All Input Appreciated

[itswild]

Hello All,

I'm currently a year away from graduation at an intense BSN program in New York. Since my first year when l shadowed a CRNA, i've been completely intrigued by the profession.

I've been working very hard the past three years to build myself into a competitive applicant for grad school one day.

-I currently have a 3.76 GPA.

-Im in Sigma Theta Tau.

-I was President of our Student Nurses Association for 2 years, and am now currently the President of the entire student body.

-I've been in an ICU internship for the past year and will most likely be offered a job post-graduation.

-I've shadowed CRNA's before and should have 30 hours by the time l graduate.

My question for you: What can l do in my last year of undergrad to make my future application competitive? I am retaking Micro and Anatomy II (received B's) this summer which will increase my GPA to a 3.87.

Im hoping my leadership experience and ICU internship will make up for my GPA?

Any & all input is valued and will be taken into consideration. :)

Best,

Itswild

[loveanesthesia]

You are competitive, once you have some ICU experience you'll be a strong candidate.

[CowboyMedic, DNP, APRN, CRNA]

I agree, just get done with your BSN and get our ICU experience, CCRN, and GRE if you plan on applying to any school that requires it.

[CFRN1088]

Do well in the ICU. Be humble and learn. Take in as much as you can. Once you fulfill the hours and are ready, take the CCRN. Apply to CRNA schools once you get the experience. Your main focus is going to shift from doing well in class to becoming the best critical care nurse you can be. I found that in my interview, the board wanted to know how well I knew my *current* job as an ICU nurse, and cared a whole lot less about everything else.

[jj224]

Not to be snarky, but read through the many other posts about this topic. While it won't contain specifics that are only relevant to your situation, you can piece together what is needed from reading the other posts. If this only has 3 people comment on it, wouldn't hearing input from 10-100 people be more beneficial?

[PaSSiNGaS, MSN]

Your ICU internship means zip. They will want ICU experience as a working RN. Get a few years under your belt and if you're worried about grades I wouldn't waste my time retaking those two classes. If you want to show them you have improved GPA wise I suggest trying to take a grad level physiology/patho or pharm class or OChem/Biochem and getting an A in those. Don't waste your time retaking prereq A&P that a freshman in college could take. You need to show them you can take grad level classes and do well. Other than that you should be somewhat competitive once you get ICU experience even if you don't retake or take new courses.

[FutureCRNA18, BSN, RN]

I agree with the aforementioned comments. With one exception, although your internship may not mean much specific to being accepted to CRNA school, it can mean a lot relative to your ability to become a very proficient nurse within the ICU setting. I too was an intern during undergraduate, and I can honestly say that I was a step ahead of other new graduates because I had a much better understanding of ICU concepts and caring for ICU patients. After doing an internship for a year within an ICU, I was so much more comfortable with caring for those patients. So definitely take full advantage of that opportunity, and while you are there, ask questions and be a sponge. Learn as much as you can! I do agree that I would not retake those courses, I think your GPA is fine, just keep it there. If you really want to take anything, I also agree with just going with graduate level courses, makes more of a statement. Otherwise, become a great nurses, get certifications such as CCRN and other applicable certifications, and you should be just fine! Also, ensure that the ICU that you are in is high acuity and preferably high volume. The greater the variety, the better!

[DowntheRiver]

I would definitely not waste time retaking A&P and would take an advanced level class like pathophysiology or biochem, as someone previously stated.

[loveanesthesia]

Contact programs you are interested in. Some will calculate a science GPA for undergraduate science prerequisites. Retaking the undergrad courses for those programs could help.