A rant and a question re: CRNA master’s program

Nursing Students SRNA

Updated:   Published

Hello all,

So I’ve been a (BSN) nurse for many years and finally decided to go back for a master’s in anesthesia only to find that the programs at the master’s levels have been phased out already even though they don’t really need to be until 2022?!

I am so freaking frustrated, especially because the anesthesia accreditation website shows search results for schools in my state when I select “master’s” for the search ?

How will this new requirement affect the demand for anesthetists when people (like me) don’t want to get a doctorate and say never mind, forget it? Yes, it’s “only” an additional year in school but...just no. /rant

Anyone know of any online master’s CRNA programs for out of state students?

Many thanks in advance.

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On 2/2/2020 at 12:03 AM, RN_2001 said:

Anyone know of any online master’s CRNA programs for out of state students?

Online doesn't exist. Personally I support the move to a doctorate degree mandate. Keeps barrier to entry high and helps safeguard high income and healthy job prospects.

There are still a small handful of masters programs available nationally. Cast your net wide and you may be able to get in before they transition.

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Specializes in SRNA.

Think hard about if you really want this. If you have a negative attitude about anesthesia school before you start you’ll have a hard time making it through.

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Specializes in CRNA.
13 hours ago, RN_2001 said:

How will this new requirement affect the demand for anesthetists when people (like me) don’t want to get a doctorate and say never mind, forget it? Yes, it’s “only” an additional year in school but...just no. /rant

I really don't think it is going to affect anything. Most people will just buckle down and do the 3 years if they really want to do NA. I guess it just depends on how bad you want it. I agree with ICU man, cast your net to all the remaining master's programs and hope you get in. It's the best you can do at this point if you are unwilling to spend the extra 9-ish months for a doctorate program.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

What would be different a year later if you complete the DNP program? I would say if that one year is enough to deter you, you don't want it bad enough.

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2 hours ago, Rose_Queen said:

What would be different a year later if you complete the DNP program? I would say if that one year is enough to deter you, you don't want it bad enough.

No, I don't want it "bad enough" for a doctorate but I do for a master's. It's the principle. Cost for school is already high enough and they want to milk another year of tuition out of students? How oh how did the healthcare system ever function with anesthetist's at master's level all these years? ?

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14 hours ago, ICUman said:

Online doesn't exist. Personally I support the move to a doctorate degree mandate. Keeps barrier to entry high and helps safeguard high income and healthy job prospects.

There are still a small handful of masters programs available nationally. Cast your net wide and you may be able to get in before they transition.

I'm an older established person with a family so moving for school is out of the question. Thank you for the suggestion nonetheless.

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3 hours ago, fourthtimesacharm said:

I really don't think it is going to affect anything. Most people will just buckle down and do the 3 years if they really want to do NA. I guess it just depends on how bad you want it. I agree with ICU man, cast your net to all the remaining master's programs and hope you get in. It's the best you can do at this point if you are unwilling to spend the extra 9-ish months for a doctorate program.

Thanks for the response.

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On 2/2/2020 at 9:25 AM, Defibn' said:

Think hard about if you really want this. If you have a negative attitude about anesthesia school before you start you’ll have a hard time making it through.

No, I do not want to get a doctorate. I stated that outright. There are various reasons for not wanting one, none of which have anything to do with "attitude."

I think you missed the points that I made, which were 1) lamenting that schools were *prematurely* phasing out the master's programs, and 2) that the anesthesia accreditation website's search made it appear as if master's programs were still available in my state.

The other point of my post was to ask a question, which you chose not to answer.

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Specializes in SRNA.
16 hours ago, RN_2001 said:

No, I do not want to get a doctorate. I stated that outright. There are various reasons for not wanting one, none of which have anything to do with "attitude."

I think you missed the points that I made, which were 1) lamenting that schools were *prematurely* phasing out the master's programs, and 2) that the anesthesia accreditation website's search made it appear as if master's programs were still available in my state.

The other point of my post was to ask a question, which you chose not to answer.

Most schools simply are not waiting until the last minute to institute the doctorate program. It is the new standard for graduating anesthetists so you may as well get on board. Many people have fought long and hard to get this profession where it is today. If you don't appreciate it, do something else. If you are really so mad at the COA because you had to google a couple programs, then you have a very low threshold.

To answer your question; No. The doctorate will make no difference in the job prospects. People that actually want to be an anesthetist will not cry because they have to put a little more into becoming one.

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14 hours ago, Defibn' said:

Most schools simply are not waiting until the last minute to institute the doctorate program.

Two years prematurely is hardly last minute, but whatever.

14 hours ago, Defibn' said:

It is the new standard for graduating anesthetists so you may as well get on board. Many people have fought long and hard to get this profession where it is today. If you don't appreciate it, do something else. If you are really so mad at the COA because you had to google a couple programs, then you have a very low threshold.

It was more than a couple, but OK.

14 hours ago, Defibn' said:

To answer your question; No. The doctorate will make no difference in the job prospects. People that actually want to be an anesthetist will not cry because they have to put a little more into becoming one.

Three undergraduate degrees, presidential scholarship recipient, BSN from a Top Ten school with a 4.0 GPA, CCRN, CEN certifications, TNCC, PALS, ACLS, BLS, preceptor, charge nurse and a multiple-time participant in a career advancement ladder and you think this has to do with not wanting to put in effort? Wow, OK.

I no longer have the luxury of time (i.e. youth) to take an entire year or more off of work and lose that income, plus take on the expense of an additional year of tuition. I figured that this would be obvious from my posts and I can't imagine why you seem so defensive/hostile? about this.

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Oh, I forgot. I have ENPC also.

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