Order of events (quitting your job) from ICU RN to SRNA?

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Just wondering - how was your transition from an RN in your ICU into being an SRNA when it comes to work? My specific questions are:

1) Did you let your manager know that you were leaving, ask for a letter recommendation, apply, and then quit when you got accepted? What was the order of events when it came to leaving your job as an RN in the ICU?

2) Did you manager know that you had a goal of becoming a CRNA prior to being hired? How long did you work before applying? If he/she did not, when did you let them know about your plans to move onto CRNA school?

I ask because I'm planning to work in a cardiac ICU, and I have the eventual goal of becoming a CRNA. I've been told by an experienced nurse on that specific unit (whose judgement I trust) to not mention it in my interview. I'm anticipating that I'll work for 2-3 years, do other prerequisites and certifications during that time, and then move on when I feel that I have a good shot at being accepted.

I don't want to destroy my chances of being accepted onto the unit in the first place, but I don't want to burn any bridges either.

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Specializes in CMSRN.

I can't say that I've been in this situation but speaking from other experience, I would NOT mention this goal in your interview. If they ask about further education, you definitely want to state that you are very interested in further education (such as CCRN or other certifications) and always looking for educational opportunities. Most managers do not want to hear that their new hire has a shelf life of 2-3 years. While that may be true of anyone, it is not a good idea to bring it up from the beginning of the relationship.

As for how to approach it when the time does come, do it as simply as possible. Obviously, much of this depends on your manager and the relationship you have with them but usually being direct is the best thing to do. If you need a letter of recommendation, you want to approach your supervisor as soon as you know you're going to apply so they have ample time to write a thoughtful recommendation. Once you are accepted and know you are going to attend, give notice at that time so your manager has plenty of time to replace you.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Speaking from experience, this is what I did:

My current unit has a high level of turnover, so I didn't mention that I was looking to go back to school specifically in my interview. Long-term goals can be vague in terms of pursuing further education (CCRN, TNCC, conferences, etc).

Obviously, when applying, you have to let your manager know what you're up to. He/She should be fine with it, as most nurse managers know that the ICU is typically a stepping stone to further education. The LOR I got from my manager was actually very generic and kind of disappointing. I fared better with other colleagues who weren't directly affected by my leaving (doc's, educators, CNS, charge nurse).

It's hard to keep quiet about applying because it is such an exciting time, but my advice would be to keep it under wraps for as long as possible. Once people know you're applying, then they ask about your interviews, and you basically tell everyone the second you get accepted. Which is all fine and well, but where I work, they would then rather give the more challenging patients to the people who aren't on their way out the door so they can learn more (again, I work at a place with higher turnover). I spent 6mo being the "resource nurse" and taking care of patients who were ready to move out of the unit because they wanted to give the sicker patients to people who needed to learn so they had someone capable of doing that when I walked out the door. This is what happens to everyone who is moving on on my unit, not even necessarily for grad school, but to any other place. Seems great not having to do much work all night, but it's definitely not keeping you challenged when you're about to be facing the greatest challenge of you're career. My advice? Don't make it public knowledge until you're almost packed up and ready to go (obviously, give a generous month's notice).

Maybe other's will have had different experiences, but this is just mine personally.

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1) When the time came to start applying, I just walked up to my manager and told him I felt ready to go on with my education and was very direct with the whole thing; why beat around the bush? I have no idea what he wrote for my recommendation letters, but apparently he wrote good enough things that I got admitted. I have the type of relationship with my manager where I kept him in the loop as things went on. I let him know that I had gotten an interview when I found out, and also let him know when I was accepted to my top school. I found out I was accepted back in November and gave him my last day of work around January/February, as my unit is chronically short-staffed so I hoped to give him time to hire and train a replacement. I remained employed on the unit until June with no issues whatsoever.

2) Absolutely not. As I mentioned above, my unit is chronically short-staffed with a high turnover rate, and since I was applying to ICU with not a whole lot of floor experience, I did not want to risk my chance at ICU for them fearing I would be leaving in the next few years. As the others have said, stressing your intention to pursue education in the form of CCRN or other certifications is a good way to demonstrate your motivation to achieve without throwing away your chance at getting a job. In my case, I worked close to 2 years of ICU before applying; my manager had no idea until I approached him for a letter of recommendation. He was very supportive through the whole process, fortunately.

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I would actually say it's not horrible to mention your interests of becoming a CRNA on an interview. ICU managers are not stupid. They understand that 90% of the people that they are interviewing have the intentions of becoming a CRNA some day. They also understand that it is highly unlikely that a person will be able to get into a CRNA program and leave the job after just one year of working in that particular unit. Most of the ICUs in this country are very high turn-over and the managers understand that that will be lucky to get 2-3 years out of a nurse. With that being said they will be evaluating you as to what type of asset you will be to their unit.

I feel what is most important on an interview is to just be honest and make the manager like you in a way that they feel you will be an excellent addition to their team. Just don't say you plan on leaving after just 1 year to go to CRNA school. It's best to say it is in your five year plan and you plan to get experience, certifications, and become involved with committees in the unit. They will eat that sh*t up. I know mine did.

Good luck.

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If you are in the process of applying and plan to leave within a year, I would not disclose the goal right away. I would try to get to know the manager is first. All managers are different. With my first manager, she recognized that this was the nature of the beast and because of her understanding, I shared with her all my goals and plans. With my second job, there was no "real" manager so there really wasn't anyone to tell... I ended up asking the temporary manager for a recommendation letter before he left. After I got accepted, I waited until I was certain that I was going and I told the manager that I was planning to leave in 3 months time - which is plenty of time for them to hire and train. To summarize, order of events: hired, worked there for 2.5 years, got CCRN, applied, accepted in June, revealed to manager beginning of August.

2. Only 2 close coworkers knew I had this goal. I have mentioned to others that I was considering it but "I wasn't sure..." I downplayed it because I didn't want to be questioned or hear any type of negative feedback. However, if I had a permanent manager who isn't evil or shady, I would have shared it with her - especially if I had a relationship with her/him.

I completely understand where you are coming from. You could mention that you are interested in your interview to explore the CRNA route... that is reasonable to say. Trust your gut. All units are so different and have different dynamics.

Good luck!

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Specializes in ICU.

Current SRNA here. This is what I did.

1) Applied for ICU job. Did not ever mention anything about CRNA during interview. When asked where I see myself in five years, I replied with something like "Getting CCRN, precepting, working on my MSN"

2) Applied to CRNA school "in secret" never mentioning it to anyone except the two people on the unit I got a recommendation from. I did not use the unit manager for a recommendation since the manager never saw me working clinically (night shifter). Instead I used one charge nurse and my preceptor.

3) Went to CRNA school interview and was accepted. I did not tell anyone on the unit about this.

4) Charge nurse asked me one day after a few months if I ever got accepted so I told him yes.

5) Had to wait 6+ months between acceptance and the time to quit my job. Still kept everything as secret as possible. By now though the charge nurse must have told some other people because I had a few people asking me about CRNA school. If people asked me I would talk to them about it but otherwise I didn't initiate such conversations.

6) Once I knew I was going to leave the ICU in a month, I gave my manager 30 days notice. This was the first and only time I specifically mentioned the letters "CRNA" to my manager.

Some people might think I'm too calculating with my strategy but I took the approach that I thought was safe for me and as courteous as necessary to those who needed to know. Bottom line: Your manager doesn't need to know anything until you give your notice. If you were leaving for any other reason, you would just give your notice and be done with it.

There is no need to tell them 6 months in advance or give them a play by play for every interview and acceptance you get. If you want to be "friends" with your manager, that's fine but this is an extra, unnecessary step that can't possibly help you but could make your remaining time there more of a pain. Just apply, get accepted, and tell them when you are ready to leave the job (2 weeks or 30 days notice, whichever is the norm where you are).

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I asked my manager for a letter of recommendation and she was very supportive and wrote an awesome letter for me. I guess it depends on the type of manager you have (whether they are supportive or not)

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