tonyccrn

you must not have enough posts for PM's yet. when you do, PM me. tony

here is my advice as I was in a similar situation. (bad grades my first couple semesters of college). you must now really focus and make only A's and B's, C's are not acceptable now. do that until the finish your BSN, and your grade portion of getting into CRNA school will be covered. most schools look at the last 60 credit hours. also, some schools look past bad grades the first semester or two, as people mature they start to focus more on grades and their future making better decisions and grades. anyways it worked for me as i start crna school in 4 days. and I had some bad grades my first couple semesters of school. but after that i really focused and got all A's and B's. also be prepared to explain those poor grades when it comes down to it. and if you have to retake one or two of those science classes to show you have changed, do it. good luck tony.

hey knobby, dont worry about that 1200 you will have to repay back. if you can get in another icu, do it. Do not wait to fulfill their obligation, the obviosly didnt hold up their end of the bargain. just think that 1200 you will have to pay back will be holding you back atleast 6 more months of applying to crna school. provided you get another icu job and in school. 6 months earlier because you are out of this contract, and that is even if they let you at the end of yoru obligation. if everything works out you will be working as a crna 6 months earlier and that 1200 you spent to get out of a contract will be nothing. tony

knobby so am I missing something. you were hired out of nursing school into the ICU, but you are working in stepdown now. two scenerios I can think of and I will give you my suggestions. as something similar happened to me. 1. its a tough floor to work on and hiring people is difficult so they want to keep the people they ahve. not letting you move up to the ICU. 2. they do not think you are ready yet. I was hired into a two step program that transitions you into the icu, after my 9 months when i should have went, they did not let me transfer. my situation was number 1, it was a very hard floor to keep staff on and hire too. so they did not like to loose the people they had. so I applied at another hospital's ICU the next couple days after I found this out, got offered the job and the next day i worked I came in and handed in my two week notice. now yesterday was my last day at work in the ICU as I am starting anesthesia school in a couple of weeks. I would not let this job hold you back from your goals, start looking for other icu positions at other hospitals, and DO NOT tell anyone about your goals of being a CRNA, i have seen it to many times where people will not take you into the icu becasue of that. just my opinion tony

that all depends on the program. there are several nurses in my starting class who only have NICU or PICU experience. tony

exactly, start saving now. unless you want to strictly depend on loans, which a lot of people do. but who knows what the economy will be like then. i hear of people having difficulty getting COA loans now. start putting money away now. work overtime, buy a crappy car, do what ever you have to do to save money, so you wont have to borrow much when you enter school. tony

I say take the job and get into the ICU asap. then if you do not like it you can transfer to another unit while gaining your required icu experience. I think the micu does provide a good foundation for school, especially if its a large hosptial. I work in a large micu, and it is a rare occasion when both my patients are not vented. you will get all the drips like any other icu. so go for it, no sense waiting around while you can be earning valuable experience. tony

atleast 12 programs, not sure if any others are not on the list http://webapps.aana.com/AccreditedPrograms/accreditedprograms.asp?State=PA&s8fid=112257258001

Jome, while I am not a CRNA, I will be starting the program in a couple of months. your score was VERY similar to mine. there ae many other things that go into acceptance than GRE score. some schools look at them more closely then others. but references and experiences I honestly feel are the two biggest things looked at. maybe im wrong, who knows. cause everyone has at least the minimium requirements when they apply. if you have a couple of years to go, why not study up a bit more and retake the test, it shouldnt hurt. tony

RN2b while I am not in the same shoes as you. I too at one time thought it was an impossible dream also. I went to college for all the wrong reasons, and finally decided what I wanted to do (nursing and CRNA) after a couple of years of bad grades in college. well, after a very dedicated couple of years and hard work, determination and I attribute a little luck in there too, of improving my grades and experience, I will be starting crna school in jan. Now granted I am not a single parent with a teenager. so our situations are not the same. but I truley wated this and did everything possible to achieve it without a second thought of another career. If you truly want it, You will have to make the sacrifices needed to achieve your goal. dont worry about tapping in to your savings. there are VERY few people who do not take out a bunch of loans for school. just look at the long term, you will be much better off money wise later to pay off those loans you took out. ok, anyways goodluck. tony

Sig, if you have to go back for your BSN, some schools look at your last 60 credit hours. so seeing as you did very well in your ADN, when you go back for your BSN, nail that and between the two your last 60 credit hours should be good. now not all schools do this, some do so htat may be an option as well. tony.

another thing, some schools do not require a letter from your manager. so there is another reason you do not have to say anything if this is the case for trhe school you are interested in. the school I applied to did not require it, just required 3 references from those who can attest to your abiliites. so I went with the critical care director, another doc, and a crna. tony.

this is just my opinion, but if I were you I would not tell anyone. and in my experience I wish I would not have told people. even if you think you can tell one or two people who you think you can trust. dude, everyone talks and it spreads like wildfire in units. I ended up telling a couple of people, by the end of the week the whole unit knew and I feel at times I get bad (not good bad) assignments because im leaving shortly. ok, reasons not to tell. especially if you are thinking of leaving that icu to go to a higher acuity icu. i know first hand of people who tried to get into the icu i work and their managers knew they wanted to go to crna school and their managers told our manager. who did not accept them for this reason. also some people get jelous, envious, feel your a traiter haha gotta love that one, and treat you differently. now this is not always the case there may be some supportive people, but man its just not worth it. the time I would tell is after you give your notice that you are leaving to attend school. ok, thats my suggestions tony.

While taking O chem, shows determination. not sure if thats the best thing for you right now. unless you are pretty confident you will get an A in it. since you havent had any chem in awhile, I would say go with a grad level physiology or pharmacology class. much easier to pull an A in those than O chem. and right now you need A's and A's only. also check the requirements for the schools you are interested in. some do not require O chem, so no sense risking not getting an A when they dont even require it. this is just my opinion so good luck. tony.

what was your last 60 credit hours. alot of schools look at that. if that is still on the low side, what I would do is contact the shchools you are interested in and see what they have to say. explain your situation, i bet they tell you to get a good gre and take some grad classes and ace those then apply. you definitly have the experience, now you just gotta show them you are a better student then you were back in the day. which most people are! good luck, it can be done. tony