some general questions about admissions

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Oct 31, 2006

hey guys, I am a newcomer so please bare with the questions.
I am a soph in college, just about to finish my pre-nursing reqs, my hope would be that I can one day become a crna.
1. What are some good places to look for volunteer programs/what kind of volunteering should I be doing at this stage?
2. for getting into crnas, should I do the bsn, asn, or something else?
3. Is your field of major important? Im considering doing psychology because right now im not a 100% sure I want to become a nurse, as a backup plan I am considering being a clinical psychologist.
4. For crna, I know you need a bachelors degree to get in, but if I just become a rn, is it recommended that I finish college, or should I just transfer after I finish my pre-reqs.
thanks in advance

1) You need to demonstrate to potential nursing schools that you have been exposed to the actual healthcare environment and thrive in it. You need to be exposed to sick people in agony, with all their vulnerability, smells, needs, and demands. Some people think they want to be nurses, but when they actually get in the environment they run. I'd volunteer in a hospital.

2) You could do either ADN or BSN first. You will eventually need the BSN to apply to CRNA school. You could do the associates degree then finish the BSN, or just go straight for BSN.

3) I'm not sure what you mean. If you want to be an RN you need an ADN or a BSN. For CRNA you must have a BSN. For CRNA school you must have at a minimum, 1 year of critical care experience. This means employment in an ICU or similar critical care unit after you graduate from your RN program. Many hospitals don't take new grads into the critical care units, so you may need a year of med/surg hospital nursing employment before you gain your year of critical care RN employment experience.

4) ?? If you plan on CRNA you need to have at least a 3.5 GPA from your BSN plus the critical care employment of one year, plus stellar recommendations. Competition to get into nursing schools at the undergrad level is fierce. Competition to get into CRNA programs is even more intense.

DaughterofRuth · Nov 1, 2006

Good response there from multicollinarity. You might also want to do some reading on the pre-CRNA board here https://allnurses.com/forums/f227/