Lost Pre-Med Student: CRNA or AA?

[MementoMori]

Hey there! Lost pre-med student here. I recently had a change of heart and I need some god-honest advice. Thank you for your patience in advance - I'll probably vent a little.

I just graduated with a BS in Biology and a pre-med minor. The reason why studied Biology/Pre-Med was because I was planning on studying Veterinary Medicine, but after participating in 2 summer internships and gathering aprox. 1,000 hours in clinical experience, I realized the Veterinary profession didn't satisfy me. The clients didn't listen, the patients wouldn't get better, there was no teamwork, and I just felt incredibly drained at the end of the day. I base my life in compassion, empathy, service, and dedication, so I already knew I wanted to study/work in Health Sciences or Medicine.

After realizing this, my life came to a complete stand-still. Last year, in the middle of it all, my father got diverticulitis, and the inflammation got so bad they had to surgically remove more than 3 feet of intestine. I honestly thought I was going to lose him because his colon was close to bursting and septicemia was a big risk. The day of the surgery I met a very nice nurse that helped me understand that my father was going to be alright. She was the CRNA in charge of overseeing my father before, during and after the surgery. I began asking questions (bad habit of mine) and she explained the procedure to me while asking my father how he felt, etc. I immediately took a liking to her - our personalities were quite similar, she paid attention to detail, and she was very throughout with whatever she was doing. After my fathers surgery I began researching this profession.

My research came to a halt when I found out that you had to have a BSN to become a CRNA. At that time, I was only a semester away from acquiring my BS in Biology/Pre-Med minor, and I decided to just finish it and not change departments. I also found another anesthesia profession: Anesthesiologist Assistant. For this one, you need all the pre-med classes required for Med School (check!), take the GRE (I'm already scheduled to take this one in August) or MCAT, and gather clinical hours with either an Anesthesiologist or Anesthetist (CRNA or AA). Truth is, even if the AA profession suits me better because I already have half of the requirements, there are some details I'm not sure about - for example, needing to be overseen by an Anesthesiologist (no autonomy), not being able to practice in all states (including PR, where I'm from), and receiving a lower salary for having the same responsibilities of a CRNA. These are making me feel unsure about the profession being worth it.

On the other hand, to become a CRNA, I would completely lose everything I've worked for for the past 4-5 years. My 3.8 GPA was not easy to obtain, and those OChem, BioChem, Physics, Calculus, Adv. Micro, Embryo, Physio, Cell/Molecular Bio classes were definitely a pain in the a**. I already spoke to an adviser on our nursing department, and she told me that since I already have all those classes I'm allowed to skip first year of nursing school (they would validate them). That would leave me with 3 years of nursing school to complete a BSN (which would be my second degree), 1-2 years of experience as a RN, and then I could apply for CRNA school. Also, I don't receive any federal help. I worked as a private tutor and professor/laboratory assistant to pay for my studies. I don't know if I'm willing to do it again for 3 more years.

I don't know if I can get over the disadvantages that come with being an AA, but I'm also not willing to lose what I've gained in the last 4 years and suffer through 3 + 2 more years of it to become a CRNA, even if I'm just 23 years old...

PD. No, I don't want to go to Med School. Over-saturated profession, too much suffering for a common salary, plus a 400K life debt.

Told you guys I might vent a little. Thank you for reading my post and I'm incredibly grateful to all of you that help me with your advice! Be honest!