Length of ICU experience

bibibi · Oct 6, 2016

I did. But decided not to go.

stepbystep12, BSN, DNP · Oct 6, 2016

Hey bibibi, would you mind sharing a little more? Reason you decided not to? Which school? did you go for it later?

Thanks.

bibibi · Oct 7, 2016

I didn't go because the program cost doubled the year I was accepted. I ended up going to another CRNA program. But now I would recommend you to look at program quality and clinical experience rather that the cost of attendance.

dread_pirate_roberts · Oct 7, 2016

Stepbystep, did you apply this year? How much experience do you have? I applied and was granted an interview. I currently have 8 months of experience, but would have about 1.5 years by the time of matriculation if I'm accepted.

stepbystep12, BSN, DNP · Oct 10, 2016

Stepbystep, did you apply this year? How much experience do you have? I applied and was granted an interview. I currently have 8 months of experience, but would have about 1.5 years by the time of matriculation if I'm accepted.

Sorry i didn't get back sooner. I have not applied to any schools yet, but i am really interested in CRNA route. Which school did you apply?

dread_pirate_roberts · Oct 13, 2016

That's ok! I applied to a school in the upper midwest and was granted an interview for the beginning of November. I'm nervous, but I've been studying practice CCRN questions and I'm taking a graduate pathophysiology class so I'm hopeful that the prep will help me enough. I've heard of people getting in with my experience level, but I'm not banking on it!

I've seen in some literature that it's actually better in academic aspect if you're admitted with less experience because it's an easier transition back to "School mode". That same literature released by the AANA also stated that clinical competence is increased with more years of ICU experience. In the end though, I've heard it both ways - sometimes people with 1-2 years experience do very well in all aspects of the program, sometimes they struggle with recognizing trends and trouble with their patients. I think it greatly depends on the person and the kind of experience that "less than one year" was. Good luck!

bibibi · Oct 13, 2016

It depends on the person. 1-3 years of experience is good in my opinion.

Jfongsamouth · Nov 9, 2016

Hi. I just received my acceptance email today. At the time of application I only had 10 months of ICU AND nursing experience. It can definitely be done. The quality of experience is much more important than the length. Good luck!

FlorenceNtheMachine · Nov 11, 2016

When you are new, you miss a lot of subtle clues. That's just how it is until you get experienced. At a year or less, I missed those changes.

And, someone a lot smarter than me said "if you think you didn't miss things and let someone die, you did and your coworkers and leads knew it."

If a shorter period from BSN to MSN or DNP results in higher GPA or first pass NCE % then I totally can see the logic. But you will be less of a technician with experience.

Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN · Nov 11, 2016

This is going to sound harsh but whatever. While you can probably get into Crna school with less than a year experience, I think it's a bad decision. You're not a seasoned ICU nurse after a year, I don't care how smart you may think you are. Simply put, you lack the ability to see around the curve and see what's coming next. You don't know, what you don't know and that my friends is dangerous. Things can go wrong with anesthesia, fast and if you can't fix, your patient suffers. Anesthesia isn't a phyiscal job, it's all mental. You don't get paid a lot of money to sit in a chair and stair at monitors all day. You get paid for what could do wrong and the knowledge to fix it. So in other words, you need more experience, you owe it to yourself and to your patients.

dread_pirate_roberts · Nov 18, 2016

I definitely don't disagree with your statements, and I surely don't think they're harsh. There are many reasons I decided to apply with my level of experience, and I understand why this timeline I've chosen isn't a popular one with experienced SRNAs and CRNAs. I haven't heard back yet on whether I've been accepted to my program, but I am already feeling mildly anxious about the thought that I might not have enough true base knowledge to go if I am (I also never really give myself enough credit). Even though it's my dream, it's more important that patients are safe. We'll see what the mail brings. The interview board asked tough questions...and I trust that they will make the right choice, even if that means rejection this time around. I'm loving the honest replies though!