Spolar

Literally was in the same boat as you. Live in CA, I'm 34 years old, my wife and I have 2 young kids, and we were doing fine financially. I had been working various PD jobs and my wife is an RN for Kaiser (got to enjoy her benefits so I could take the PD pay bump) Took me a while and dealt with a lot of anxiety but pulled the trigger and applied, currently in the first year at the kaiser/fullerton crna program. With a family and working wife moving for school wasn't an option so it was either the kaiser program or USC and I couldn't justify the cost of USC (when I applied to the kaiser program it was technically still the $34k msn... they sprung the DNP and new tuition on us after...which really hurt) So I won't be done with school and working again until the tender age of 37 which is hard to swallow. Combine that with the financial obligation of school, the hardship of being gone all the time when we get going with clinicals, and 3 years no income it was a huge decision and sacrifice for myself and ESPECIALLY for my wife. But I have ZERO regrets. Bedside nursing wasn't cutting it for my professional satisfaction anymore and I know when I'm 45 I'm going to be so much happier. And honestly I was craving the challenge, as nursing school was a joke. We hit the ground running in the anesthesia program and I'm happy.

I had my MSN when I applied to CRNA school. I'm older with a family so I could only apply to the one school I could commute to (super competitive school) so I'm kinda glad I had it to beef up my app. I'm sure it helped as it was brought up more than once in the application/interview process. I had thought I wanted to do NP then changed my mind towards the end of the program but finished it anyways. Definitely wouldn't recommend it just to apply though. Go back and retake your science courses if you need to bolster your gpa, get the highest acuity experience you can get, and get as many certs as you can.

Worry about becoming a good ICU nurse for a while. Stop getting ahead of yourself

My school specifically looked for leadership roles like committees, preceptorships, whatever. Obviously high acuity matters but leadership definitely matters.

First off, I'd recommend focusing on learning how to become a good ICU nurse. Not sure why but it drives me a little crazy when I see nurses who haven't even gotten their toes wet or worse, are still in school, worried about CRNA school. You still have a LOT to learn if you want to be a strong ICU nurse and get the good experience CRNA schools like to see. What you learned in nursing school is literally nothing compared to what you will need to learn to be a strong ICU nurse in a high acuity unit. Go focus on becoming a great nurse, the kind where other nurses in the unit come to you with questions or opinions when they're patient is making them nervous. If you diligently work on becoming a great nurse and trying to improve patient outcomes in your unit, in a few years you'll be the applicant schools are looking for. But don't do things "just because" you want to be a crna. But back to the CRNA thing. There's a lot of schools who min gpa is 3.0, but that's the min just for applying. It's not gonna get you in unless you have some STELLAR stuff on your application to make them look past it. If you need to retake any science courses, go take them and get As. Get into an ICU, become a strong nurse and get involved in your hospital. CRNA schools love a applicant who's taken on leadership roles, so get involved. If you care, I applied to one school and got in first go. I was already married with 1 young son and another on the way so moving away for school was not an option. Luckily we live very close to one of the best CRNA programs in the country. Here's my resume/stats: I got into nursing as a second career in my late 20s. Already had a degree in business so I did an accelerated BSN then rolled right through my MSN because I planned on doing NP, changed my mind towards the end of my MSN so finished it up since I was almost done. -GPA throughout MSN: 3.8 -Just about 3 years mixed ICU experience (plus DOU experience) in a high acuity unit. Where I worked it was optional to get "certified" for certain things like CRRT, balloon pumps, EVDs, impella, whatever. I took the offered classes on my own time and did everything my unit had to offer. -CCRN cert -Clinical coach for a nearby BSN program -Shadowed CRNAs for 2 shifts at a nearby hospital -In my first year of a 3 year DNP and just about to hit my mid 30s. You have plenty of time to become a great nurse and bolster your resume. There's some super young kids in my program who literally have 1 year experience, which is really almost nothing and I kind of disagree with a school taking that, but they also probably had straight As all through their prior education.

Brilliant just to get into med school? jeez your definition is loose at best. There's plenty of DO programs across the country that will take mediocre students. I have friends of mine that got in with what I would call mediocre grades and very average MCATS. Had I not been older when I decided to switch careers for healthcare that's the route I would've gone but I was already married and starting a family so chose nursing to start working sooner and get into advanced practice. After an accelerated nursing program I planned on NP and jumped right into that, got my MSN, but towards the end of the program decided anesthesia was more for me. So instead of finishing my clinical hours and boards I spent a couple years ICU and applied and got into CRNA school first round. Currently in my first year of a 3 year DNP. Obviously I can't compare med school because I didn't go, but I know for a fact that a couple of my friends who did were most definitely NOT "brilliant" and they are both speciality residents now (Psych and Sports med). They would be the first to tell you I could have easily done the same and I'm far from brilliant. Yes it comes easier to some than others but for the people it comes hard to, they just have to put in the work. What do you call the person who barely graduate and finished last in med school? Hint, you still call them DR. I know some very suspect physicians (nurses too) and it blows my mind they got into school let alone finished.

Yea I called and found out they have 4 alternates. It would be incredible if there ended up being a spot. If not, then next year will get here soon enough.

Everyone seemed like really good candidates on my interview day. I was really hoping to get in as well. I definitely won't be giving up and hopefully can do whatever is needed for next year because one of these days I will get into the kpsa program. Hopefully everyone else that didn't get in keeps their heads up and keeps trying to improve themselves. There's a reason it's one of the most competitive programs clearly. Just going through the interview process was a great learning experience for me and I'll be that much more prepared next time around.

Alternate list as well... wonder just how many people they place on that list haha. Maybe they say that to everyone. This was the only school I applied to guess I'll have to wait until next year.

It didn't go bad, but after a few days of reflecting it could have gone a lot better. I don't think I did anything to make myself standout unfortunately. I'm not keeping my hopes up for an acceptance letter. But I'll definitely be applying again next year.