armynse

The loan repayment that you refer to is for regular direct accessions. I was referring to CRNA direct accessions who are afforded the benefit of a $100,000 education. I was in study group when I received your reply and no one in my group believed your claim of being accepted to USAGPAN as well as receiving a signing bonus. If your claim is correct, you will be receiving a $130,000 bonus to join the Army and attend the #2 CRNA program in the country. Thank you for the heads-up! All 36 of us will contact branch this week and find out why we weren't eligible for that money. Army, SRNA

Bad news. The AF no longer has its own CRNA program. They depend on a precious few slots at USUHS in Maryland and at my school in San Antonio. I am attending USAGPAN in San Antonio and I'm currently in phase I of the program. There are only 3 AF students in my class and they are exceptional students. My class has the capacity to take 50 students per year. Do the math. We also have 3 VA students in my class. Once again, they are exceptional students. I'm telling you about the VA students because this is another option for those interested in obtaining a free education with a debt to be repaid by working. VA students only owe a 3-year work commitment. I will owe 4.5 years and I think it's 4 years for the AF. I'm not sure but I will gladly ask one of the AF officers in my class. They tend to stick together since they are so outnumbered by Army green, hooah. We all get along very well, the AF is the butt of all Army jokes but it's all in good fun. You cannot enter the AF with a contract to go straight to CRNA school. You are required to serve 3 years on active duty with the AF before you can entertain the possibility of going through the application process. There are a lot of military-related variables that could render you ineligible to apply to CRNA school once you're already on active duty. However, the Army provides a way for civilian RNs with critical care experience to join and go directly to CRNA school. Army, SRNA

I'm attending CRNA school and I will never see a tuition bill, it's all taken care of by my employer...the United States Army, hooah! I get paid on the 1st and 15th of every month...that's one less stressor to deal with while getting pounded academically. Army, SRNA

What are you talking about? I am an active duty nurse and I'm in phase I at USAGPAN/Northeastern University. My program is 30 months long, not just 2 years. The Army will not, I repeat, will not pay back previous student loans for direct accessions. As a direct accession, you will receive the benefit of a graduate education with a debt of 4.5 years upon completion of the course. You will likely earn less income than you would as a civilian RN unless you have prior military experience. Telling someone that they will earn full-time RN wages is a significant stretch of the truth. I, personally, earn far more money than I did as a civilian RN because I have 18 years time in service. However, there's a direct accession second lieutenant in my class and he's singing the blues because he took a huge pay cut to join the Army in order to go to school. I have to remind him that he would be in a worse financial position if he was going to a civilian CRNA school because there he would earn nothing and incur a mountain of debt. trixietl, please be careful about the information you disseminate. BTW, the ICU requirement is one year. Army, SRNA

Yes, all of my exams are cumulative in nature. However, we are tested on smaller blocks of instruction so that our professors can be sure that we have a sound grasp of the material before we progress to the next concept which builds upon the first. Simply put, if you didn't learn A you will not understand B, C, etc. Good luck in your clinical rotations... Army, SRNA

I used The Princeton Review. While many people prefer Kaplan, I didn't feel like Kaplan provided instructions for someone who had been out of high school over 20 years. I think that Kaplan is popular solely based on name recognition and those expensive review courses. At any rate, the Princeton Review kind of dumbed it down to my level...the math portion of the GRE is junior high and early high school level. Also, the Princeton Review puts out smaller more portable study guides called Word Smart for the GRE and Math Smart for the GRE. I carried the Word Smart book everywhere I went for a total of 5 weeks. You have to learn that large GRE vocabulary if you want to do well on the verbal section. Plus, I knew that my best chance of doing really well on the GRE depended on the verbal section. I wasn't interested in relearning all of that math. Long story short, I did extremely well on the verbal and I did better than average on the quantitative. As far as what would be considered a great GRE score...500 verb, 500 quant, and 3.5 analytical. Seriously, the GRE is becoming less important as a measure of a student's ability to succeed on the graduate school. It fails to predict how well a student will perform...all it shows is how well you take the GRE. That said, if your GPA is in the 3.3 or greater range you only have to score avg numbers. Conversely, if your GPA is less than 3.3 you might want a score of 1100 or higher. Once again, there are so many factors that come into play when applying to CRNA school that focusing mainly on the GRE is counterproductive. Sure you want to do well on the GRE, but don't stress out over it like I did and like so many others that took it before me. It's only after you've been accepted and matriculate in your anesthesia program that you learn how the other students performed on the GRE. There are many students in my class that have GRE scores in the low to mid 900s, but they padded their scores by exceeding the requirements in other areas. Hope this helps you and good luck... Army, SRNA

I know many people that got into CRNA school with GRE scores lower than yours. In fact, quite a few students in my class have owned up to having GRE scores that were Best advice, talk to a representative at the schools you're interested in before you retake the GRE. You might be pleasantly surprised. Good luck... Army, SRNA

I agree with you about the amt of material per test. I initially thought ok this is cool, but I have paranoid classmates who are terrified by this fact. Their argument is that a 50-question test will be extremely difficult because it covers so little material. I think our exams are set up in such a way that we will have to critically think. Rote memorization just won't cut it. I'm sure the patients will appreciate it. Army, SRNA

Yes, I am concurrently enrolled at Northeastern University in Boston. The Army's CRNA program is partnered with NEU. However, all classes are held in San Antonio at Fort Sam Houston. Northeastern's SRNAs will not matriculate until August. As a result, the Army, Air Force, and VA nurses will graduate in December 2010 and the NEU students will graduate in May 2011. Army, SRNA

MB 37, I'd like to weigh-in on your question. But, I must first qualify my remarks. I did not go thru an ABSN program. However, I cruised thru my BSN program with relative ease because of my background as a medical technologist and a combat medic. Therefore, I think that you and I have similar feelings about the path to BSN. That said, I gotta tell you that you are way off. I had heard all the stories told by SRNAs but I always questioned, in the back of my mind, what they brought to the table in the first place. Boy, was I ever wrong!! Comparing BSN to CRNA is like comparing apples to oranges. The lectures are rapid-fire and the amount of material is mind boggling. This is my second week of anesthesia school and I'm already wondering how my brain is going to process and store so much information. In a BSN program, you can get away with studying 2-3 nights a week. In CRNA school, only a fool would think that they only have to study on weekends. Falling behind on your studies would be an ominous sign suggesting impending failure. There is virtually no time to play catchup. My courses for the summer are Organic chem, A&P, Stats, and Physics. I'm in class M-F from 0830-1500. Try to imagine the amt of material that can be thrown at you in that timeframe. I say " thrown" because that's how all 37 of us felt when classes ended today. Break over...gotta go and make sense of this stuff. Army, SRNA

Forgot to mention that my class schedule is 5 days a week. For the 12 months of didactic there are 96 scheduled exams. Yes, we were given this bit of info on day one. Army, SRNA USAGPAN/Northeastern University

Just started a front-loaded program on Monday. Class begins at 0830 and ends around 1500. According to six-week schedule(subject to change), I will be taking 2 tests each week with written papers due also. I haven't wasted any time, first class was Physiology which we were told is the class the weeds out the most students. I'm studying 2-3 hrs each night, will increase study time when Anatomy starts next week. My other courses for the summer are Organic/Biochem and Statistics. It's gonna be a wild ride...the best advice that I have for my classmates is not to fall behind in Physiology, there is little chance of playing catch up successfully. Got my BSN at LSUHSC and Physiology was taught by the med school professors. Well, I'm currently suffering a touch of PTSD because, once again, Physiology is being taught by the medical science department!! BTW, my program has a 20-25% attrition rate. Good luck to all... Army

The New Orleans area is, in fact, saturated with CRNAs due to the fact that LSU and OLOL are intimate geographical neighbors. Current anesthesia students and incoming anesthesia students should plan on relocating after graduation. There is some good news and that is that plans to rebuild Charity Hospital and a VA Med Center are moving forward. However, the new facilities are not expected to open until early 2012 which likely means late 2013. As far as Locum Tenems positions, do you really want to jeopardize your new license as soon as you get it? How about malpractice on top of your student loan debts? I would want experience before I'd be willing to take on an agency job. Best of luck to all, Army, SRNA USAGPAN/Northeastern University (LSUHSC Alum)

Much like you, I couldn't stand being at the bedside. However, my disdain for what I was doing didn't really begin until after I found out I was accepted to CRNA school. However, I had grown tired of the political crap being dished out by mgmt about 4 months before I actually applied to school. The thing that worked for me is that I harnessed all the negative energy I was feeling and turned it into something constructive. I stayed at the bedside way too long, if I had stuck with my gameplan I would be graduating from CRNA School later this year. However, in the interim, I was enjoying being an ICU nurse. Yes, there was a time when I looked forward to going to work and I would pick up extra shifts without hesitation. At any rate, once I decided enough was enough, I used that negative energy and I began studying for the GRE. I studied for 4 weeks and I blew that test out of the water. Concurrent to that, I was researching schools and financial options that would allow me to keep my house and put my daughter through nursing school while I attended school at the same time. Long story short, I decided to return to active duty Army and attend school for FREE!! Now, I have an apartment in San Antonio and I can afford my mortgage as well. Because I'm on active duty, I am enjoying full pay and benefits which means that I have medical coverage for myself and my 2 kids...er, uh, they aren't kids anymore, they are young adults. Also, I paid my daugher's summer school tuition 3 days before I moved to Texas. The best advice that I can give you is to devise a plan and stick to it. Don't let anyone or anything distract you from your goal. Tell yourself, after having a horrible shift at the bedside, that what you are doing is jumping through one of the many hoops on the path to anesthesia school. Good luck in your endeavor...

Lesser women make excuses and give up easily. I earned both of my bachelor degrees as a single mother with two very young children. I couldn't have done that without support from my mom and dad...they were great. I also worked fulltime and graduated cum laude and magna cum laude, respectively. However, my undergrad programs weren't nearly as challenging as CRNA school. So, once again, I commend you. BTW, I have God on speed dial...I know that I will need Him when my program begins day after tomorrow.

Enjoy those 10 weeks. If your experience is anything like mine, you will wake up one day and wonder how that time got away from you. Classes start on Monday...OMG, that time has finally arrived.

I couldn't have taken another day at the bedside. I had succumb to total burn-out. I loved working in ICU early in my nursing career. However, once the challenge was gone, I just didn't like what I was doing anymore. Toward the end of my days at the bedside all I could think about was saving my back from a career-ending injury brought on by a 300 lb pt. I start CRNA school in a little more than 48 hrs. On those nights when I'm exhausted and feeling like I'm running on fumes...I will remember that 340 lb vent-dependent pt with C. Diff, MRSA, VRE, Acinetobacter, etc...and, it will be back to the books for me. Army

FLAreN, You are incredible!! I have to ask are you all human? Perhaps part machine? Kudos to you. I thought I was supermom when my kids were young, but you are definitely SUPERMOM!! I think that you are an inspiration to all mothers with very young children. Luckily, my kids are no longer kids, but young adults. I am officially an SRNA now and I don't know if I would be able to muster the energy to get thru my program with little ones at home. Good luck completing the remainder of your program. However, luck is not a factor for you as you are truly gifted... Army

Words of wisdom...:chuckle Preparing to start at USAGPAN, I couldn't have stated that any clearer!!

Neurogeek, I'm glad to hear that you are doing well following your ERCP. I just want to add that I have had equally positive experiences with MDAs. When I was still at the bedside I told all of the MDAs that I worked with about my acceptance to CRNA school and I received nothing but support and encouragement from each and everyone of them. They aren't all evil spawns... I don't get to visit this site very often as of late, my program starts in a week. My A&P instructor has already given us lecture material for the first week of school. Let the punishment begin . Take care and good luck at TCU... Army

My friend, worrying goes with the territory. But, I think that you should focus on the positives that you previously mentioned. The greatest advantage that you have is the fact that you are on the "inside looking in." You have been there and done that already...having well established relationships is a huge advantage. Don't focus on the 499 other applicants. Surprisingly enough, approximately half of them won't meet the requirements for entry into the program. I can't seem to wrap my brain around the fact that nurses actually apply for positions that they are not qualified for. Positions in an anesthesia program, no less!! Use this time to focus on the interview since it is the next hurdle to overtake on your path to CRNA school. Good luck and keep us posted... Army

Much to my chagrin, my alma mater(LSUHSC) accepted a PACU nurse for this year's class that will matriculate in August. I do not agree with the adcom's decision to accept that particular nurse. Sure, she is nice and all that other gooey stuff. But, bottom line is the fact that she is inexperienced in all areas of critical care. I know this to be a fact because she worked right across the hall from me. The high acuity patients were sent directly to the ICU postoperatively...we recovered all hearts in the unit. So, basically one of two things must have gone down, she either had a really good interview along with some inside help or the CRNA program was desperate to fill all seats. I believe the former is the more likely scenario than the latter. The program formerly excluded any and all nursing experience that wasn't specifically adult ICU...clearly, they've gone soft.

Reality: CRNA programs are very hard to get into due to the fact that hundreds of nurses compete for a limited number of seats. In order to maintain their statistics, mainly high passing percentages on boards, CRNA programs normally accept the most highly qualified students. There have been occasions where students with less than optimal academic performances have gotten into CRNA school by way of having stellar interviews, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Reality: Of the 40+ African American applicants to a local CRNA program which takes in its next class in August, a mere 10% met or exceeded the school's published minimum requirements. Every African American that was granted an interview also received an acceptance letter. Where's the discrimination here? I cannot fathom the number of unqualified students that go through the application process. What goes through their minds? Did you factor these people into your research, the disgruntled pre-CRNA applicants. Conventional wisdom will tell you that those individuals are the ones who beg to be heard...they are the ones who turn around and discourage other applicants. Your rant and utter dissatisfaction with CRNA programs will only serve to discourage potential applicants. If readers choose to hang onto your every poisonous word they will likely fear the application process. I know I would. I think that African Americans who read your posts will be left feeling like CRNA schools accept only a very small fraction of qualified black nurses. Perhaps only once every blue moon according to you. My reality: I am a successful and proud African American. You have no idea about the hurdles that I had to jump across or the hoops that I had to jump through in order to get where I am today. My reality: I know how to play the game. I know how to walk the walk and talk the talk. I have always made my presence known. I am a teamplayer. My reality: My application stood out in a stack of hundreds. I graduated with two previous baccalaureate degrees. Both programs were fiercely competitive, yet I got into each of them on my first try. Did someone forget to discriminate against me? My reality: I sent in only one application to one CRNA program. I got accepted!! Once again, did someone forget to use the "black factor" and summarily dismiss my application? My projection: I will be a successful student nurse anesthetist in the coming weeks. My suggestion to you: Please stop inundating readers with your negative experiences. Your words do not serve to empower prospective applicants. In fact, you are doing a grave disservice to the young African American community by planting the fear of failure in their minds. Success stories are far more encouraging than anything you have had to say. If you sincerely want to help other minorities...tone down the negative energy. Finally, FYI, several of my African American co-workers followed my lead and they will matriculate in their respective CRNA programs this fall. They shared your faulty thinking when they began the application process, but they followed through despite their fears and they will soon reap the reward of their efforts. BTW, they will all be attending CRNA school in the south...Louisiana to be exact! Army

Have you published your research findings? What statistical method and analysis did you use? I think that the AANA would be interested in your research findings. Perhaps there is a way for the AANA to track the number of highly qualified African Americans who are passed over for lesser qualified applicants. Your findings could be the catalyst to bring about changes in the way minority applications are handled.

I loved working in the ICU until I hated it...I reached burnout after 4 years!! My last year in the ICU was like living a nightmare. Once I learned that I was accepted to anesthesia school it became even harder to go to work and put up with the patients, the families, certain physicians, etc, etc... My last shift as a bedside nurse was on May 9th, when I clocked out at 0744 hrs on Saturday morning I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. All I was thinking was NO more bed baths, NO more tube feedings, NO more code browns, NO more alcoholic DTs... My greatest motivation to succeed in CRNA school...NO more nights in the vegetable garden. I didn't go to nursing school to be a gardner...turn, water, and feed!! When I'm exhausted and feeling like I cannot possibly study another minute...I will think about the frequent, vent-dependent, fliers that made my life miserable. Rant over...