So, I see a lot of people that have been posting about getting into CRNA school and a lot of the posts have a hopeless feel to them. I am here to tell you this is not an impossible task and would love to boost your confidence a little. So a little about me. (I made it into a TL;DR, you can skip the quotations and not miss the point)
"I was in school for four years to get a BS in biology with the hope of becoming a dentist. It never even crossed my mind that I may not like being a dentist, until in my senior year I shadowed one. When I realized this was not something I wanted to do, I was lost. My grades started to plummet, as I thought to myself I was doing this for nothing. I thought about other careers in the medical field, but could not find one appealing to me. I finally started looking to others for help and advice. I found my calling after talking to a man that was the biochem professor for the CRNA program at the university I was attending. He told me about the job and I got somewhat interested so I did research, lots of research. I found that it was going to take a lot of work to get into CRNA school if that was what I decided to do, so I needed to make sure it was what wanted. I started calling around to see if I could shadow as a college student, and after talking to 8 hospitals, only 1 was willing to help me out (liability reasons). So long story short I shadowed the CRNA for 12 hrs and fell in love with the career."
Knowing what I needed to do to get into CRNA school came next, I was like everyone else here. I would post asking about is my GPA good enough, is this class worth more, how long do I need to be in ICU. I would ask advice on writing my letters, getting recommendations, and retaking classes. To be honest, WTBcrna has helped me a lot here, and he will never know how appreciated he is. Anyways, I want to let you know that my GPA was barely 3.0 when I was ready to apply, that the GRE was something that was not the easiest for me (I took it more than once, having to leave the first time due just to me being so nervous), and that I was so unsure of myself that I thought that I would never get in anywhere. Moving to the present day, I have been accepted into 4/5 schools that I applied to and I had to choose where to go. So what did I do? I worked, and I worked hard. I retook classes (A&P 1, A&P 2, microbiology), retook the GRE (after walking out due to nerves), earned CCRN and CMC, joined organizations, became a leader in the workplace (charge nurse, unit council, helping with fund raising), spoke with CRNA schools in person and on the phone. talked with students, and researched all the schools I might want to attend. It was a lot of hard work, but I did it in 2 years, and it DID pay off!!!!
What I want you to take away from this is that it is not as impossible as you might think to get into CRNA, but do not think that sitting down and doing nothing is going to get you there. You may have to work harder than you have in a long time, and push yourself, but you CAN do it. It will take sacrifice, even if you are a 4.0 student. So what I am going to do is leave this open to questions, I do not mind answering them, but they may take me some time to get to all of them. I will quote you when I answer.
It is so nice to hear about stories like this. I am 7 months into my CCU position, starting as a new grad. I am currently studying for the GRE, and as soon as I take it I will begin studying for CCRN. I am applying this fall for CRNA school. I was a surgical tech prior to nursing and I LOVE the OR. I cannot wait to get back there.
Such an encouraging story! I love seeing your dedication. I too have a similar GPA and do worry about my competitiveness. I have gotten my CCRN my TCRN and plan on taking Advanced pathophysiology for my GPA. I will have worked 2 years ICU and 2 years Level 1 ER when I apply next July. I will take the GRE in spring and hopefully do well on it. Any recommendations on studying for the GRE? Also, hows it going? Would love to hear an update from you. Sent you a friend request.
Well I prepared for interviews by basically studying for the CCRN and CMC again before I went. This really helped me out at some interviews where clinical scenarios and questions came up. It is going to depend on the type of interview your respective school is going to give and you can get hints by speaking to the current students at that school, however, your interview might be unique to theirs depending on what you say and what their process is.
For the OP: How old were you when you started your CRNA classes?
I was 30 when I started my classes if I remember correctly and the average of my class seemed to be around the 26-32 range with a few that fell outside that range. We had one guy that was 23 starting and someone I believe in their 50's as well.
Such an encouraging story! I love seeing your dedication. I too have a similar GPA and do worry about my competitiveness. I have gotten my CCRN my TCRN and plan on taking Advanced pathophysiology for my GPA. I will have worked 2 years ICU and 2 years Level 1 ER when I apply next July. I will take the GRE in spring and hopefully do well on it. Any recommendations on studying for the GRE? Also, hows it going? Would love to hear an update from you. Sent you a friend request.
Well to be honest for the GRE I used Kaplan's review if I remember correctly, but probably any review would do fine. It was able to help me get a score that was well above the average the schools I was applying to required. As for how it is going, I am moving into my third and final year of CRNA school and boy has it been a hard and rigorous journey. I have never had so much information crammed into my head at such a fast pace. It really feels like it went really fast at this point, but it may have been because the studying was non stop and when I did get a break I usually had to write a paper or some other project I had to complete. CRNA school is nothing like any school I have ever experienced. I have had nights where I could only sleep 3 hours because I had to finish projects or study for a test. Then in the second year they threw clinical in with the massive amount of work so to say you develop good time management skills in an understatement. I am ready to be done, but am still enjoying learning. It is a bag of mixed emotions as you get burned out over and over again with little break time in between. I have to keep reminding myself what my goal is and I keep pressing myself to it. To sum it all up CRNA school is hard, but it is also very rewarding. If you go into this program and you don't have the resolve you may not make it through as this is that type of program, but if you are sure this is what you want then you can make it through and have one of the most enjoyable careers available.
Does anyone know if there is a disadvantage in getting my BSN from chamberlain if I want to be accepted into a CRNA program? I just found out that chamberlain will actually accept so many credits from my previous schooling that they will end up being cheaper for me than the local university I was going to attend for my RN-BSN. I know they are accredited by CCNE but I haven't been able to find anything on how highly (or lowly?) they are regarded by employers or schools.
Congratulations, I'm sure all the hard work was worth it. I know you are probably sick of GPA questions, but I really want to pursue CRNA, and this is a question that arises frequently. My nursing GPA is roughly a 2.9, and I've noticed the minimum requirment for a lot of CRNA schools is 3.0. Does this automatically put me out of the running if I don't have the minimum nursing school GPA? Granted, my overall GPA is a 3.34 (3.8 prior to embarking on my pathway to BSN). I want to make sure that before I put such an effort into trying to get into a CRNA program I actually have a fighting chance. I've noticed some programs such as Duke's CRNA doesn't have a specific nursing GPA, but a minimum cumulative GPA. Thank you for the time and clearing up the concerns of a lot of those frequenting this post.
I would say most programs will want your nursing gpa to be higher than your overall gpa. Some programs will calculate your gpa based on the last 60 credit hours, which can help, if like many your early grades are not your best. You will need to show your maturity not only as a nurse but as a student. CCRN and other certifications will help but with below a 3.0 I would suggest getting masters level classes and doing very well to improve your nursing gpa and showing you can handle graduate school.
I just came across this article and I feel like the words came straight out of my mouth. I am currently in my junior year as a bio major and until very recently I had planned to go to medical school. The more I thought about the more I felt like it wasn't what I truly WANTED to do. That I just decided on it because of the money and job security. For months I have been looking into other careers trying to find the perfect fit to no avail. Then I came across an article that talked about CRNA's and it really caught my eye. I began researching everything about it. From the education path and cost, to scholarships, to jobs, etc. I have decided this is what I want to do with my life. In MS you can get your BSN in two years after pre reqs or there is an accelerated program for those already possessing a BS in another field that takes 12 months. I plan to finish my undergrad and get my degree in biology and then go to nursing school to get my BSN. As doing this will give me two degrees and take the same amount of time as going ahead and going to nursing school. I would love to talk with you about your experience and get advice if you would be willing! My email is [email protected]
Spine_CRNA, BSN, RN
1 Article; 156 Posts
For the OP: How old were you when you started your CRNA classes?