Old RNs desire to become a CRNA

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hi all! Although I am newly registered to the site, I have been trolling for quite some time. Here is my story. I have been a nurse for nearly 10 years now. I started in the ICU straight out of nursing school where I obtained my BSN. While in school, I went through a nasty divorce that lasted some time. That coupled with being a parent and sole provider plus a military guard member my attention was elsewhere and not 100% on studying. As a result, my grades suffered. Once I graduated and began working in the ICU, I obtained my CCRN and became a BLS, ACLS and PALS instructor. I also acquired TNCC along the way. To compliment, I received several awards and accolades regarding my nursing abilities. So, now I am in my early 40s. I have always had the dream to become a CRNA, however I am skeptical as to how I will be evaluated based on my 3.14 GPA for the last 60 hrs of coursework. I am currently preparing for the GRE after which I will dive into online BioChem. Depending on the school I apply to, I may need to repeat some coursework since it has been 10 years. I would love to hear of others that have decided later in their career to become a CRNA who may/may not have had obstacles resulting in a less competitive gpa.

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Awesome story. I work with a chick who is 47 and in CRNA school. She works prn in our ICU still.

She failed a class in the anesthesia program but picked herself back up and is doing great.

She also had a GPA lower than you and was accepted.

There are a handful of members here that were accepted into programs with a GPA identical to yours.

Search for IndiCRNA. He got in with a 3.0.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Thank you. Stories like that inspire and motivate me to press on towards my goal.

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Specializes in ICU, SICU, Burns, ED, Cath lab, and EMS.

Go for it with the pretense your skin must be very thick. The experience is like basic..you know nothing in anesthesia school. My front loaded program tried weeding students out. In clinical, it was a hostile environment. Lot of riding by CRNAs and MdAs. Lost a parent during school and ended up with PTSD like syndrome. Unfortunately I didn't pass and haven't been the same. Back to nursing. Would have been 50 at graduation.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

First off, I am sorry for your loss. Losing a parent is traumatic experience to say the least. I would like to hear more about the hostile clinical environment however. How far in did you make it and do you plan to give it another try? Thanks for sharing.

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Specializes in ICU, SICU, Burns, ED, Cath lab, and EMS.

PM if you would like more insight.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I tried to PM ya but it says I have to have "15 quality topics" first. I guess once I meet that, I'll private message you.

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