looking for some advice

[puma09]

hello to all. ive been a nurse now for about 4-5 years. ive spent almost four of them in the ed. am interested in going back to school. currently interested in nurse anesthetist, so i plan on transferring in order to get critical care experience. some people i work with have been going back to school to get thier masters- mostly as nurse practitioners. been pondering going to school part time for a masters degree while working. do you think a masters degree wil make me a stronger candidate for the nurse anesthetist program? are some of the credits transferrable? or is two masters degrees just complete overkill and probably unecessary? i also figure just in case the nurse anesthetist thing doesnt work out as smoothly as anticipated at least i have moved forward in some direction. thanks in advance for all your comments.

[pnoble198]

I think your best bet would be to contact the schools you are looking at (even if your anticipated start date is not for a couple of years) and ask the advisor what they think about starting your master's degree. There may be classes that are universal to all MSN programs.

Wishing you all the best!

[puma09]

thanks for your help!

[Christen, ANP]

At my school, all of the master's programs start with the same "core" classes, then move on to the specific classes for each individual degree. I agree with talking to the school you are thinking of applying to. Most CRNA programs require at least one, if not two, years of experience in the ICU - maybe you can start the "core" MSN classes while gaining this experience, then start taking your CRNA classes.

Good luck!