NICU to CRNA ???

[ittybittyrn]

I have been a Neonatal ICU nurse for six years now and am feeling a bit bogged down. I have been interested in Nurse Anesthesia since my roommate in nursing school mentioned it to me years ago. Are there any CRNA's out there willing to give me their thoughts on the profession? For that matter, does anyone have an opinion on such a drastic career change.

I know that it will be a long road seeing as I will have to go back to school for my Master's degree. I may have to commute to school as their is no program here. I guess I want to know if it will be worth two or three more years of school and all the hard work. Is it an unreasonable transition?

I've been disillusioned with my job for a couple of years now. I also have a good case of Adult ADD! Just listening for some encouraging words and a little support.

Thanks!

-IttyBittyRN

[VizslaMom]

You may want to post this in the CRNA forum.

[nurseIdeah]

I was just wondering why you have been disillusioned with your work in the NICU. I'm graduating in May and I'm actually just about to go interview with the NICU. What don't you like about it? I'm not 100% sure I want to do it - you could say I'm partially on the fence but almost all the way over. what advice can you give me?

Also - I just talked for ten minutes yesterday with a CRNA. She had been a NICU nurse for 13 years and then went back to school for a CRNA. She said it's hard - it IS a huge switch and she would not recommend doing NICU if you know you want to do CRNA. But, since that doesn't seem to be an option for you (and it wasn't for her) she said it was worth it - she likes what she does, and it pays really well...so, I'd say, if you really do want to do it, go for it!