please, for all that is good, help me!

paigec · Dec 15, 2009

You are just graduating from high school? Your first step it to go to nursing school and get your BSN. That is the qualification for most CRNA schools. Forget LPN that is just wasting your time. After you graduate get an ICU job because you must have at least 1 year of critical care experience. Then think about applying to a CRNA program.

C-DIFF PHIL RN · Dec 17, 2009

how about first becomming a rn first. if you can hack that for a yr then worry about progressing to crna.

whatnext · Dec 17, 2009

I agree, forget the LPN. Most hospitals don't even hire LPNs anymore. If you can't do the BSN right away because of money or time, get your ADN then do RN-BSN. I got my ADN and then worked full-time as an RN while doing my BSN.

You have a long way to go before you can even consider applyig to CRNA school. See if you really want to be a nurse, get thru school and then shadow some CRNAs. Keep your grades up and get some good ICU exprience. It's not as easy as it might sound. Oh, and by 2025 all CRNA programs will be doctorate level, but for now they are master's level and doctorate.

nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP · Mar 19, 2010

First, don't freak out. You have a long way to go before you can even worry about applying to be a CRNA, so save your energy to stress over things like passing pre-reqs, nursing classes, and the NCLEX.

These are the main pre-requisites to CRNA schools that I've seen:

Have a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing Degree (BSN).
Be a licensed RN.
1-2 years minimum work experience in a critical care setting as an RN. This means ICU of some form. These schools don't usually count PACU (post anesthesia care unit), OR or ER as critical care. Basically, you need to be able to run life support and all the high tech monitoring systems and be able to manage very seriously ill patients.
Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certifications.
A minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA.
A minimum 1000 cumulative score on the GRE.
CCRN (critical care registered nurse) certification is very appealing to CRNA schools. CCRN is basically a certification exam for critical care nurses that they can take after they have around 170 hours work experience in critical care.

What you can (and should) worry about now:

Get your CNA and start working. Nursing schools like applicants with CNA experience. It shows that you really want a career in patient care. You'll also learn a lot working as a CNA that will help you on nursing school tests, especially if you work in a hospital.
Start taking pre-requisites and shoot to get the best grades possible. Make sure you don't overload yourself with too many hard classes at once. For example, I'd recommend taking Anatomy, Psychology and English 1010 as a good starter semester. Don't load up on a ton of tough science classes at once, you'll be stressed and likely won't do as well.
Save up some money. Nursing school can be expensive. There are a lot of scholarships and grants available, however. But it's good to have a safety net. It's also good to have a reserve in case working and nursing school become a real hindrance to your grades. I think it's a good idea to be able to quit your job to do better in school, personally.

I can't stress enough the importance of doing well in school. You may think you need to work and make money while you go to school, but nursing schools are extremely competitive and some people end up having to wait years to get in. Take out loans if need be to supplement your income if it will help free up more time for you to get good grades. The loans are deferred as long as you stay in school, anyway.

As for me, I'm a 2nd semester nursing student. Will have my LPN in May 2010, my RN in December 2010. I too want to be a CRNA.