New grad RN & aspiring CRNA - Where should I start? OR vs. PCU

Nursing Students SRNA

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i'm a new grad rn about to begin my nursing career. here's my dilemma...i've been offered a position in the or as well as a position on a progressive care unit & i'm not sure which one i should accept :confused:

i would like to eventually go back to school to get my master's degree...possibly in nurse anesthesia. a year & a half of experience in the icu is required for acceptance into a crna program. if i accept the position in the pcu i will be able to transfer to the icu within a year, which would then put me on the right track for going back to school to become a crna. would it be more beneficial for me to start as a circulator nurse in the or where i would be able to work with the crnas & determine whether or not that is something i would want to do or should i go ahead & start out in progressive care & try to shadow a crna on my days off? any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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Specializes in Endoscopy/MICU/SICU.

I definitely think PCU, if CRNA is your goal. Like you said, you'll be able to transfer to ICU after a year or so which is where you need to be. In OR, you might get to meet some CRNA's to shadow, but you will probably have to transfer to med-surg for awhile before going to ICU. Interested to see what others say...

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Specializes in ICU.

working with a CRNA does not give you critical care experience nor develop your critical thinking skills (at least not the same kind you get working in ICU--i think). remember, you won't be watching the CRNA.... you will be watching the OR table, the mayo table, the instruments, the patient, the surgeon, the sponges, etc.... you will have a job to do.. go to PCU, transition eventually to ICU and shadow a CRNA as much as you want. good luck.

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Specializes in Nurse Anesthesia, ICU, ED.

will the OR position not allow the ability to transfer into the ICU?

there is a nurse in the nurse anesthesia program with me that worked OR then MICU prior to starting; I feel that she had the advantage of knowing how to position patients for surgery, familiarity with surgical procedures and the PACU, surgeons, MDAs and CRNAs along with other OR nurses and techs. while this may be a short lived advantage, I feel that it helps her.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

I would take the PCU position unless your heart is just set on working in the OR. You will have to transition out of the OR at some point if you want to goto nurse anesthesia school.

FYI: The requirement for experience is one year of acute care experience to get into nurse anesthesia school.

Requirements

The requirements for becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) mainly include having a bachelor's degree in nursing, or other appropriate baccalaureate degree, Registered Nurse licensure, a minimum of 1 year acute care experience (ICU, ER for example), and the successful completion of both an accredited nurse anesthesia educational program and the certification examination. For more information about the nurse anesthesia profession and its requirements, please read the documents below.

http://www.aana.com/BecomingCRNA.aspx?id=98&linkidentifier=id&itemid=98

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Specializes in ER/ICU/STICU.

If CRNA is your goal, than go PCU and transfer to critical ASAP. As others have recommended, shadow a CRNA to see if that is really what you want to do. Working in the OR next to the CRNA is not going to give you the criteria needed to get into a program.

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will the OR position not allow the ability to transfer into the ICU?

there is a nurse in the nurse anesthesia program with me that worked OR then MICU prior to starting; I feel that she had the advantage of knowing how to position patients for surgery, familiarity with surgical procedures and the PACU, surgeons, MDAs and CRNAs along with other OR nurses and techs. while this may be a short lived advantage, I feel that it helps her.

Thanks for the feedback! I can't definitely see where having OR experience would be somewhat helpful. Unfortunately, the OR position is a 2 year commitment, so if I did decide to go back to grad school it would put me way behind.

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working with a CRNA does not give you critical care experience nor develop your critical thinking skills (at least not the same kind you get working in ICU--i think). remember, you won't be watching the CRNA.... you will be watching the OR table, the mayo table, the instruments, the patient, the surgeon, the sponges, etc.... you will have a job to do.. go to PCU, transition eventually to ICU and shadow a CRNA as much as you want. good luck.

Thanks for the feedback! You have a good point...I'm definitely leaning towards PCU!

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Specializes in Cardiothoracic ICU.

Althought this is from the aana, all schools i have looked at require ICU experience as opposed to acute care. ER,pacu,etc does not generally count.

I would take the PCU position unless your heart is just set on working in the OR. You will have to transition out of the OR at some point if you want to goto nurse anesthesia school.

FYI: The requirement for experience is one year of acute care experience to get into nurse anesthesia school.

Requirements

The requirements for becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) mainly include having a bachelor's degree in nursing, or other appropriate baccalaureate degree, Registered Nurse licensure, a minimum of 1 year acute care experience (ICU, ER for example), and the successful completion of both an accredited nurse anesthesia educational program and the certification examination. For more information about the nurse anesthesia profession and its requirements, please read the documents below.

http://www.aana.com/BecomingCRNA.aspx?id=98&linkidentifier=id&itemid=98

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Specializes in Surgical ICU.

i can tell you that the OR nurse, circulating, does not get much experience in ICU or CRNA-like care. the only benefit is to see if you like the OR environment and the CRNA role. but that doesn't take a year. You would be able to easily shadow and ask lots of questions, but still not worth a year committment.

I say go to the pcu with hopes of getting into the ICU.

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I am very interested in the CRNA field as well and seeing the shortage that this field is in, it seems like a great choice. What I'm worried about is my age... I will be 40 this Sept :crying2: ( I'm like a woman when it come to age, lol ).

Anyways, here's the situation... I am still working on my A.A., but should be done within the next 2 semesters then off to Nursing school for my RN. Is it feasible for me @ 40 to even bother with the CRNA degree since there is such a BIG investment on residence time? Is there a cut off age for new CRNAs?

I know this may sound trivial to you all, but like I said, age is a big factor with me, and yes I know it's all in my heads - for the most part; I mean heck, most of the kids I go to college with think I'm 27-28 years old, lol, and yes, I do feel and have the attitude of a 25+ young adult, stemming from the way I grew up I suppose, but none the less, I am 40 and just at the point of finishing my A.A. with many years to go to get that CRNA.

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Specializes in ER/ICU/STICU.
I am very interested in the CRNA field as well and seeing the shortage that this field is in, it seems like a great choice. What I'm worried about is my age... I will be 40 this Sept :crying2: ( I'm like a woman when it come to age, lol ).

Anyways, here's the situation... I am still working on my A.A., but should be done within the next 2 semesters then off to Nursing school for my RN. Is it feasible for me @ 40 to even bother with the CRNA degree since there is such a BIG investment on residence time? Is there a cut off age for new CRNAs?

I know this may sound trivial to you all, but like I said, age is a big factor with me, and yes I know it's all in my heads - for the most part; I mean heck, most of the kids I go to college with think I'm 27-28 years old, lol, and yes, I do feel and have the attitude of a 25+ young adult, stemming from the way I grew up I suppose, but none the less, I am 40 and just at the point of finishing my A.A. with many years to go to get that CRNA.

If being a CRNA is something you really want to do than age shouldn't matter. If you have another year before you even start nursing school, I'd say you have anywhere from 6-8 years to get all the requirements and experience needed to make you a strong candidate for school. Then add another 2-3 years for the actual program. Also realize the commitment and cost those 2-3 years of anesthesia school are going to require.

As far as a shortage, that really depends on where you live. There tends to be more job opportunities in rural areas and ares that do not have many CRNA schools. If you live in an area with many programs, you may find the market in that area saturated and opportunities limited.

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