Do I have what it takes to become a CRNA?

nurse111 · Dec 4, 2013

Keep at it man set your goals and go for them. I remember being in your shoes about 7 years ago, it's a long road ahead but very doable IF you are really committed. I am in the process of applying/ interviewing right now.

JoseQuinones · Dec 4, 2013

I'm not quite sure my class size, it's around 100-130 people I believe, but I noticed the same trend that A LOT of people want to be CRNA's as well. Whether it's the attractive salary or if it is the actual job I don't know.

I think it might be a dude thing too. I'm in my first year of nursing school, and it seems like almost all of the men say they want to be CRNA's. This includes men from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, as well as men from all over the USA. Several of them see it as a way to advance their careers in the military too. By contrast, the the women seem to be attracted to everything from psychiatric nursing to neonatal nursing to even a few that say they want to do geriatric/hospice nursing. Only one of the girls says she's interested in CRNA. We have about 50 members of the class, more or less, depending on the class. In our pharmacology class there's a girl who wants to be a cruise-ship nurse. Yes. They do exist.

Personally, I did not seriously consider going into nursing till I learned about CRNA's. Now as a first-year student and I am learning how broad nursing is, I'm not 100% convinced that it's my only goal. Only God knows. However, the fact that CRNA's exist was enough to make me take the leap into the world of nursing, and for that I am grateful.

future_anesthetist, BSN, CNA, RN · Dec 4, 2013

Hi there-

Yes you are off to a good start. Your Sciences are good, ie your pre-reqs, and they are what most schools are interested in in terms of grades (what I've heard from lots of people). And by taking each course as a personal challenge saying to yourself "ok I have to give this my all or kiss CRNA school goodbye" will really keep you focused. Also a couple points I wanted to share based off what I've been doing and what I've heard from others:

1) You may not graduate nursing school and go directly into ICU, even though it's what you want. I was fairly naive to think that I was going to get directly into ICU. I even completed my Senior Practicum there but boy was I in for a surprise when I graduated. I ended up taking a Med-Surg job and it's already been 7 months. Here I thought I would never do Med-Surg for a year. Things are looking good now though and should be starting ICU very soon. Just be willing to change and adjust in order to meet your goals.

2) Make sure you are super involved in your school and the community. CRNA schools like active, diverse students (again, from what I've heard and researched) so you have to be constantly staying even more busy than you already are in school. Some examples: I was President of my schools Nursing Association, organized a blood drive, mentored newer students, mentored skills in skills lab, etc. Maybe you could volunteer in the ICU at a local hospital. Be genuine in your involvements and be somebody that people look up to.

I wish you the best. Like others have said, it's a long journey ahead but will be worth it! I too had your same ambition from the very beginning and it's gotten me pretty far...I'm not there yet of course but it's a process... Good luck!!

msn10 · Dec 4, 2013

As an educator and an APN I would like to congratulate you on a great first step - grade cognizance. Few young people (and many older ones) do not have a professional development plan or the foresight to plan ahead and then miss wonderful opportunities later on. This is key for success in many areas. Building upon what 'future anesthetist' said, the best advice I can give you is to shadow for at least 2-3 days (as many others have said). Then talk to head CRNA's, MD's in anesthesia, or OR managers that have experience in hiring staff to see what they are looking for in a candidate. When I did flight nursing, I talked directly to the managers in my area before graduating school so I could plan my course. You can talk to as many people as you want on this thread, but I suggest going to the experts. As you are already wise enough to focus on grades and learning, the last step is to get a mentor. Find a CRNA instructor in your school or one in practice and sit down with them to develop your plan. Think about relationships because you will need strong letters of recommendation. Most of all, good luck. I like you passion.

mh0712, MSN, RN · Dec 4, 2013

Caleb, it really sounds like you are determined and ambitious; however, you have yet to see nursing or the ICU. Nursing and the ICU are what make a student ready for the CRNA program. Number wise keep up the great work. However, know you are just starting out and have a ways to go, but you can do it! Do not be discouraged and keep your eyes and mind focused! If you want CRNA the time will fly by and before you know it you will have moved on to the next steps. Congrats on a great start and best wishes on your continued success.

cdbranch13 · Dec 4, 2013

Hey guys, I want to thank you all for your advice and commenting; it really means a lot and you guys have some great information. I apologize for not writing back sooner I've been studying for finals all day the past two days. A lot of you experienced nurses mention that prior to going into ICU, you typically start off at med surg. I'm curious, what exactly is med surg? I'm going to do some research of my own but I'm sure in a paragraph one of you could sum it up better than a whole article online can. Once again, Thank you all!

mh0712, MSN, RN · Dec 4, 2013

Hey guys I want to thank you all for your advice and commenting; it really means a lot and you guys have some great information. I apologize for not writing back sooner I've been studying for finals all day the past two days. A lot of you experienced nurses mention that prior to going into ICU, you typically start off at med surg. I'm curious, what exactly is med surg? I'm going to do some research of my own but I'm sure in a paragraph one of you could sum it up better than a whole article online can. Once again, Thank you all![/quote']
Medical Surgical units are the typical hospital unit with patients having medical issues and often post surgical. This is the "basic" hospital unit. It often is staffed 6-7 patients per nurse- albeit every facility has different staffing ratios. These patients are not your "sick" critical care patients. These patients are not on vasoactive drips typically; however, some med surg units do have your basic drips. Basically med surg is where nurses start out and often learn good assessment, time management, and critical thinking skills. Many believe you MUST start here; however, the fact is you can be successful and go straight into a specialty without any med surg experience. However, it is harder to do it that way and often these new grads struggle with the basics that med surg nurses would know. However, at the end of the day it is the individual that matters. If you are determined to work psych or OB then perhaps you should go straight there. A word of caution though, when going straight into an ICU setting your assessment skills are not well developed. You must be very observant and keen to everything your two patients have going on. A good orientation and preceptor will make it essential for your success. Without that you will find it very difficult! Hope this helps!

future_anesthetist, BSN, CNA, RN · Dec 4, 2013

Hey guys I want to thank you all for your advice and commenting; it really means a lot and you guys have some great information. I apologize for not writing back sooner I've been studying for finals all day the past two days. A lot of you experienced nurses mention that prior to going into ICU, you typically start off at med surg. I'm curious, what exactly is med surg? I'm going to do some research of my own but I'm sure in a paragraph one of you could sum it up better than a whole article online can. Once again, Thank you all![/quote']
Med-Surg is a typical hospital floor that includes medical patients. Mostly "med-surg" only includes medical patients but certain floors like my current floor have surgical patients as well (meaning post operation). My floor is specifically urology/gynecology so a typical pt load for me is: 1 turp with a continuous bladder irrigation, 2 post-op hysterectomy's, 1 chest pain pt, and maybe 2 heart failure pts. Of course the conditions are always different. Hope that helps.

DizzyLizzyNurse · Dec 4, 2013

Keep those grades up! UB is a good school and the nursing program is very competitive. Keep in mind, the economy hit nursing too and you might not get ICU or even a hospital job right away. I had to start in LTC. There's still a tough job market here in Buffalo, but there are several hospitals in the area. ECMC or Buff Gen would probably be your best bet to get really good ICU experience. Try to network during school. Good luck!!!

PMFB-RN, RN · Dec 4, 2013

I wish you good luck but honestly I wouldn't worry about it. Getting into CRNA school isn't hard. I have yet to know of any qualified nurse who didn't get in.

In addition to the advice you have already gotten I would strongly suggest you stop telling people you want to go to CRNA school. I have know nurse managers to go so far as to check applicants facebook and talk to their nursing school instructors to weed out the CRNA school hopefuls.

Columnist · Dec 5, 2013

A lot of you experienced nurses mention that prior to going into ICU, you typically start off at med surg. I'm curious, what exactly is med surg? I'm going to do some research of my own but I'm sure in a paragraph one of you could sum it up better than a whole article online can. Once again, Thank you all!

We have a med-surg forum here. You might want to read the article Medical-Surgical Nursing as well as other threads in the forum.

PMFB-RN, RN · Dec 5, 2013

Hey guys, I want to thank you all for your advice and commenting; it really means a lot and you guys have some great information. I apologize for not writing back sooner I've been studying for finals all day the past two days. A lot of you experienced nurses mention that prior to going into ICU, you typically start off at med surg. I'm curious, what exactly is med surg? I'm going to do some research of my own but I'm sure in a paragraph one of you could sum it up better than a whole article online can. Once again, Thank you all!

Those who have cautioned you that you may have to spend time working in med-surg before you can get into ICU are right. In fact you might be VERY lucky to even get ANY hospital job after graduation.

But you should also know that many hospitals, usually the better of the bigger teaching hospitals, have nurse residency programs to train new grads directly into critical care.

As you enter your final year of nursing school you need to find out what hospitals offer such programs. If you search here on AN you will find lists of nurse residency programs. Then get yourself as ready as you can to apply to such a program. You might get lucky / be good and get a position and be able to enter critical care as a new grad. There will be a lot of highly qualified grads who are also applying for these positions so try to make yourself the best applicant as you can. Never too early to start. For example if you have the time I would suggest that you go to a community college and get your EMT and CNA and do as much work in those fields as you can. Preferably in a hospital that has a residency program so you can start building a reputation as a good and dependable employee and networking. If you do that make sure you never talk about wanting to be a CRNA.