what is the best route to take for my nursing career?

[octoberbaby90]

I am a pre-nursing student and I am almost done with all of my pre requisites and I am interested in working in the cardiac intensive care unit. I am not only interested in cardiology but would like to further my career and become a CRNA. I know that CCU nurses have to get extra training and im a little confused on what this extra training is. I am also wondering if I should start out as a ekg technician then go to nursing school then go to school to become a CRNA. I would just like to know what the best route to take is so I will have a better chance at a great career! :) look forward to all the input.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Truth is, you're so far away from dealing with CRNA criteria it's not even funny. First, get through all of nursing school. Pass the licensing exam to become an RN. Work a year or two in critical care to even qualify for a seat in a CRNA program; many hospitals will require you to work for a year or so on an acute care floor before transferring to ICU for the critical care experience you'll need before applying to CRNA school. So you're looking at a few years POST nursing school graduation. As you still have pre-reqs to do, that means you have a good number of years to go before being considered as a CRNA applicant. One question: If it's cardio that's your passion, why CRNA?

Becoming an EKG tech gives you just about ZERO advantage in any of the avenues discussed. As soon as you are able to become ACLS certified, do that: that's a bit of a help, but only a bit. Being telemetry-knowledgeable might also be helpful in landing a job after graduation; you can get that course later, too.

The ONLY thing you can do at this juncture is to pass your pre-reqs with excellent grades, get through nursing school with excellent grades, and put the required amount of time in once you're an RN to gain experience. Then go from there :)

[Fearless_leader]

Hi...

If I'm not mistaking an EKG tech just looks at the screens and monitor a certain amount of patient heart rhythms at one time. In addition to taking a patient EKG? I would think that starting off as a RN would be best. Then move on BSN to CRNA. I think all advance nurses need some kind of training in their specialty. I like Cardic as well as Wound Care. I heard you have to a certain amount of hours for that as well before you can further education in it. Every state is diffrent. However, check the Nurses forum for more info.