JCubby

i obtained my nursing degree solely with the intent of becoming a crna. i had gone to college right out of high school and did not know what i wanted to do so i went into the us army to help me find some direction. i knew that i wanted to do something "medical" but i was resistant to nursing so in the army, i worked as an or tech/scrub and found nurse anesthetists to be the most happy and well-rounded individuals that i had come across (imo). with that being said i went into nursing school with blinders on and found myself a bit overwhelmed - i figured this would be easy compared to pursuing my masters... so anyway, i began part-time work in a tele unit as a nurse aid and unit clerk to get a handle on what nurses do and how the hospital works, i did an extensive nursing externship my senior year (800 hours), i pushed to get my directed study in an icu, and i took my first position upon graduation in an icu. i am enjoying my time in the unit, but my goal is still to go on and become a crna. i can't see myself remaining at the bedside, but i have a great respect for those that do.

i also carry my own policy. my understanding is that you must follow your facility's policy and procedure pretty much to the "t" in order for their lawyers to represent you. also, if both you and the hospital are being sued, who do you think the lawyers are going to represent? [color=#2f4f4f]i do not make it known to everyone that i carry malpractice insurance, but it's there in case i need it - fingers crossed...

i graduated from a bsn program and we were required to take the exam during our last semester. the first one is "free" and we have to score a 850 or better to pass. anyone that scores less than the 850 is required to pay $35 and retake the hesi a month later. on the second one you have to score a 900 or better, otherwise, you have to visit with our dean of nursing and come up with some sort of study plan regarding the nclex exam. the exam is not part of our grade nor does the school fail us until we pass. it is simply used to help determine where the students are and what each students' projected pass/fail risk is. [color=#2f4f4f]i'm not sure how many people overall in our class did not pass with the 850 the first time, but i know there were some that had to retake it and still did not pass with the 900 the second time around. i have heard a lot of rns from various programs say that they did not have luck on the hesi, but they passed the nclex the first time. it would be interesting to see the research behind hesi...

supersn2008 - [color=#2f4f4f]if you go to your state board of nursing website, many states will post your rn license there before pearson does - just depends on your state and when you took the test. i had taken my exam saturday morning so my 48 hours were up monday morning. i checked my state bon site and it still came up with no license number so i paid my 8 bucks at pearson... my rn license was available maybe 15-20 minutes later on my state bon site. still worth the 8 bucks for me!

littlemiss1 - i was sorry to hear that you were unsuccessful on your recent attempt for nclex and i am praying for you during this difficult time. i wanted to comment regarding your questions about the hurst review. i had attended a live review in mid-may and i did the online videos of the lectures as well. i thought that both were great and i probably would have just done the online portion had i known they mirrored the live review. the review takes 4 days - 7 to 8 hours a day - just to cover the material that you should really know (she calls it "core content"). the lecture is taught in simplistic, easy-to-understand means, puts the concepts that you learned in nursing school together, and the content is said in a way that helps you remember what you need to know. what i liked about doing the online videos, is that i could go over areas that i felt i was weak in and just listen to her as much as i wanted until i felt i had a better handle on topic. she also goes over what to look for when answering questions... it worked for me, but it may not be for everyone. i studied for my exam using the hurst review and answering questions from a variety of sources once i felt like i was comfortable with the core content. i passed my exam with 75 questions and i felt o.k. about the exam when i left (which scared me even more since that usually means i bombed the test). if you have any questions for me, feel free to pm me. good luck and keep with it! you will pass!

courtney1202 [color=#2f4f4f]just fyi, i received my nclex results and i did pass... i'm surprised that there has not been more discussion on this topic.

hello everyone - i just wanted to say that i took my boards on saturday morning and i was able to view my results on pearson this morning (monday). i passed at 75! i think i am still shaking and in shock ... i have been reading all of your posts to help with my anxiety - you are a great group of people! good luck to those still needing to take the exam!

my hesi score was 947 and i had taken that back in mid-march. i just took my nclex exam on saturday and i'm pretty much numb waiting for the results. i went into hesi with low expectations since i had not done too much to prepare for the exam. the few tests that i was able to get done at home wer scoring in the 50's and 60's. for the nclex exam, i prepared by attending the hurst review, studying that material, doing some questions... [color=#2f4f4f]so ultimately, i felt that the two exams were similar. i could always narrow it down to two answers and pray for the best. i must say though that i had seventeen sata questions on boards and i don't think that hesi has any of those or maybe just a couple. from reading the various posts, it feels like the sata questions are becoming more previlant in the nclex exam. [color=#2f4f4f]however, if i found that i failed boards, then maybe i won't feel that the exams were similar!:grn:

i was an operating room technician in the army prior to starting my bsn and i too will be graduating in may with the intent of becoming a crna. while i miss the or and would love to get back into that environment, i would recommend that you get into the icu as soon as you can so that you can retain and build upon your assessment skills and other key skills that you learned in school and would otherwise lapse some if you go into the or. i'm not sure what kind of set-up some of those facilities have, but here the or nurses are circulating nurses and do not have much contact with the patients coming in or out of surgery. if you have some time and are not interested in pursuing your master's right away, then do what you feel comfortable with. good luck!

I have found that "Anatomy of a Job Search" by Jeanna Bozell has been quite helpful. It has sample resumes in it that you can get ideas from. Also, I went to Borders book store here locally and was able to look at some books that they have for more ideas as well. Good Luck!

I prefer the PhD multi pen. It has black and red ink and a pencil. They cost about 10 bucks, but this way I have everything I need all the time. The ink doesn't glob up either. Love it.

i'm in the same situation as well. i'm in my last year of a bsn program and the closest crna school is about 7 hours away. i'm trying to figure out the logistics with my husband and get some sort of time-frame nailed down (oh, and we have 3 children). from what i have gathered from other crnas that have families and had to travel, they said that there was enough time during the week to get your studies done so that you could go home on the weekends to spend time with family. something will have to be sacrificed and it will not be easy. you will have to weight the pros and cons and apply them to your own situation and family life. my husband is extremely supportive and we have been planning on me getting my masters as a crna since i started the pre-reqs to nursing school. he is willing to do extras during this time and we are even preparing my children somewhat so that they are eased into it when it comes up. we also have family that lives in the area that are willing to help out when schedules conflict. wish i could give you a more definitive yes/no answer to your question...

I'm nearing 32 years old with three small children and I have over a year of nursing school before I get my BSN. After I graduate, I plan on getting into critical care and then I'm off to applying to a couple of different schools to become a CRNA. I know of people that are both older and younger than I am now that completed the master's program and all are happy with his or her choice. If you want to do it then run with it!

From what I have seen from the various schools outside of the Air Force that I have looked into, a GPA of at least 3.0 is expected. A 3.5 to 3.75 would keep you very competitive. I believe the AF still wants a 3.0 or better GPA, but if there are say 50 slots and only 30 people apply… not too much to compete against since there are 20 slots not filled. I have not really considered the question concerning ADN vs. BSN experience in regards to civilian CRNA programs, but I would bet experience is experience regardless of which degree you have – you are working as a nurse. What I was referring to in regards to the AF, is that you may have to fulfill your original contract working as a RN before you can apply to the CRNA program. That’s why the 2-year commitment looks good. And you probably already know, but regardless of AF or civilian master programs, you do have to have your BSN when you apply. There is another area on this board specifically regarding CRNA information that I have found very helpful. And as far as I know, the AF requires the same things that many of the other civilian school look for. Your best bet is call the recruiting office and make an appointment to see what they have to offer specific to your current situation and maybe set some goals. An ADN would have you going in as enlisted – depending on what the recruiter tells you, I would recommend probably waiting to go in until you have your BSN. I hope this helps – sometimes I’m really good as “speaking in circles”!

I believe the same rules apply in the Air Force that would apply to a civilian school: you still have to apply to the masters program, still need a higher GPA, still have to interview, and you still have to have 1-2 years experience working as a RN… It’s just not quite as competitive and they accept more areas of work experience. There are various sign-on bonuses that would require certain commitments of 2 to 4 to 6 years and the recruiter cannot guarantee CRNA school since people have to apply for it and get accepted on his or her own merits. Maybe start small and go from there to see how you like it.