EASY ADMISSION CRNA PROGRAMS not ICU advice!

meandragonbrett · Oct 20, 2002

Christian Nurse,

I think it varies from state to state and from institution to institution on what CRNAs can do. I know at the hospital where I volunteer a CRNA can do epidural and spinal anesthesia.

Brett

ICUBecky · Oct 26, 2002

AnnCRNA...i think it would be very wise of you to take the CRNA off of your name. YOU have not gone through the hellish program, YOU have not taken the boards, YOU are NOT a CRNA. i think that it is appropriate that the actual CRNAs on this board are upset by this. just as i would be if someone who has not gone through an actual nursing program put RN after their name.

Next...i think you need to grow up a little. nothing in life is easy. you have to be able and be willing to work for what you want. listen to what everybody (especially the CRNAs) say on this board. why don't you do your own research and find the answer to your question, and not rudely insult or ask a question to get the answer YOU want! but, then again with the tone of your post ...that might be too hard for you...

AL bug · Oct 26, 2002

Where did Ann go????

meandragonbrett · Oct 27, 2002

Bug,

I think we scared her off!

Brett

srna · Nov 2, 2002

Ann CRNA,

I agree with all of the replies. Even if you do get into a school that was "easy" to get in to, you still have to make it through. A school may lower standards to get you in, then take your money when you cannot compete with the rest of your classmates and find out that CRNA school is much more than just getting into the door. Infact, acceptance was the easy part, making it through successfully is harder, and then boards will make admissions look like child's play. Every single day is a challenge.

MK2002 · Nov 2, 2002

Ann is long gone. She made a total of 3 posts, the last one on 9/25. By now she either realized her mistake or figures she is not going to get anywhere by asking the group for the easy way out. Maybe you will meet her in school some day.

b523 · Nov 23, 2010

I too wanted to be a CRNA. I like titrating drips. I like working on codes. I hate cleaning up feces. I hate dumping urine. I hate turning patients. I hate it that my back hurts. For those of you who tolerated it. Congratulations. So how much poop are CRNA's cleaning up these days? How much urine have you dumped lately? Does your back still hurt? Do you still turn your patients every 2 hrs? I quit CCU because I can't stand the crap part of the job and I am limited on my options because I am unable to relocate to apply to all schools. I am so amazed that there are nurses out there who have worked critical care for 10 plus years and still do this stuff. I guess I thought CRNA's didn't do all the crap work and that they do the interesting stuff. There are easy school and if you can hack a year of CRAP CCU work then go to a hospital with a lot of trauma get some useful experience for 1 year. Apply to every school you can and don't give up you will get in. Hack out the Bull **** of the CCU job. Hack out the Bull **** of the CRNA Grad school. Hack out the Boards which you will pass if you Hack all the other crap out. Remember you are not going to school to be a Critical Care nurse a year is all you need for school. You will learn the CRNA job just like you learned the CCU job. Don't let any body hit you with negative words to try and weed you out. If it makes you more confident to find an easy school then apply to them all. If you get into school the hard part is over. You will excel because it is what you wanted and what you worked so hard to become. It will in essence be easy. There is nothing easier than doing something you want to do.

loveanesthesia · Nov 23, 2010

If you get into school the hard part is over. You will excel because it is what you wanted and what you worked so hard to become. It will in essence be easy. There is nothing easier than doing something you want to do.

Hopefully you will be successful in a program, but you are dead wrong in thinking getting into a program is the hard part. Finishing a program is the hard part, and unfortunately some people don't and then have a lot of debt to pay off.

b523 · Nov 24, 2010

Maybe the people who don't finish who have all that debt to pay off went into it for the wrong reasons to begin with. Maybe they realized it's not their true calling. Maybe they just gave up. I have great admiration for anyone who makes it that far whether they complete it or not. It is better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all. Otherwise what makes life worth living? I'm sorry, I still have to disagree with your definition of hard. Hard to me is doing something I don't want or like to do. Easy is something that I enjoy doing. If I were to be so fortunate as to make it into a program I know that my mentality like everyone else there would be to do my best to finish. It probably does feel like your the star of the movie shawshank redemption trying to get through a CRNA program. But once its all done and overwith and I have a few years of anesthesia under my belt I'd look back and say man that was easy. It's only hard if you don't finish.

aquaphone · Dec 27, 2010

I personally applied to TEN different CRNA programs and so far was accepted to two. It really is true, none of them are easy to get into. The ones I got into were actually "better" in theory, than the ones I got rejected from. Best thing you can do is to look at the entrance requirements and strengthen your application as much as possible. If you want easier, well, some schools do not require the GREs or CCRN, but then, perhaps that means more people will end up applying there. Different schools have different preferences. Some really want you to have the CCRN, others could care less. Some want you to have a high science GPA, others care only about overall GPA. Some prefer one type of clinical experience over another (i.e., open heart vs. SICU). Some schools may prefer in-state applicants.

Also, you can call the schools and ask how many applicants they have for how many spots. Yes, all schools are hard to get into, but obviously you're going to have less of a chance with a school that gets 700 applicants for 7 spots than a school that gets 90 applicants for 30 spots.

Your best bet is to get good ICU experience like SICU or open heart, study hard and excel on the GRE, pass the CCRN, and apply to at least eight programs, maybe more.

BCRNA · Dec 28, 2010

There are no easy admission crna programs. But with that said, apply to as many programs as possible every year until you get in. The school I went to is a good example of why to do this. After the intial pool of people was cut down to a pool of applicants to invite to interview; we had a 1 in 20 chance of getting in. The year after I got in, for some reason the pool of applicants was way down. They had a 1 in 4 chance of getting in. So apply to as many programs as you can, and keep doing it if you want to get in. And keep finding ways to improve your application. For example, start taking classes to become an NP, or just take more classes that will improve your science ability. I would recommend doing an ACNP program, that way you will at least have another option if you never get in. And if you get in afterward you can do a post-masters.

Many programs will respect an applicant who is determined and shows initiative.

bread angel · Dec 31, 2010

No easy schools, no easy anesthesia...it is the nature of the beast. We just make it look easy, but that is all a facade.