Aspiring CRNA group chat?

mpzell · Jan 30, 2017

Update: I can't PM anybody at the moment, so if you're interested you can just shoot me an email at [email protected]!

guest769224 · Jan 30, 2017

How about just start the discussion here?

mpzell · Jan 30, 2017

Sure! Are you planning on applying to any programs soon? And if so, which are you looking into?

guest769224 · Jan 31, 2017

Well, I currently have 1 year ICU experience so I meet the bare minimum requirement, but I think I'm going to wait a year or two more. I want to become a solid strong competent nurse, and I just got a new job that pays really well, so I plan on saving up quite a bit for my program. I want to be able to pay cash for at least half my program up front.

Originally I wanted to go to Wolford in FL because supposedly it's "easier" to get into, but I think I'm just going to beef up my resume so to speak and hold out for a stronger program. I really want to go to an anesthesia program that focuses on independence and gives as many hours/cases as possible to the students.

What about you, where do you want to attend? Do you have a plan to get into the ICU right away as a new grad? That's what I did.

mpzell · Jan 31, 2017

I'm hoping to get into the ICU right away but I'd need to make connections during my clinicals, because I don't think hiring new grads is common in that department.

I don't have a specific school I want to go to yet, but I would like to get into a top school.

Honestly, I messed around a bit in high school and graduated with a low GPA (3.1) so I went to (and am currently at) a community college, because that was the only thing my parents would help me pay for. Generally speaking, that doesn't seem so bad, but based on the high school I went to, going to a community college was kind of shameful because every year that school churns out a decent chunk of kids going to ivy leagues. So not only do I want to go to a top school for a great education, but I also want to get in to prove to myself that with hard work, I can get to Where I need to go.

The problem is, i'd be attempting to apply with little experience and I know that isn't impressive to good schools. I'm trying to figure out what I can do to make my application more "attractive" for when I do start applying, which would hopefully be in two years. But I'm not really sure where to start...I'm also a bit worried that schools might be kind of skeptical about me because of the age I'd be applying at...I know that might not be much of a consideration, but I'm sure they do look at it becuase age does tend to have a correlation with maturity.

Gas Noob · Jan 31, 2017

The fact that you got into nursing school at what seems to be such a young age is impressive. Honestly, CRNA schools don't care about high school GPA, it's all about your science and cumulative GPA in college.

In order to get into ICU, there is no shame on spending 6 months to a year on the floor to sharpen up your skills, help out on a few Codes, ect... Earn a good reputation then transfer into the ICU at your local hospital. OR you can move to a ICU that will hire new grads. Once in the ICU, be a team player, help with all the codes, ask loads of questions..... and sponge up all of the information that you can.

To sharpen up your resume, get a few certs such as the CCRN and the TNCC. You will have to study hard for a few weeks to earn your CCRN. If you do well enough on the CCRN, I suggest submitting your CCRN score report to the schools you apply to. Additionally, attend AANA as well as your state anesthesia conferences, the requirement to attend is typically a RN license, and you might even be able to rub elbows with some program directors.

Get some good CRNA shadowing in as well & make a good impression on the CRNA so that they can write a good letter of recommendation for you.

Good Luck and time will fly as you jump through the hoops.

missnurse01, MSN, RN · Feb 1, 2017

Good luck guys! Yes spend a number of years in a high intensity ICU. I was told repeatedly by CRNA instructors that they could tell I had a lot of experience. It made clinical a little easier.

BrittRn14 · Feb 2, 2017

I am also looking towards this path and would love some assistance on the steps to take and when to take them I am just starting my adn program in a week and have some time but I know where I want to be in the end so any stories or advice etc. would be great

missnurse01, MSN, RN · Feb 2, 2017

It's a fairly defined path for you. Get best grades in ADN you can. Get into a high intensity ICU ASAP after grad, move if you have to. Work a ton, pay off your student loans, SAVE SAVE SAVE. Take the sickest patients, when something is going down in another room, be a fly on the wall - listen and learn. READ a ton. Read the CCRN manual, take the test eventually lol. Know EVERYTHING about your patient, the drips, how do they work, like which receptors...pathophys of disease processes. Get on some committees at work, admissions to CRNA programs like that (I was on our 5 plus hospital system wide code blue committee). Work on your BSN, online, pay that off. Take classes that are required or that will support you in school. Gen chem, prob a year of it. O-chem, biochem if you have time. Stats if you didn't have to take it for BSN. Do the dumb GRE. Research and make a database of schools that you want to go to, what you are looking for in a school, talk to recent grads about their experience. Shadow a CRNA before you start doing all this to be sure it's for you! Apply and kill the interview! good luck

futureSRNA1985 · Feb 3, 2017

I am currently in my 2-3 years of ICU experience; luckily I am blessed with an awesome unit where we use pressors, dilators, inotropes, sedatives, narcotics, and paralytics on a daily basis. I think my favorite device has to be the ECMO machine; the perfusionists trained the RNs to run the machine so they don't have to be at the bedside all the time, which is really cool. I've got all the right certifications, including CCRN and CSC, taken the GRE and scored well. My problem unfortunately is I messed around a lot in my first undergraduate degree. I failed chemistry like 6 times, not because I couldn't understand the material, but because I didn't go to class. It was only about where the next party was, where the fun was, etc. That is biting me in the A$$ these days. Since I started nursing, I retook ALL my chemistries, A&Ps, etc and got A's in everything. I even took a graduate level pathophysiology class to show I can succeed in a graduate school course environment. I have had two interviews and they went pretty well, but not great. Unfortunately, there were 2-3 schools that didn't even give me an interview due to my bad science GPA. If they only looked at my nursing curriculum and sciences I retook, they could see that I was committed and able to succeed. The only thing I can do now is hope that someone takes a chance on me and sees past the low GPA.

missnurse01, MSN, RN · Feb 7, 2017

CVICURN - flat out explain in your grades in your essay you send in. Address the old grades and highlight the new ones as well as the grad level class you took. As your years of experience increase, your attractiveness to adcoms should increase. I assume you have shadowed (and included on your essay). Also, read Watchful Care and also include on your essay. Other than that, teaching (ACLS, etc) and activity on hospital committees is useful. Volunteering on medical trips can also be a plus. Good luck and keep fighting the good fight.

You can also apply to more schools, however, make sure you are applying to them not because they are nearby - but because they will give you a good clinical education.