Help!(CRNA)

[yiruma]

hello, i'm a bsn nursing student, who wants to get into crna school,

i have several questions for those people who have got into crna schools.

1.for next semester, i'm thinking about taking herpes virus reseach as a class this semester,

(lots of pre-med/dental students take this class, however, the professor from this research said i can take this course because i took two general chem w/ lab, biology and microbiology).

do you think it is that necessary for me to take this course? because i'm already stressed out about this class,

i'm afraid that i have to write reports every week, that i have no idea what to write,

plus this may sound lame, but i'm afraid that my advisor wouldn't like me because i"m taking such class like this that is not related to nursing,

if you don't think this would be helful what other research would you suggest?

2. other than nursing courses what classes exactly did you guys take?

such as science, did you take organic chem(not the basic one, but those organic level that pre-med studenst take), physics, biochemistry or microbiology during bsn program? what others would you suggest?

3. i'm thinking about doing several internships during every summer, what kind of internship do you think will be helpful and interesting?

4. actually i'm not american and i've lived in us for only 2 years,

i've taught myself english since i was 14(i"m 19 right now), so i do not have any problems with speaking (i've learned english from watching movies and lots of people think that i was born here, because i don't have any foreign accents)

however, i'm sort of struggling in nursing courses right now, i'm not sure is it because the way i study, or do i not understand the concepts cleary.

yet, one thing for sure is that i do study all those exam materials perfectly, but when it comes to the exam, i cannot find the answers of questions that requires thinking and thorough understanding.

could you give me some suggestions for this, how did you guys study?

thx~!

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Moved to the pre CRNA nursing forum

[MB37]

If you're struggling in your nursing courses, I wouldn't add an elective that isn't a requirement for CRNA school. Focus on doing as well as possible in the classes that you have to take - CRNA programs are very competitive, and you need to try for at least a 3.5 GPA. I haven't applied yet, but so far I don't have to take any additional undergraduate courses. I am planning to get a few graduate courses out of the way before I apply, so that my first year will be a little less intense. That also shows admissions committees that you're capable of doing graduate level work.

I can't really help you on the internship question. I think CRNA schools care more about where you get your nursing experience than how you spent your summers in school. I would definitely do something in health care, and getting exposure to either ICUs or the OR would probably be the most helpful. You can get a ton of study tips from the Nursing Student forums here, and I can suggest that you spend most of your time doing questions. Get a few NCLEX review books, and use them to study for your exams in NS. Answering those questions is a skill that you can learn, it just takes practice.

Good luck!