Is CRNA school as difficult as people said?

[SlyFoxRN]

I consider myself to have above average intelligence and did fairly well in college (a top 20 private university). Last year, I decided medical school wasn't for me due mainly to the expense (4 years medical school than 3-5 years residency at a very low salary = loan buildup!). I was going to have to pay for any schooling past undergrad on my own, so I decided I could still go into the medical field, but with a cheaper route - an advanced practice nurse.

When I was going to medical school, I planned to either be a surgeon, dermatologist, psychiatrist, or anesthesiologist. I have interest in all 4 fields and would be happy in any of them. As an advanced nurse, I can be a dermatology certified NP, a mental health NP, or a CRNA - making it possible to still follow the paths of my 3 favorite specialties.

I've been finding out what I can about all three, and when I look up CRNA information I always see the same thing: That CRNA Education is a nightmare-ish experience. That it requires 10+ hours of studying per day, etc.

So did anyone find it a bit easier than it was made out to be?

I'm not saying easy...just easier than people let on.

For example, I went to an accelerated BSN program and all I ever heard was how hard it is from current students. One guy who spoke to us during orientation (a last semester student) said "Get used to B's...B's are awesome. You're never going to see another A again."

It terrified me.

Yet, here I am at the end of the first semester and I've made straight A's with very little studying (2-3 hours before an exam total).

So I wonder if anyone can give me some insight into what to expect really if I choose this route. Did anyone go to school and realize it wasn't nearly as difficult as people made it out to be...perhaps 1-2 hours of studying per day (with extra before exams) as opposed to this 10+ I keep hearing??

[bmobSRNA2015, BSN, RN]

I agree with most of everything people say. If I only study 4-6 hrs a day ... though ... I would be really behind. I'm starting to do all

nighters on the weekend to just get through content then have time to go back over and restudy. Repetition is key. The content you have to learn in CRNA school is not stuff you can just fudge through. You actually have to know it. You have to give up a lot while you are in school. Make sure you prepare family and friends for not seeing you for the next 2-3 years (depending on your program length) and if they can't handle that then they aren't really your friends anyways. One things my program focuses a lot on is balance. There has to be balance in your life. Make sure you are getting rest and exercising and spending a little time with family or you WILL lose your mind. I think my main point is.... YOU HAVE TO REALLY WANT TO BE A CRNA to get through this program. Otherwise ... don't even apply because you won't make it without the drive.

[Goose Xx, MSN, RN, EMT-P, CRNA]

Short answer, YES.

[SRNA4U, BSN, DNP, RN, CRNA]

shb4 said:

SRNA4U,

Hi , I was just wondering where you are attending school to become a CRNA?

Thanks!

I am with Drexel University in Philadelphia. I start in the Jan 2014 class. When I start the program, I would have completed all my core classes such as Advanced Pharmacology, Advanced Physiology, and Advanced Clinical Assessment. When classes begin, I will only be taking 6 credit hours for my first semester (Basic Principles of Anesthesia and Overview of Nurse Anesthesia). With this light of a load, I'll be able to concentrate on just those classes. Drexel allows you to take your core classes, which are all offered online, prior to you starting your anesthesia courses, which will lighten your load significantly. The key is finding the right anesthesia program for you. I didn't want to be taking 16-18 cr hr/semester, which is insane. With Drexel and a lot of the schools in Pennsylvania, they want you to knock those core classes out of the way so you can concentrate just on your anesthesia classes. There is only 2 quarters where I will have 3-4 classes but all the rest of the quarters are basically 1-2 classes per quarter.

[denver nurse]

you get out what you put in...most things in life that are worth a poo are hard :) You can explore various programs and see what ones are front loaded vs class/clinical to see what matches your needs.

[bmobSRNA2015, BSN, RN]

SRNA4U: You are lucky! Wish I could have taken some of my classes before beginning the program. lighter load would have been awesome. First 2 quarters we have 16 units each quarter. I am tired!

[beetlebum, BSN, RN]

Which CRNA program are you in? I am too a hands on person and remember things by referencing them. I still continue to be like that in my work where I remember certain meds or how to do a procedure because I took care of the patient who had these things done or unknown med I gave. The front loaded program makes sense because learning doesn't really stop. You may have forgotten a certain procedure or vaguely remember it, but once you are introduced to it hands on, you will never forget. I can see myself go home after a clinical day and quickly look up something I had totally forgotten and learn more about it to retain it.

[bmobSRNA2015, BSN, RN]

beetlebum - who were you asking?

[beetlebum, BSN, RN]

bmobSRNA2015 said:

beetlebum - who were you asking?

Hi! I was asking you, but then I saw previous posts and you mentioned the school you got accepted to. Congrats to you! It's been an eye opener for me how hard it is to get to any school and also how easily you can narrow it down if you choose a place that doesn't need a gre and the degree offered is an msn. I saw a couple of schools that has MS in Biology. I prefer an MSN.

[linnusik]

CRNA school is one of the best and worst things I ever did to myself. I went to an accelerated nursing program before that and it really is NOTHING/ fluffy studying compared to the amount of work and knowledge you need to know in CRNA school. My program has one semester of straight didactic which is one of the harder semesters. You think that just because you are a nurse, you can breeze through an anatomy and physiology course with no problem, but in reality, it is so much more in depth than you think, down to the molecular level. Pharmacology is drilled into you from day one, and frankly my program does a semi ****** job of teaching it to you but you have to know it for the comprehensive examinations that they require. Receptor theory, and pharmakokinetics are vital parts of knowledge base, and nursing school NEVER COVERS THIS ! First semester is what I like to call Weed out semester. They load you up with hard classes, and stress you out on purpose. Then the next semester, you have the same amount of classes, and they add 2 days of clinical. Classes are typically 12 hours long, and clinical days are 12-16 hours depending on your rotation. They build up more and more clinical until you are going to clinicals 4-5 days a week, with class sporadically. I can honestly say that I have put in 10-12 hour study days on majority of weekends to keep up, and after clinicals you are so exhausted but you still have to keep up with the physiology that is part of your cases the next day. In clinicals it is BRUTAL. Just because you used to be an ICU nurse, doesn't mean anything. The knowledge base is so much greater, and as a student you are treated like a piece of crap most of the time. You are evaluated every day by your preceptor, and the skill level required is much higher than probably any other advanced practice nurse. You learn to intubate, place nerve blocks, epidurals, spinals and the pharmacology and technical knowledge behind all of that. I can honestly say that I have given up my social life completely, and I am lucky that my family is supportive of me doing this, some people in our class end up divorced/broken up. It is not uncommon.One other thing with the CRNA profession that I have to state is annoying/crazy, is that there isnt as many of us as there are regular nurses. There are probably 1200 crna's in the state of California, and most of them either know someone who knows someone else or they do know them directly. It is common to see the same people at different sites and state meetings. What I am saying is that your reputation as a student/provider precedes you. If you are doing poorly, everyone knows of you. If you mess up in clinical, all the other clinical sites are aware. You have to be super professional at all times even in your personal life because it is all about how you present yourself. I am exhausted all the time, in debt because this program is expensive, and came from making a 6 figure salary as an ICU nurse in California working 3 days a week to working 5 days a week and making nothing as a student. I am done with this program in 2 months. Am I glad I did this? Probably. Do I love what I am doing now? Its amazing..... would I do it all over again knowing what I know now? ........ hopefully.

[Moore3RN]

If you don't mind me asking which CRNA school are you attending? I also completed an accelerated nursing program in California and now I am looking at applying to different CRNA schools throughout California. Would you recommend your program?

[matthewandrew, NP]

Thanks for all the information sharing. Good read...

[SRNA4U, BSN, DNP, RN, CRNA]

So far for me, now that I am almost done with my first semester of school, CRNA school has not been as bad as I thought it was going to be after listening to many people's emails and from cowrokers who have friends in CRNA school. First, you have to find a program that works best for you...front loaded (didactics first for 12 months) or integrated program (clinical w/ didactics). My program is integrated and the thing I love about my program is before the program started about 3 months in advance, we were given a lecture as a prep course with 4 quizzes that covered an Overview of anesthesia. It had all the gases with MAC, ED95, with 60% N2O, B/G ratios, how to calculate fluid replacement, how to place epidurals and spinals, a lot of meds used during induction, maintenance, and emergence. It covered a lot and the one thing our Program Director said was to take it seriously because the former year group didnt and it reflected in their grades. This class wasnt for credit or anything but it gave us a heads up on what we should know and what to expect.

When we started our first semester, we had covered so much of what he gave us in preparation plus the new stuff we had to learn. I currently have an A average in all my classes. Our overview class of anesthesia is what most people get in one semester and we covered it in 3 class days. After that we went on to the anesthesia machine and covered it in 3 days. We are so far advanced as far as what we learned in preparation for clinical which starts the end of this month. We are a little nervous but still confident in what we learned and its a result of how our program is setup. Our school name carries a lot of weight here in Philly and we are constantly told how the clinical sites say our students are always prepared and ready to go.

I also can't complain about our school days because Feb and March we only had classes 2-3 days a week because they built study days into our schedule during the week so we can be prepared for our exams. I will admit the material was monumental but I like the fact we are given study guides 5 days before the test so we know where to focus our studying. Also during lecture, they often give us hints that we may see something again on a test. Our overview lecture had 500 PPT slides and our lecture on the anesthesia machine had over 1000 PPT slides and we digested everything. Majority of my classmates are doing well and there are quite a few of us in the A average club lol. I also love the fact we have a 100% passing rate on boards and an attrition rate of 7%.

We get to attend conferences and state meetings all paid for by the program. I'm so excited to get to start clinical and apply all of this knowledge we learned. After only have been in school for a quarter, which we are ion the quarter system instead of a typical semester, I feel like I am prepared at the basic level to administer an anesthetic. We have sim lab on every thursday and our exams are normally every Friday. We had 3 quizzes covering induction, maintenance, and emergence drugs so we are always getting tested on Pharmacology.

Today we did our last sim lab which covered Neuraxial anesthesia (spinals and epidurals) and it was awesome to be able to place the needle into the ligamentum flavum for the epidural and do all of the techniques such as the Loss of Resistance and the Hanging drop test to ensure we are in the epdiural space for the Epidural and also using various techniques for the spinal placement.

We also took an Adv Health Assessment course this quarter and last week we had actors who were patients in the exam rooms and we had to go in and do a timed preop assessment for the anesthesia piece while also doing a focused assessment for our health assessment class in 40 mins. The more I learn the more I am loving anesthesia. It's very exciting and just to know you will be the provider providing safe vigilant care to patients who are entrusting their life to you as you make critical life and death decisions to take care of them autonomously. Its the dream job.

I think I read in a post above where one person said they were in class for like 12 hours....for Feb and March we were chillin at home for 2-3 days a week. Some of my classmates still work PRN. I'm at an advantage when it comes to anesthesia school because I am also an experienced OR nurse so many of the techniques and procedures we are learning I know it from seeing it first hand. Some of my classmates seem a little confused like when we learned how to place a Bier Block but in the OR, we use tourniquets all the time for orthopedic procedures. We learn positioning next week and thats one of the main things I do as an OR nurse is to help position the patient after induction.

Next quarter we have Chem/Physics, clinical (2 days a week), and Anesthesia Pharm, which we learned so many of the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of over 80 drugs thus far, I'm actually wondering what else is left to learn in regards to that class unless they're planning to go deeper into it. We've already learned onset, duration, metabolism, excretion, mechanism of action, standard concentration, and trade/generic names of majority of the drugs. Plus all the epidural and spinal drugs with max doses with and without epinephrine. Now that I think about it, we did learn a lot over this one quarter. We've been tested on meds so much that now I don't even have to think about, I can just spit out to you without giving much though and explain at the receptor level what the drug does and tie it into my anesthesia care plan based on the co-morbidities the patient may present with from my pre-anesthesia assessment.