Is CRNA realistic?

mh0712, MSN, RN · Mar 27, 2014

Hello I am a 36 year old nursing student with 6 months to go till NCLEX> When I started this journey I had my heart set on CRNA, I was able to shadow one for a few days in a hospital and loved it. Since I started the journey to become a nurse I have gravitated towards ARNP for the simple fact I cannot work as a CRNA and well at 36 (no kids) I do not have that luxury. Is it feasible? (take out emotion) My GPA hovers around 3.5 pre and during nursing school. I do not want a dream to turn into a nightmare. Thanks in advance for the advice.[/quote']
Ok so a quick story about my best friend. This started a few years ago...man is married with three kids and has good income with the suburban lifestyle. Always longed for a more satisfying career since he never finished college. Met an old friend from high school who was very successful as a CRNA, caught up and had dinner with her. As he was leaving dinner with his wife she said why don't you do something like that. 4 years later at age 41 he graduated with his ASN. At 42 he got his BSN from a top 20 university and worked level I hospital in their MICU which he commuted 90 miles one way. As of January 2014 he is starting CRNA school at 43. He did his research, planned it out, talked it over with his wife and other family, and made his goals come true. If CRNA is what you truly WANT, you will make it happen. Will it be hard? Yes. Will you be stressed? Most definitely. Will you make it happen? That's up to you. I wish you the best.

lady_stic · Mar 27, 2014

Ok so a quick story about my best friend. This started a few years ago...man is married with three kids and has good income with the suburban lifestyle. Always longed for a more satisfying career since he never finished college. Met an old friend from high school who was very successful as a CRNA, caught up and had dinner with her. As he was leaving dinner with his wife she said why don't you do something like that. 4 years later at age 41 he graduated with his ASN. At 42 he got his BSN from a top 20 university and worked level I hospital in their MICU which he commuted 90 miles one way. As of January 2014 he is starting CRNA school at 43. He did his research, planned it out, talked it over with his wife and other family, and made his goals come true. If CRNA is what you truly WANT, you will make it happen. Will it be hard? Yes. Will you be stressed? Most definitely. Will you make it happen? That's up to you. I wish you the best.

If you really want to become a CRNA and becoming a APRN is second best, the choice is easy. Lets leave age out of this because a friend of mine just started CRNA school at 42. If you haven't heard, 30 is the new 20, so technically, you're only 26. :yes: As for not working while in school, there are many options available. There is the military (not sure about age requirements), there's the HRSA, and there are still anesthesia groups out there that are willing to pay your tuition. You can work a ton of OT and save money before school starts, and take out student loans to supplement. You will be making more that enough money as a CRNA to pay back your loans and you will have no regrets (again, if this is what you really want). It will be a long and tedious road, but it will be sooo worth it! You'll be 41 or 42 when you graduate. That's still so young!

Yuppers21 · Mar 27, 2014

Many SRNAs have to supplement their income through student loans while in school, it is actually quite common. The fact that you have no kids actually puts you ahead of many other students who have families to support while going through a program. Just make sure you do not send yourself into more debt than you can handle. Far too many CRNAs graduate with heavy debt loads only to find out that their new found income wasn't quite as high as they assumed it would be or that the student loan repayments were much larger than anticipated.

Goose Xx, MSN, RN, EMT-P, CRNA · Mar 27, 2014

36 when I graduated nursing school. Worked SICU for 3 years. Graduated CRNA school and passed boards at 41. And I had both wife and child. It can be done. A lot of time and hard work. I missed a bunch of family functions, but everybody knew that going into the program. I worked weekend night program (Friday & Saturday night 12's for family insurance purposes). If I didn't have to work I probably wouldn't have.

ssrhythm · Apr 6, 2014

I was a 36 year old RRT when my wife and I committed to me becoming a CRNA. We had no children, and while we kinda wanted children, we decided to go for it and reassess when I was done. The move to where I was going to attend nursing school and then CRNA school put us in a situation where we were paying rent at two houses while having a mortgage on a third that was on the market. Financially, we could not have been in much worse shape for such an expensive and risky an endeavor; while my RRT GPA was 3.97, my overall was 2.7...I knew going in that I'd have to make all As in nursing school and even then, it would be no guarantee. We had our first child with 4 months left in my CRNA program, and we now have two beautiful boys, I love my job, and we are loving life. The moral to this story is that you are in no way too old to do it. You have the grades to do it. If you truly have the desire to do it, it will not be easy, but you will do it. If you want it to happen, there are plenty of loans out there to help you get through it. If you truly want to do it, commit to it and give it everything you've got, and you can do it. Do not enter into the journey uncommitted, and your dream, although it will seem like a nightmare at times, will not turn into a nightmare!

andrealhall · Apr 17, 2014

Can it be done, yes. I had a student in my class in her late 30's with 5 kids!! However you need to think long and hard about why you want to do it. If it is your dream job then go for it. However I find alot of RN's trying to do it because of the income and if that is your primary reason it wont be worth it to you. I graduated from one of the cheaper schools in a 2 yr program and the average cost was 100,000 for each of us (school+books+living expenses) Most of us took that all out in loans. The national average for CRNA's income these days is around $150,000. Most of my coworkers are paying over 2,000/month in student loan payments. Several people I know will not have their student loans paid off till they are in their 60's. The move is toward DNP and that will increase the cost of school, more credits are needed and your program will be longer in length. You have to decide if that is worth it to you. Talk to some of the newer grad CRNA's you come across. The cost of school now is vastly different for us now then it was for CRNA's who have been in the career for a while. The more experienced CRNA's experience in school may be greatly different than it will be when you are ready to apply.

badgernurse · Apr 18, 2014

Absolutely can be done. If it's what you love, do it and do not waver. You have had some great responses and if you need specific feedback, PM me.