I want to be a CRNA because I am the breadwinner of my family and need to bring home some more bread AND because I want the kind of flexible scheduling I so often see written into CRNA job postings. Since it will never be the case that I can be at home with my children (I have to make money), I hope to be at home with them as often as possible. First...
Are these the wrong reasons to go into this difficult specialty?
Second,
Is it true that I have to kiss my family goodbye for the 2 + years that I am in school? I am a hard worker, and was always a good student, but the thought of having no time with my children for 2 years (that I can't ever get back) is heartbreaking to me. Is there just no way around it?
You will not like this answer, but I will be honest with you....your answer is dumb...no offense. How can you base that he will not get into anesthesia school based on a paragraph? A paragraph where he is not talking about his grades, experience, or skills; but rather, asking a general question about feeling guilty about pursuing and obtaining monetary goals? So what if he talks about money? He has a family to raise and kids to put through college. Money drives our economy, our hospitals, and our world. So give him a break. He is blessed to be a nurse and more importantly, a nurse with the oportunity to become a CRNA to better his life and his family's life. Secondly, pursuing CRNA for the money is not a big deal. The average salary for a CRNA in this country is $165,000, which is more than the average lawyer, dentist, and general physician. AND count in some OT, on call pay.... you will have the opportunity to make easily make over $200K. So why do you see that as a problem? Because I see that as a blessing!
It is always interesting to read these posts from CRNA wannabees that can only quote you the average salary/prn rates that a CRNA makes. Why is it that you think SRNAs and CRNAs are so quick to point out that money should not be your top priority?
CRNA is probably the toughest school you will ever do. There is absolutely no comparison between nursing school and CRNA school. CRNAs and MDAs have the highest addiction rates of any of the specialities, so how much do you think that temptation would be for a student/CRNA that is only interested in the money side of being CRNA? What do you think you burn out rate would be for someone that is only interested in the money. CRNA schools can have exceptionally high drop out rates sometimes up to 30+%. My class has lost 16% as of this month. We just lost another student, and we graduate in December. I know of another student from another program that was dropped the last month of their program.
Before anyone considers being a CRNA they should look up and be conversant on several areas of being CRNA.
1. Job responsbilities
2. Differences between independent/ACT/Collaborative practices.
3. pre-requisites for CRNA school
4. Have a basic knowledge of CRNA history. How long have CRNAs been around etc.?
All these things can be found at http://www.AANA.com another website you should be intimately familar with if you are considering becoming a CRNA.
5. Then you should try to shadow a CRNA as much time as possible to truely learn what it is like to be CRNA.
Every CRNA wannabe knows about CRNA salaries, so first of all why even bring it up if it is not your most important motivator. For all crna wannabes that want advice and post on public forum frequented by SRNAs and CRNAs you should expect heavy criticism if the first thing in your post is about CRNA salaries.
Now, we would probably all be lying if we said that we didn't look forward to making more money when we become a CRNA, but it shouldn't be your most important motivator.
FYI: I am military SRNA so for all practically purposes my salary won't go up once I graduate.
I must agree! I am graduating in May and I must say if I didn't love what I do I would have quit my first semester. You NEED to love it. And yes, the admission committee will know your reasons why and really even if you fool them it will only hurt YOU in the end.
Admission committees have a well-honed ability to detect those who are motivated primarily by money. Someone whose main motivation is money will not be willing to put themselves through 2+ years of hell to complete an anesthesia program. Even those of us who want it because we have a passion for it, have many occasions where we wonder whether it's worth putting up with this life for more than 2 years, putting every ounce of energy we have--snip...[/quote]
CRNA wannabes?
I hardly see any humility here.
Of course, everyone else who is interested in applying to NA school has no idea that it's hard work.
If you want an argument you came to the right place. You can say and think all you want about the big paychecks CRNAs make, but I can tell you, that won't fly in an interview for anesthesia school.
Of course, everyone except the few who are chosen probably goes in there talking about money. To some poor schmuck making $20,000 a year I'm sure $165k sounds like a lot.
But for that matter, $165k isn't that much money, especially after taxes.
If you want to get technical with it I am sure most anyone isn't there out of the goodness of their hearts. MAybe we can hear from some of the CRNAs who know what it's really about to be a NA, and who love it so much and are so self actualized they donate half their salary to hungry children in Zimbabwe.
The CRNA who did my epidural drives a hooptie, and he certainly isn't wealthy, but he makes more than the average nurse and it makes things a little easier where the money is concerned. Of course, I'm sure this was never a consideration for him when he went to NA school. Of course not.
Admission committees have a well-honed ability to detect those who are motivated primarily by money. Someone whose main motivation is money will not be willing to put themselves through 2+ years of hell to complete an anesthesia program. Even those of us who want it because we have a passion for it, have many occasions where we wonder whether it's worth putting up with this life for more than 2 years, putting every ounce of energy we have--snip...[/quote]
CRNA wannabes?
I hardly see any humility here.
Of course, everyone else who is interested in applying to NA school has no idea that it's hard work.
Get real.
What is wrong with the term CRNA wannabes? I use the term for myself and even have an email address with that name in it, if something that as insignificant as that bothers you, you will have such a great time with the wonderful pleasant personalities in nurse anesthesia school.
I think to even meet the requirements for NA school you have proven you are dedicated and realistic enough to understand what you are heading for.
Jo Dirt,
I keep seeing your posts pop up with comments like these, and I have to say you sound like you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about. The pre-reqs for nurse anesthesia school won't even give you a clue or prepare you for the rigors of CRNA school. There are several SRNAs trying to give you an idea of the admission process and some clue what it is like in NA school, but you keep assuming that you know more than all the SRNAs on here.
So for you Jo Dirt, we are all wrong, all of us SRNAs know nothing about NA school, what it took to get into NA school, and have no idea what life might be like as a CRNA. I highly suggest that you keep your unflexible glowing personality when you decide to apply and get into NA school it will serve you so well day in day out in the OR when you are dealing with the mild mannered CRNA/MDA instructors and the always sweet and tender hearted surgeons whom loving taking time out to deal with delays/questions from SRNAs.
Of course, everyone except the few who are chosen probably goes in there talking about money. To some poor schmuck making $20,000 a year I'm sure $165k sounds like a lot.
But for that matter, $165k isn't that much money, especially after taxes.
If you want to get technical with it I am sure most anyone isn't there out of the goodness of their hearts. MAybe we can hear from some of the CRNAs who know what it's really about to be a NA, and who love it so much and are so self actualized they donate half their salary to hungry children in Zimbabwe.
The CRNA who did my epidural drives a hooptie, and he certainly isn't wealthy, but he makes more than the average nurse and it makes things a little easier where the money is concerned. Of course, I'm sure this was never a consideration for him when he went to NA school. Of course not.
For lack of a better word, you are barking up the wrong tree!!!
I keep seeing your posts pop up with comments like these, and I have to say you sound like you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about. The pre-reqs for nurse anesthesia school won't even give you a clue or prepare you for the rigors of CRNA school. There are several SRNAs trying to give you an idea of the admission process and some clue what it is like in NA school, but you keep assuming that you know more than all the SRNAs on here.
So for you Jo Dirt, we are all wrong, all of us SRNAs know nothing about NA school, what it took to get into NA school, and have no idea what life might be like as a CRNA. I highly suggest that you keep your unflexible glowing personality when you decide to apply and get into NA school it will serve you so well day in day out in the OR when you are dealing with the mild mannered CRNA/MDA instructors and the always sweet and tender hearted surgeons whom loving taking time out to deal with delays/questions from SRNAs.
Obviously, you think only NA students know what hard times are like and what it is like to deal with difficult instructors. This is kind of an arrogant assumption.
Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
I have heard only the best an brightest are ICU nurses as well. This has to be a joke because we had an ICU nurse come to the nursing home and she couldn't catch on to working in the nursing home. She would leave the 3pm-11pm shift at 2am in tears because she couldn't manage her time.
But then, what do I know...
There is a reason ICU nurses only have 1-2 patients at a time. Her not being prepared for the overwhelming patient load involved in NH care does not mean she isn't bright, or that she isn't a good nurse. There is a reason they want ICU experience prior to entry into CRNA programs. That confers at least a basic knowledge set regarding certain medications, conditions, and protocols.
As you have not yet completed a major part of CRNA school admission requirements (ICU experience), let me tell you something you might hear frequently in the unit - YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW. Stick with your NP program.
I see that you are a recent grad, who has in previous posts asked whether you should 'play the race card' when applying to anesthesia programs, and, before that, suggested you may be able to negotiate a higher starting salary as a nurse, by virtue of your male gender. Perhaps others would be more qualified to weigh in on this matter. You can learn a lot more here, in nursing, in anesthesia school, and in life, with at least a modest dose of humility.
What are you? My stalker? Or just have nothing to do all day long expect surf the web? Just joking. Yes! That was me! And guess what? I was able to raise my starting pay $2.00 more an hour! :yeah:I think all new nurses have potential and bring assets to their health care organizations. Furthermore, these same health care organizations are willing to pay for these assets at a fair price within the markets reach. But this is clearly a topic for another day....
Please to not assume one is not qualified to weigh in on "public question" written in a "public forum" that can be seen throughout the civilized world. Though no one needs to "prove" themselves here, I do work ICU fulltime and am a grad student and will be pursing CRNA with my first application this being mailed this fall. I expect some degree of respect and integrity on this forum. Furthermore, my reply was well stated, appropriate, and on-point to the topic at hand and the following replies. All without using inappropriate labels, assumptions, or rude/ignorant statements (Unlike you, I didn't have to search far for your lack of intellectual integrity ).
No back to the topic....everybody has a reason to pursue their career choice. These "reasons" varies from person to person depending on current social and cultural norms. If you lived in a 3rd world country, would you expect to pursue a career where money wasn't an issue, but rather, chose that career for the sake of inner preferance? Get real! We all have a fight for survival. And just because we live in the USA doesn't mean we are immune to economic collapse and finacial hardships within our family. Though the fight for survival isn't as archaic as what are ancestors went through, clearly the inital poster feels within himself the need to pursue CRNA as a potential to obtain monetary success; not only for himself, but for his "family". A "family" he loves and would do ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING FOR!! I.E. BECOMING A CRNA!!! Of course he could easily obtain success in various ways, however, CRNA might appear to be the easiest for him. We don't know his current situation? He could be absolutely brialliant and do fine in the extremely hard curriculum of the crna program. So I say! Go for It!!!! Yes, anesthesia might appeal to some as "love" but to mandate a divine passion as the cheif component of success within this field is freakin rediculous! 4amCoffee never stated he would be absolutely miserable if he pursued CRNA either...so why are we acting like he will be? There is a shortage of anesthesia providers and the more we can increase applications into CRNA programs, the more we will increase competition of applicants, which will provide better and smarter CRNA's than classes previous. So I say go for it 4amCoffee if thats what you really want to do, afterall, its YOUR life, not ours.... :wink2::) ...we are just here to give opinions even though "some posters" on here want to silence anyone who disagrees with their stance :D:chuckle j/j
:yeah:I think all new nurses have potential and bring assets to their health care organizations. Furthermore, these same health care organizations are willing to pay for these assets at a fair price within the markets reach. But this is clearly a topic for another day....
). 
:) ...we are just here to give opinions even though "some posters" on here want to silence anyone who disagrees with their stance 
:D:chuckle j/j
wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA
5,128 Posts
It is always interesting to read these posts from CRNA wannabees that can only quote you the average salary/prn rates that a CRNA makes. Why is it that you think SRNAs and CRNAs are so quick to point out that money should not be your top priority?
CRNA is probably the toughest school you will ever do. There is absolutely no comparison between nursing school and CRNA school. CRNAs and MDAs have the highest addiction rates of any of the specialities, so how much do you think that temptation would be for a student/CRNA that is only interested in the money side of being CRNA? What do you think you burn out rate would be for someone that is only interested in the money. CRNA schools can have exceptionally high drop out rates sometimes up to 30+%. My class has lost 16% as of this month. We just lost another student, and we graduate in December. I know of another student from another program that was dropped the last month of their program.
Before anyone considers being a CRNA they should look up and be conversant on several areas of being CRNA.
1. Job responsbilities
2. Differences between independent/ACT/Collaborative practices.
3. pre-requisites for CRNA school
4. Have a basic knowledge of CRNA history. How long have CRNAs been around etc.?
All these things can be found at http://www.AANA.com another website you should be intimately familar with if you are considering becoming a CRNA.
5. Then you should try to shadow a CRNA as much time as possible to truely learn what it is like to be CRNA.
Every CRNA wannabe knows about CRNA salaries, so first of all why even bring it up if it is not your most important motivator. For all crna wannabes that want advice and post on public forum frequented by SRNAs and CRNAs you should expect heavy criticism if the first thing in your post is about CRNA salaries.
Now, we would probably all be lying if we said that we didn't look forward to making more money when we become a CRNA, but it shouldn't be your most important motivator.
FYI: I am military SRNA so for all practically purposes my salary won't go up once I graduate.