Before I started nursing school back in 1997, I was forewarned that more people apply than can be accepted, it was extremely difficult to get in, etc.. This not only applied to baccalaureate programs but even the practical nursing program at the vo-tech. I was working as a CNA at a nursing home and a college student was telling me that her GPA was "good" yet she had been turned down twice to get into the nursing program.
So, it seemed futile to even apply to a school so I set my sights lower and applied to the practical nursing program. Well, I didn't have any trouble at all getting in. After that, I went through Excelsior College's ADN nursing program. Now, I am about to graduate from college with a BSN.
I am now hearing the same thing about graduate school. I haven't contemplated CRNA school because of the same kinds of horror stories about only a chosen few are accepted. Only the best. I heard this about NP school, too. Well, I bit the bullet and applied to NP school and guess what? I've been accepted (pending graduation this May) into a family nurse practitioner program. Accepted, and I haven't even finished a BSN yet. And this is no diploma mill, it's a state school. Before I ever went to LPN school I was also accepted into an RN program on my first try, but I couldn't go because the distance was too far.
I'm no scholar by any means. I am B+ all the way.
This leaves me wondering if all the doom and gloom about CRNA school is true? I always thought ooh, if someone can become a CRNA they are really up there, they have arrived. All along I thought NPs and CRNAs were part of some kind of mystical, elite group that few people ever had the privledge to realize. Now, it seems like the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy discovered the man behind the curtain.
Is it really that hard? Are the standards really that high? Or is it like everything else, you'll succeed if you're willing to do the work? Because if I could go work in an ICU for awhile, it may be more worth my time to be a CRNA. It seems like there is a glut of NPs now. Or, are CRNAs facing the same thing?
I'm becoming a little disheartened by the nursing situation. Jobs are drying up in spite of schools of nursing continuing to graduate two classes a year. Everyone and his brother can become a nurse practitioner, it looks like. I see on the NP page that they are overloaded with NPs in a lot of areas and a lot of them are returning to bedside nursing just to get a decent paycheck.
So, keeping in mind that school is expensive (this NP program will cost $15-17,000) I hate to say it's about the money but it is. I want to have a career where I'm in demand. Since it doesn't look like CRNAs have sold out to all these online programs (yet) I'm thinking it would be a good move.
I've actually been trying to find a hospital position for awhile now. It's gotten so bad here (Nashville area) I'm considering a move back to my homestate of Arkansas if I can find a job there.
Where have you been looking at? Our CCU at Centennial has been hiring quite a bit the last several months. It seems like Vanderbilt always has open positions as well.
Where have you been looking at? Our CCU at Centennial has been hiring quite a bit the last several months. It seems like Vanderbilt always has open positions as well.
I've applied at Centennial, Baptist, Vanderbilt, St. Thomas and UMC in Lebanon. The only one I heard back from was Baptist for a position on the renal floor 7p-7a. The recruiter was mistaken and thought I had med surg experience. She interviewed me anyway but said they were looking for someone who could train for a week and be on the floor.
The trend I see is that there are jobs here and there for nurses with experience, not newbies. I'm not really a newbie, I've been an RN 3 yrs. but haven't worked in a hospital, so that essentially makes me a newbie.
to the the op.... no it's not mythological. It's tough to get in. I was accepted to two schools this year but that means that 10-15 others were turned down. Not to mention the ones that didn't even get an interview, as well as that just being me; I'm not the only one that was accepted (duh). Point being; a ton of people are turned down every year.
MatthewRN
51 Posts
Where have you been looking at? Our CCU at Centennial has been hiring quite a bit the last several months. It seems like Vanderbilt always has open positions as well.