cybclimb

I'm in a CRNA program class of 2017. Schools look at your overall credentials, not just your academic GPA. I was accepted even though my GPA is only 3.4, and I know a lot of the applicants during the interview have higher GPAs than me. Work experience and nursing credentials such as CCRN makes you a better candidate, as well as good GRE scores. Work in the ICU first, say about 2-3 years should be sufficient. Just to be eligible to sit for CCRN exam, you have to have 18 months experience in critical care. You should also shadow a practicing CRNA couple of times. Also, I was asked during the interview how did I prepare financially for the program. So save, save, save. Remember, most programs are full time and don't allow their students to work, so you have to rely on your savings and student loans for tuition and living expenses. It is really an expensive proposition. As for chem, a good background in organic and biochem would be helpful. Physics are mostly gas laws. If you still remember your org chem, you should be good. Good luck to you.

If you think you are staying for awhile why not sign for the clinical scholars? Commitment varies from 12 month to 18 months depending on amount of grant. Personally 18 months is not that long especially for a new grad as you're just getting your feet wet. There's so much to learn within a year, especially in critical care areas. And as per policy now, you could only operate/attend training for CRRT after a year of service. This is a very valuable skill to learn. I got out after >18 months (due to family situation) and was immediately hired by another teaching hospital here in PA. UMMC is the way to go. Pt acuity is really high, although my old unit there don't do trauma cases but here in PA I get multi-trauma, in addition to surgical cases. But I got a really good knowledge base in UMMC. Good luck on your decision

You are right I think I was "reading" into her statement. The good news though is that I really passed NCLEX! The weird thing is, it appeared first in our BON website before it was in Pearson Vue, so i was waiting all along at pearson site's to come up with my result, then a friend of mine called me to say its already in the BON site.

I took the NCLEX today and mine didn't stop at 75. Naturally I was ******, as I was thinking its going to be a long test. But I got the surprise of my life when it stopped at 76! So on my way out, the person on the front desk chatted with me asking where I went to school, which test did I took, etc. It so happens that her kid went to the same school that I graduated from, so she asked me what was my cutoff and I told her 76. Her exact words were "graduates of American nursing schools normally passes with a test cutoff of 75-76". It was the best statement I have ever heard in a long while (at least at the second I heard it)! But was she implying that foreign graduates who took NCLEX and only got 75 questions are likely to fail? hmm. I know its a bit "ethnocentric", but I hope she's right about her statement for my case!

At UMMC you get paid $15 an hour as a student nurse/PCT.

This program is only for 3rd year BSN students, but they accept students from DC, MD, VA, and PA. There were students from UMB, JHU, Stevenson, Salisbury, Coppin, York and Liberty (the first 3 had the most contingent). I attended this program and you get to work in a preceptored and structured externship. I had my placement in a critical care unit and got invited to work in another unit after the program ended as a student nurse. But even though you are in a PCT capacity, the nurses will treat you as one of them and will let you do nursing skills sans giving meds. It is also easier to be accepted in the Clinical Scholars Program at UMMC if you're a former student nurse resident because it is handled by the same people that run the residency program. SO if you are really interested and wants to increase nursing skills 100 fold, go for it! you can PM me for more details. This is a very competitive program so good grades and good recommendations are necessary.