA before you make that decision of making it your ultimate goal. I am going to shadow an AA (similar to a CRNA without the nursing background) in the next few weeks so I can make my decision to go to PA school or do RN-> CRNA.

The money is nice but I'd rather have a job that I love that pays less than one I hate that pays more. I haven't seen many CRNAs that hate there job (others hate on CRNAs for various reason) so I'm going for it, but I'm going to be sure before I commit to nursing school.

Check the stickies for questions... I have a friend now in the Duke program and he says it's not so bad... but there's tons of reading and you basically study like you're taking a test the next day every day... or so i've been told.