MichiganChris

Hello All, I am in process of making a career change from real estate into health care. I am planing on starting school this fall, but have a couple questions before doing so. I definetly want to work in the OR, most likely as a scrub nurse and/or circular nurse. But I also have interest in becoming a first assistant. I'm curious what everybody thinks is the best route to get there (keeping in mind I'm 35 years old). Would there be a significant advantage to getting my BSN as opposed to going the community college route? I have a community college that is within 5 miles of my house and has VERY cheap tuition (about 25% of the university I would go to for a BSN), but at the same time I don't want to spend 2 years in school, if it will still be a struggle to get a job. So, my question is, if I want to scrub and later get my rnfa is it worth the extra time and money to go for my BSN? Will I be any better off in terms of job opportunities and pay having a BSN vs an associates (keeping in mind, I plan to go for my rnfa)? Also, would you consider going the surgical tech to surgical assitant route? I'm sorry for sooo many questions, but I have been holding on to a real estate career in a tough ecomony, and I just want to make sure I'm making the right decision, because I don't want to end up in this spot again. Thanks for your help! Chris

Thanks TBICU. I see you are from Michigan as well, what area? Are you currently in school or working?

Hello All, Just wanted to get a feel for everybodys' creditials before applying to your crna program. What was your GPA? How much nursing experience did you have before applying? And what areas did you work in? I'm 34 and just starting my bsn this winter. I would ultimately like to become a crna, but I feel like I'm too old. After 4 years to get my bsn, then a year experience in the ICU and were talking 40 years old before even starting crna school. I also feel like only 1 years experiece really isn't enough to get me ready for crna school, so that could push me back even further. What do you think? By the way...Does anybody have a time machine?

Great input. Thanks All.

Do you think its an advantage to take your bsn at a school that offers crna, if your ultimate goal is to become a crna? I'm narrowing my choices as to were to take my bsn, and one school offers crna and the other doesn't. Do you think it would be any easier to get accepted into the crna program if you took your bsn there? Obviously, it would be several years down the road, but I feel like this might give me a slight advantage. Only problem is, the school with the crna is more expensive and further away. What does everybody think? Thanks

Thank you all. Great info.

Hello All, I'm new to this forum and just recently started looking into nursing as a profession. I would really like to work in the OR and I'm hoping you guys can help clear up a few things for me. I hear Operating Room nurses referred to as: Surgical Assistants, Surgical First Assistant, Operating Room Nurse, Scrub Nurse, Circulator Nurse, Surgical Techs, etc... First of all how many types of OR Nurses are there and what do they all do? I thought I had this narrowed down when I started looking into nursing then into OR nursing. Geez. Thanks for any help in advance.

From what I hear, most students enrolled in CRNA programs are not able to work, because of the high demands of the program. I'm wondering how those of you who did this were able to make it without an income? Did your employer pay/reimbuse you, did you get loans to pay your bills, what did you do? My ultimate goal is to become a CRNA, but I don't know if I could handle the extremely difficult course work, not to mention finding a way to survive financially. Please share with me how you did this. I have a ton of respect for you CRNA's.

This is probably a weird question to ask, but... I am considering going to school to get my BSN, but I'm not really interested in being a bedside nurse. The idea of going from bed to bed checking on people, administering medication, etc... doesn't excite me (sorry if thats generalizing). I am much more interested in something along the lines of a Surgical Assistant, maybe CRNA down the road, I'm also interested in MRI, ultrasound tech and other "diagnostic type" positions. I realise those are different degrees, but my dilema is that I already have my first 2 years of college (general education) completed, so in another 2 years, I could have a BSN or an associates degree in radiology. And although I'm interested in radiology, I feel like I would be wasting the time and money I already spent. In addition, I feel like a BSN would give me many more opportunies down the road. Any opinions on what would be the better choice for someone not interested in bedside nursing? What are some positions available for a BSN that don't require bedside nursing? I appreciate any help and advice.

I see all the responses about there being many more nursing opportunities other than bedside. Please give me some examples? I am looking into getting a BSN because I'm interested in health care. But, being a bedside nurse doesn't interest me too much. What would be some other opportunities available to someone with a BSN? Thank you. Chris

Hello, I am considering going back to school for either a BSN from Eastern Mich Univ or a Rad. Tech. from a local community college. I already have a BA and could transfer a lot of the prereq classes to EMU, thus making the BSN about the same time to complete as the Rad Tech. Ideally I would like to work as an MRI Tech, but have heard a lot recently of how over saturated the radiology market is with the boom of community colleges and certificate programs. The reason I am going back to school is due to the bad real estate market of which I have worked in for the last 12 years. So, I would HATE to go through 2 more years of school for Rad Tech, only to still find myself in the same position of struggling to find work. Would it be possible to get my BSN and after a few years of experience, transition that into an MRI Tech position without an associates in Rad Tech? This would give me the job security of having a BSN and the position I want as an MRI Tech. Are there any other positions similar to an MRI Tech that could be transitioned to, with a BSN. I appreciate any advice you can give. Chris

Hello, I am considering going back to school for either a BSN from Eastern Mich Univ or a Rad. Tech. from a local community college. I already have a BA and could transfer a lot of the prereq classes to EMU, thus making the BSN about the same time to complete as the Rad Tech. Ideally I would like to work as an MRI Tech, but have heard a lot recently of how over saturated the radiology market is with the boom of community colleges and certificate programs. The reason I am going back to school is due to the bad real estate market of which I have worked in for the last 12 years. So, I would HATE to go through 2 more years of school for Rad Tech, only to still find myself in the same position of struggling to find work. Would it be possible to get my BSN and after a few years of experience, transition that into an MRI Tech position without an associates in Rad Tech? This would give me the job security of having a BSN and the position I want as an MRI Tech. Are there any other positions similar to an MRI Tech that could be transitioned to, with a BSN. I appreciate any advice you can give. I really feel like I'm at a crossroads. Chris