i.in2b8.u

Unless you really like being in training for more than a decade, this plan does not sound practical. Lets do the math. Say you finish your BSN soon so we'll discount that. At a minimum, you need one year of critical care experience to get admitted to CRNA school (know that this is a minimum requirement only and a rare occurrence. Most schools accept students with at least 2-3 years experience). Lets say you get accepted, now you go to CRNA school for three years. From being a CRNA you go to med school directly, which would take four years. Finish med school, then take one year of intern year, then three years residency. So 1+3+4+1+3= 12 years!!! Also, you have to consider the insane amount of student loans you'd have to take out for CRNA school and med school (not even accounting the opportunity cost of not making money while your in school). Lastly, considering that you can practice independent anesthesia either as a CRNA or an anesthesiologist, I would reconsider that plan..

My situation is a bit different. I am married, but with no kid. However, I can tell you that going through CRNA school took a toll on my marriage. We survived it, but it got rocky at times. There were times that I literally did not have time for my spouse. Either it was because I was spending long hours in clinicals, then be back in the hospital early again the day after, having 24-hour call shifts, or I was too busy studying. It was a loooong 2-3 years. Even when I had free time (for what little of it was) I was just so tired that I did not want to do anything. I'm thankful that my spouse was patient and understanding. Otherwise, we would not have made it through. However, looking back now that I made it through. Yes. It was absolutely worth it. For your situation, my advice is to ask yourself if becoming a CRNA is really what you want to do. Have you shadowed a CRNA yet and see what the job really is like? You mentioned that you love taking care of challenging patients. Anesthesia is not always like that. You'll have days where its all vanilla and you're doing lap choles and hernias all day. So make sure that you have the right reasons and motivation in deciding to become a CRNA. Ensure that your husband understands what going to school means for your family and marriage. He may have to take more share of taking care of your kid along with taking care of the finances, and understand that you may not be as available in the years that you are in school. Make sure you ask all these questions, and you are ready for a massive change in your life before you go into it.

I went to a front-loaded program. Although I personally did not work, some of my classmates did during the didactic portion. It seemed doable to them. You just needed to be very disciplined and organized in managing your time because you end up with very limited time to study. It was essentially Monday to Friday school, then weekends for you to study. Working one day per diem gives you one less day to study. In my opinion, the per diem shift money was not worth it to me. I would rather have one extra day to study or relax because CRNA school gets very stressful (as you probably already know). But of course, every situation is different so you do what you feel is best for you. As far as health insurance, you should check your school what coverage they give you because health coverage may already be a part of your tuition.

Despite everything I had to through. I only have one word. ABSOLUTELY!

Looking back, I wish I did this then. So spend time with your spouse. Go on vacation. Don't open your books. Don't think about anesthesia until it actually starts. Because honestly, once it starts, it's gonna be such a whirlwind that you're not gonna have time for any of that. Also, that way, you come in fresh. Just do all the admission stuff that your school requires you to do and leave it at that for now because they will own you for the next 2-3 years of your life. However, the prize in the end is absolutely worth it. Congratulations and best of luck!

Hi there, Here are some straight-forward answers to your questions. Answer: It depends on the school you are applying to. Some schools with religious affiliations may weight this more heavily than other schools, but I would not bank heavily on this for your acceptance. It adds nice "fluff" into your resume. If anything, I would go on your plan on find more opportunities in shadowing a CRNA on different levels of the perioperative continuum. (i.e. main OR, ambulatory surgery, pain management, etc. ) That would probably give you more bang for your buck.. Answer: Yes. Your GPA needs some work. Some (not all) anesthesia schools only look at your last 60 credits.. So whatever classes you retake, make sure you get As.. I would contact a specific school that you are interested in, and would make a "meet-and-greet" appointment if possible or attend an information session so they may give you some counseling on your grades as well. Answer: Yes. Most schools require undergrad O-chem, biochem, and physics classes as prerequisites for the program. Answer: Not necessarily, unless you can find these classes and you're confident you can get As. Answer: No, those are all just a bunch of "fluff." Instead, I advice that you study and obtain your CCRN certification. This is practically an unofficial requirement. Everyone that applies to anesthesia school have this. Also, since you work on a cardiac unit, you can obtain sub-specialty certs such as CSC and CMC after you obtain your CCRN. Lastly. My piece of advice (from someone who's gone through this before, and don't take this the wrong way). Having only 8-10 months of ICU experience is way too few to get you prepared for the rigors of anesthesia school. Granted, you may have at least one year by the time you apply (which I still think is inadequate). Instead, spend time in your learning and growing in your ICU. Learn about the complexities of taking care your CVICU patients. Spend time in that ICU and absorb everything you can learn. Show them that you can be a leader to the point that you can be charge/preceptor. Be involved in projects that will better your unit. All in all, I'd say at the minimum, spend 3-4 years in your unit before you apply for anesthesia school. Trust, me you need to develop first clinically as an ICU nurse and have those essential skills that can help you be prepared, and be a good anesthesia provider in the long run.

I had to take biochemistry as a pre-requisite for my program. Needless to say, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise as a lot of biochem concepts came up in pharmacology in anesthesia school. (You'll get intimately familiar with Henderson and Hasselbalch if you know what I mean;) So yeah, take biochem if you can. It can give you a good head start..

Its different in a way that most nursing schools only require a semester of general chemistry. Unless things have changed, I don't remember nursing schools requiring ochem or biochem. However, most anesthesia programs only require introductory ochem or biochem so as long as you get a semester of each, you're good.

For me, it comes down to earning potential when you get out of school, you could start anywhere from $150,000-170,000 per year (baseline excluding OT, etc). Lets say after taxes, take home money a month can be anywhere between $6,000-$8,000 per month. As long as you know how to budget, you won't have to live paycheck to paycheck even with almost $300,000 in student loans. Plus, you can also refinance the interest rates. There are many ways to get through them. If you get an opportunity to go to CRNA school and you're sure it is what you want to do, go for it!

Yes! As a matter of fact, organic chem and biochem are prerequisites on most nurse anesthesia programs!

You have good stats! The only one worth mentioning to me is your ICU experience. Working in CVICU and having experience with cardiac devices is solid for CNRA school. However, I think you need to put in more time.. Having gone through CRNA school myself, having 3,4,5,6 years experience makes a difference between 1 or 2 in ICU.. Putting in more years gives you chance to mature as a clinician, have a chance to be involved in more clinical scenarios, and improve your clinical-decision making. I feel like with your experience, you are barely scratching the surface of CVICU nursing. But thats just my opinion. As for your odds, its at least a good 60:40 (60% getting in) because you have a solid GPA and Ive seen schools give more weight to GPA than experience. As for your GRE, if you don't get in this year, just retake it again next year.. Best of luck!

I had Bs on Anatomy and Physio. I was an ADN. Went back to get my BSN. I applied to multiple schools and had multiple rejections. But I got in. I passed CRNA school. I passed the CRNA boards in 100 questions on my first attempt. So short answer is no, I do not say goodbye to your chances. Finish you ADN, get your BSN, work in ICU, shadow a CRNA, and as long as this is your dream, DO NOT GIVE UP!

I interviewed to this school awhile back.. Its a panel interview with the directors, SRNAs, CRNAs, MDAs. They look at your resume and your specialty and will ask you specific details about it.. (i.e. If you're a cardiac nurse, they may ask "how does epinephrine work on a molecular level") Whatever ICU you specialized in, just know the minutiae in and out like its on the back of your hand! Good luck!

I took online biochem at UC Berkeley several years ago. I give it a 4/5 for convenience since everything is online (except for the final) and they give you up to six months to finish the course. But overall, 1/5 for the experience. Here are the reasons why: 1. Like I said, everything is online except for the final. You have to find an approved proctored site and pay from your own pocket for this site to take the final exam. YOU HAVE TO SCORE AT MINIMUM 70% on the final, otherwise it is an automatic fail even if you were doing good on the rest of the course work. 2. Professors are not helpful nor their instructions on assignments are clear. Grading is inconsistent as well. There's no rubric that you are given so expectations were unclear. Also feedback was not helpful. You get it wrong just because you got it wrong. 3. The online modules are very watered down compared to what you actually do on the exams/online coursework. I learned more watching about the topics on youtube (i.e. Khan Academy, AK lectures, etc.) The textbook that they have you read is hard to understand unless you have a solid background in ochem/biochem. 4. Cost: $1100 for this class that does not even teach you well! Overall, unless you are a very good and motivated self-learner with a solid chemistry background, I'd recommend it only as a last option. I'd look elsewhere first before committing to UCB online... PS In case you're wondering why Im giving such a bad review, I did pass this class with an A-. It truly was just one of the worst online classes I've ever taken.

Difficult, but not impossible. Most schools post a minimum of 3.0 GPA to apply, but if you look at the averages for students it'll run around 3.5ish.. It's important to know the type of program that you're applying for. Every program is different in style and they look for a student that "fits" their ideal mold. Contact program directors early if they can make suggestions on your situation since they know what they're looking for. This is also good as you are networking early and show them that you are serious about CRNA school. GPA is a part of the equation when programs look for an SRNA. You can strengthen other parts of your application by spending a good amount of time in your ICU(get at least 2-3 years experience as a minimum), be involved in quality projects or research, and take the CCRN (this is almost an unofficial requirement on most programs). You can also take the CSC or CMC since you work in cardiac. Also, as someone mentioned on this post, some programs take a strong consideration on the GPA of the last 60 units you took compared to your overall GPA so you can take online chemistry, biochemistry, and physics classes that can help bolster your GPA.