CRNA Schools No Experience Required

Nursing Students SRNA

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Hi-

Im in progress of completing my BSN currently, and am interested in becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, and my question is whether any schools exist that require no previous work experience.

Basically it comes down to the fact that I am impatient and would like to finish all schooling at once and start my career immediately as a CRNA. I have great GPA and GRE, the only thing I lack is the experience. Any options?

Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU.
I just have to chime in. Nurse Anesthesia school is not the "Cliff Notes of Anesthesiology". CRNAs and MDAs are two different types of providers providing identical anesthesia care with equal beneficial outcomes. The training is a little different, but it isn't a shortened version of anesthesiologists residency.

I meant in terms of length, not in quality

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

Even that doesn't really pan out if you think about it. MDAs do 3yrs of anesthetic specific training, and CRNAs do 30-36mo on average of anesthetic specific training.

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Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU.

My program is only 28 months and we get holiday breaks. Our clinical rotation is 16 months. Although the time-frame is similar, it's different than being a full-time resident.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
My program is only 28 months and we get holiday breaks. Our clinical rotation is 16 months. Although the time-frame is similar, it's different than being a full-time resident.

I will just agree to disagree. I have done this argument too much. I trained with residents and they don't spend all of their three years doing anesthesia. My hours spent in clinicals were just as much or more than the MDA residents.

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Specializes in CVICU / Open heart recovery.

Hi utahskiier,

Having a high GPA And GRE are great and they will help you get into CRNA school. As I am sure you have already found out you must have experience prior to being accepted to CRNA school. I must agree with a lot of the previous posters that "real" nursing is nothing like nursing school. You will learn so much your first year of work, you will be amazed!

I understand you are anxious and excited to get started in your career so here's my advice. Apply to graduate school somewhere and take some classes (just a few because you will be working full time also). I suggest graduate level stats, patho, anatomy, pharmacology (classes that will prepare you for CRNA school and impress the admissions committee). Also, when you meet the required number of working hours take the CCRN certification (the laura gasparis-vonfrolio (sp?) DVDs are really helpful). By the time you do all of that you will have in a few years of experience and be ready to apply to CRNA school. This was my game plan and I just found out that I got accepted to school (only applied to one school, it was my first time applying, and I got in!). Best of luck!

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There are a lot of negative comments here. Obviously she's just getting into nursing but knows what she wants to do. How can she know how important experience is if she hasn't even had the opportunity to work as a nurse? To the OP, I support you all the way! Go for what you want to do and let the naysayers say nay all they want while you go and get done what you want to get done! I researched a while back and found some schools that don't require experience. I don't have the list on hand right now but there are a few. Don't let anybody get in your way. Perhaps you could get the ICU experience while in CRNA school? I'm exploring all of my options, and the sooner I can get to work the better. Good for you for going after such a long held goal!

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
There are a lot of negative comments here. Obviously she's just getting into nursing but knows what she wants to do. How can she know how important experience is if she hasn't even had the opportunity to work as a nurse? To the OP, I support you all the way! Go for what you want to do and let the naysayers say nay all they want while you go and get done what you want to get done! I researched a while back and found some schools that don't require experience. I don't have the list on hand right now but there are a few. Don't let anybody get in your way. Perhaps you could get the ICU experience while in CRNA school? I'm exploring all of my options, and the sooner I can get to work the better. Good for you for going after such a long held goal!

There are no CRNA schools that do not require experience. There is one school that will accept students before they get the acute care experience on the condition that you have the one year of acute care experience before you start school. The minimum of one year of acute care experience is a Council of Accreditation requirement. CRNA schools have no choice to follow that guideline, if they do not it follow they will lose their accredidatiton. Home

[h=6]Requirements[/h]

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 one year acute care experience (for example, ICU or ER), and the successful completion of both an accredited nurse anesthesia educational program and the national certification examination. For more information about the nurse anesthesia profession and its requirements, please read the documents information below. Become a CRNA

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Specializes in ICU.

I wonder where the OP is now... Ya'll scared him. Haha.

I don't think being impatient will work in CRNA School. Just got back from the library after a 14-hr studying. I don't know how somebody impatient will handle that.

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There are no CRNA schools that do not require experience. There is one school that will accept students before they get the acute care experience on the condition that you have the one year of acute care experience before you start school. The minimum of one year of acute care experience is a Council of Accreditation requirement. CRNA schools have no choice to follow that guideline, if they do not it follow they will lose their accredidatiton. Home

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 one year acute care experience (for example, ICU or ER), and the successful completion of both an accredited nurse anesthesia educational program and the national certification examination. For more information about the nurse anesthesia profession and its requirements, please read the documents information below. Become a CRNA

Sorry to bump an old thread, but do you know what the name of the school is?

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Specializes in OR.

Though I would not be interested in attending this school, I'd like to know which one it is, as well.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

There are no CRNA schools that do not require 1 year of critical care experience (recently changed from acute care experience). It is a requirement from the Council of Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs/COA. The COA is the only accrediting agency for CRNA programs in United States. No CRNA program is going to risk their accreditation being suspended by admitting students that do not meet their COA requirements, and besides that the students wouldn't be allowed to sit for boards once their package was sent in for boards approval.

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There are no CRNA schools that do not require 1 year of critical care experience (recently changed from acute care experience). It is a requirement from the Council of Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs/COA. The COA is the only accrediting agency for CRNA programs in United States. No CRNA program is going to risk their accreditation being suspended by admitting students that do not meet their COA requirements, and besides that the students wouldn't be allowed to sit for boards once their package was sent in for boards approval.

I understand that all CRNA programs require a year of critical care experience, but didn't you state earlier in the thread that there was one that granted acceptance to applicants without it, on the condition that they have to have obtained it by the time they matriculate into the program?

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