[sarah06w]

i want to go to be CRNA one day in the future. i'm planning to work first for three years in icu;travel nursing. will my experiance as travel nurse a good thing or bad thing to be concidered in nurse anesthesia school? thanks.

[lovegasRN]

Most schools state that they want a reference from your nurse manager and/or immediate supervisor, someone who knows you well clinically. My only concern would be getting the references that you will need. Also it seems that travel/agency nurses rarely get the good sick pts that will give you the best experience with vents, vasoactive gtts, etc.

[fungirl]

Originally Posted by sarah06w

i want to go to be CRNA one day in the future. i'm planning to work first for three years in icu;travel nursing. will my experiance as travel nurse a good thing or bad thing to be concidered in nurse anesthesia school? thanks.

It will be fine, I did the majority of my ICU as a travel nurse and was accepted to four different schools. I just played up that part of my experience, b/c you gotta be flexible in anesthesia, and you definitely have got to be flexible in travel nursing! Enjoy your assignments!!

[NurseHerms]

Hey there,
I was accepted to school with a year of staff nurse position (at the Cleveland Clinic) and now I will have had 2 years travel ICU experience when I start school in May. I think they do not look down upon it, as i know some view it as good experience because of all the different types of units you work in, and the wide range of patients that you deal with. My advice would be to go for it if traveling is what you want to do.

[FLTraumaRN]

Hello there- I am starting CRNA school this coming August and had many years as a travel nurse. During the interview you can point out the benefits of being a travel nurse. These include flexibility, working in different types of units (Open heart, Trauma, MICU..etc), and learning different ways to do things. I loved being a travel nurse, so go for it. Enjoy your time before school...and get all the experience you can get.

Good luck!
P.S. As a traveller I ended up with some of the sickest patients in the unit. Maybe not on the first day, but once the staff gets to know you and trust you they will throw anything at you. Especially if you tell them thats what you want.

[zozzy777]

When people write that travelers don't get the sickest patients, they really don't know what they are talking about. I was a traveler for almost 8 years and the experience I had was so much more than most staff nurses get. I am currently in Case Western's CRNA program and they loved it that I had so much experience as a traveler. It shows how flexible you can be changing hospitals and jobs frequently. It shows you can adapt to ever changing situations. There were some travel jobs I had where I was the most experienced nurse on the unit, so I was in charge and taking care of the sickest patients.

Traveling was the best thing I did for my career so you should go out there and travel and enjoy all the experiences it will offer you. Good luck!!

[ICU.traveler]

I agree with everyone. I've been travleling since 2001 and will start CRNA program in August. I've seen the country, met some awesome people, made some money and got a great experience. Go travel, you should be fine.
ICU.traveler