Graduating high school want to become a nurse anesthetists tips and facts on how to?

Scooby-Dooby-Doo · Aug 24, 2013

I'm a graduating BSN student who can probably help. You've got a long way to go but good luck. There has been many topics like this already on this site, just do some researching and you'll find answers to your questions.

1 - any intern/externship in critical care will do.

2 - get good grades, GPA, prereqs, gain experience etc...

3 - mínimum one year. more than one year is preferred for some schools. you need to check with which school you want to apply.

4 - I'm not familiar with any college programs but you can check out the AACN for students or ask your NSA chapter.

5 - good GPA, GRE, experience, leadership and organizational involvement, be well-rounded, and what I think is important is having a good sense of your "self" as a person.

cdscmb · Aug 25, 2013

The first question you should ask yourself is "why do I want to become a nurse anesthetist?". What about the work excites you? Can you see yourself doing it as a career? Have you shadowed a CRNA? You may be able to do that if you ask around.

In general, you could progress to a critical care area with about a year of experience based on your employers policies. This gives you a good grasp on time management and the basics of nursing. Or, it's possible you could be directly hired into a critical care position, it all depends on the hospital. Many people have been directly hired into critical care and have done well. The suggestions above are all good. Ideally, at least 2 years critical care experience for a good school. Plenty of others have done it with less, but the more experience you have, the better candidate you will be.

Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN · Aug 26, 2013

Honestly, having dreams and aspirations is all well and good n stuff but lets realistic about things.

- Why? If your answer is because they make a lot of money, then seriously find something else to do. Too many people have gone/ are going into nursing thinking that they will make a lot of money and they will always have a job. First off, we're overworked and underpaid. And here's a new flash in case you didn't know, there is no nursing shortage, and thats real talk.

- Do you even know what CRNAs they do? If not, you need to go shadow someone, and by shadow I mean follow someone for a couple days. One day doesn't even scratch the surface of what really goes on from day to day. You really need to do your research.

1. Internships - Getting an internship may or may not help. It didn't work for me. And honestly I went into ICU right out of school, it's not for everyone. If you think good grades and being smart are going to get your through it then think again. It won't. What actually goes on in the ICU and what you learn in school are completely different. As a new nurse you lack the experience that makes ICU nurses able to work fast, and think on their feet and anticipate problems before they occur. Which sometimes is the difference between your patient living and dying.

- 2. How long till ICU - It depends....Depending on where you live, it could be soon after graduation or worse case scenario you would be waiting 6 months or longer to find a job. And if you think I'm lying, search the forums. There are A LOT of new grads who have not found jobs for a long amount of time due to an surplus of nurses. If you are able to find a job and are only offered a med/surg job, take it, wait your time and then once you have a solid year of experience apply for an ICU position.

3. How long to wait- Some schools will accept 1 year of experience, some do not. It will depend on the school you apply to. However, to look competitive you need at least 3. It's also highly advisable to obtain certifications such as CCRN, and depending on what type of ICU you work in, CMC or CSC maybe appropriate. So in all honesty if you don't get into ICU right out of school then you're looking at 1 year med/surg, pluse AT LEAST 2 years ICU experience = 3 years. If you are lucky enough to get into ICU right out of school then figure AT LEAST 2 years. But the more experience you have the better. Honestly I wouldn't apply with less than 3.

4. +5. - No schools will 'help' you get into CRNA school or ICU. Only you can do that for yourself. It all honesty it does not matter one bit who signs your degree or where it comes from. What matters is your experience, and where you worked. Here a personal example. When I first got into ICU i worked at a small community hospital where we had only 15 beds and dealt with everything, Surgical, Neuro, Trauma, Medical ICU patients. I then left that job to go work at one of top 10 hospitals in the nation, A world-renouned facility. I worked there for almost 2 years before I applied to CRNA school. Long story short, If i did not work at that top hospital, I probably would not have gotten accepted. Therefore the best thing you can do is work at a high-acuity, tertiary care center, preferably a teaching hospital to have your best chance. Oh and as for grades...getting good grades is all well and good but there are plenty of people who were not 4.0 students and got in. I had a 3.2 GPA and got in. But I also held 2 state licenses, and had a list of certifications a mile long, was a firefighter and EMT of 12 years. In order words, make stuff to make yourself stand out.

- Sorry if this all sounds harsh and negative but I'm giving you the reality of things. If you want me to sugar coat it and blow smoke up your A** and tell you nursing is the best profession ever then sure I can do that for you. Nursing school will glorify the crap out of the profession and make you think it's great and blah blah blah. And then when you come out of school and you see how things really go down, you're completely disillusioned with the profession and will say to yourself, wait a min....this is not what I signed up for. Don't get me wrong I love what I do and I WOULD NOT change it for the world, but it's hard both emotionally and physically. Good luck.