jaznaa

Whomever informed you that CRNAs 'cannot do epidurals' is misinformed. I am a CRNA student and we do epidurals everyday. There are many rural hospitals that do not have AA's or Anesthesiologist on staff. CRNAs provide epidural and spinal anesthesia to these patients as well. Please do your research. CRNAs are NOT limited in the practice of anesthesia in any way. We provide ALL realms of anesthestic care.

First things first: Transfer to ICU, establish good work relationships, get references and apply to school. Simultaneously, you can work on eliminating some of your debts and saving as much money as you can. I worked 2 jobs and picked up extra shifts the last year I worked before coming to anesthesia school. As far as the money is concerned, there are loans and scholarships available to pay for school. If I were you, I would be more concerned with making myself a competitive applicant (getting CCRN, ACLS, PALS, and taking some graduate level pre-reqs like research and theory). The money will come, acceptance into a program is the biggest hurdle, and its not easy. Applyng to anesthesia school is just as, if not more competitive than medical school, so if you're serious about it, it's gonna take some work. The minimum requirements will get you an interview, maybe. So, beef up your resume and good luck!

I'm 27 and I'm the youngest person in my class. Most people are in their 30's, some are in their 40's, and we even have some in their 50's. Look at it like this: if you're blessed enough to be alive in your thirties, you can either have what you want, or not have it. Far as I know, you only get to live once.

I can speak from experience because I am a 2nd yr anesthesia student that went throught a similar situation. I originally applied to anesthesia school in Dec. 2002 and basically was told that my small community hospital CCU experience did not provide enough swan and invasive monitoring experience, so in 2003 I went to a neighboring community hospital and got a position in CVICU, worked for 2 years, got my CCRN, PALS, re-took GRE and reapplied and got in. I don't think its neccesarily the size of the ICU (mine was 8 beds) but, the acuity of pts and level of care. In a CVICU setting that recovers fresh hearts, there is no question about experience with balloon pumps, vasoactive gtt titration, use of paralytics and sedatives, and vent management. All your pts require this level of care.