I have a M.Ed. and B.S. in another field

srnamom · Dec 2, 2008

I can't speak for any particular program. You need to contact them and any other schools in your area, since you'll want to apply to multiple schools. First of all, make completely sure that this is really for you. It's an enormous commitment in time, money and stepping WAY out of your comfort zone to take on w/o being completely and utterly committed.

Secondly, take as much as you can at community college to save money. However, you have an option due to your previous bachelor's degree, to go the Second Degree/Accelerated BSN route. There is typically a rather long list of prerequisites, including all your sciences. And they're very rigorous time-consuming programs. But you'd probably get your BSN sooner. I took 50 credits of prereqs one year and 60 credits of my accelerated BSN the next year, and then was able to work on my ICU experience. Another option is to get your RN from a community college and work ICU while you're getting your RN-to-BSN. Most people need 2 or more yrs ICU experience to be competitive applicants to anesthesia school. Good luck to you.

MB37 · Dec 3, 2008

I would take all of your prerequisites for the BSN program at the CC if possible - don't know about MD, but where I live they count exactly the same in nursing school admissions. Then I would apply for an accelerated BSN program. You need a BSN for most CRNA programs, and unless it's significantly more expensive (remember you'll be paying for one year at the university versus two at the CC since the program is shorter), it makes sense to me to get the degree you'll ultimately need right off the bat. Otherwise, you'll have to take your RN-BSN courses while you work full time if you want the education benefits from work. If you're used to being a stay-at-home mom, it'll be tough to take too many classes and work at the same time - you'll miss your kids too much, and they you.

As long as you don't have to work at the same time, I didn't find my accelerated BSN program to be all that tough. It was very time consuming, but the average GPA of accelerated students was significantly higher than that of traditional students in my program. Since we all had already earned degrees, we had good study habits and knew what was necessary to succeed in challenging classes. Also, most of us were a bit older, and our priority was school and not what to wear to the next frat party. That's just my experience with one school though, it might be completely different in your area.

Look into all your options, including accelerated if there are any near you. Compare costs and benefits of each. Remember that you'll probably have to pay at least some of the cost of your BSN eventually no matter what - most hospitals cap what they'll pay for your school both per year and over lifetime employment, so you'd have to take only one class at a time AND transfer jobs every year to get your whole BSN done for free. Also, see what your state offers - mine will pay back up to $16K of my student loans over 4 years just because I work in a teaching hospital in an "underserved area" - this includes every large city in my state. That means I got my BSN in 15 months, I'm now working as an RN, the state will pay off almost all of my loans, and I can use my hospital education benefit to take a few grad level nursing courses early and make my first year of CRNA school a little lighter.