JayVArn

I know the military has a program called STRAP if you want to go that route. Otherwise it is hit or miss. With the economy the way it is currently, what you are describing is getting scarce. Not saying it doesn't exist (I have no idea because I've never looked into it personally), but I'm wiling to venture it is hard to find.

Hey I'm a current VA student in the USAGPAN. Four students are taken each year and 30-50 army students. You will be contacted soon with plenty of information so just hold tight until then (I went through the process last year so I know the seat your in). Just work on getting sponsorship from a VA and enjoy your free time. I think around June 10th, will be your start date

It is pretty relaxed. No clinical questions, just get to know you. After the series of painfull injections and increasing electrical shocks to your sensitive areas, the interview is low key. Why you want to be a crna, why this program and other general interview q's. There is probably a template on this site with general questions and hints. If interviewing is not your strong suit I would reccomend practicing. Good luck! Go Jayhawks also be sure to bring a knife long enough to pierce saber tooth tiger hide (maybe 10 inches or so), I won't tell you specifics but it will come in handy. I had to use my bare hands and it took a little longer than I would have liked (and tiger CSF is hard to get out from under your nails).

I know nothing about Columbia's program. I do know that after 1 year in the ICU I was nowhere close to proficient. Yes it is possible, but it will be extremely difficult. I am going to start CRNA school this summer after 4 years in the icu

They will be a direct entry doctorate, meaning you should be able to get in with just a bachelors. Some schools are DNP while others are DNAP (doctorate of nurse anesthesia practice). Either way its similiar to what NPs are having to do with their doctoral transition. Best of luck to you.

Check out the stickies on this thread. They have a wealth of good information to answer your questions

I agree. 1st step, follow a CRNA and see if it's where you want to be. Pump them for as much information as your can, (pros and cons of the job, lifestyle, training, what school is like, ask many questions as possible) 2nd step, start working in an ICU. Learn, learn and learn. Keep your eyes open and stay hungry (and save up money, you will need it come school time). People don't like to hear this but it is not something that can be accomplished right away, the "minimum 1 year of ICU experience" will probably not cut it in your case (and probably should be increased drastically, but that is just my opinion). The BS in Biochem will help a lot! The main thing is to not get discouraged. I got rejected 4 times before eventually getting into 3 schools. Guess what...I had a 3.36 GPA. Its more than just a GPA. Best of luck

Becoming an NP would require a lot of time and money invested. What would be the point of that if you want to be a CRNA? The two fields have very different focuses and very different educational styles. Have you by any chance followed both a CRNA and an NP? That may give you a good idea which "feels better" for you. You are going to put lots of blood sweat and tears (and tuition) into any program so you want to make sure it is the right field for you. My wife is half way through her NP program and she is burned out. Now to answer your question....I would just take graduate patho or bio chem, most schools will let you take one or two graduate level classes without applying (or if you "say you are going to apply but want to take a class or two before hand"), don't skimp on the quality ICU experience either. Jayva

Mount Marty is based in Sioux Falls with the option of clinical elsewhere. I would advise making a pro and con list of both schools and basing your decision off of that.

They rank their wait list 1 through a certain number and pick numerically. I'm sure you could find out your number on the list via e-mail.

Search around online. Apply to multiple places, interview and ask them questions and determine the "best school" for you (ignore US news and world report rankings)

Read the fine print in everything. What the recruiter "tells you" and what "actually happens" can be two vastly different things. Remember, you are subject to what the army wants. Check out the military forum also, you can probably find good information about these things.

Honestly put a focus on getting good quality ICU experience (notice I didn't say Level 1 etc) to become student possible (this may take more than 1 year in the ICU). You want to be a solid ICU nurse before you start to apply for school. You could run yourself ragged worrying about your stats and comparing yourself to everyone else. Instead try and make yourself a better ICU nurse and worker, don't skimp on the ICU experience, or certifications, it sounds like you are on the right track.

No it will not. Also shoot for more than the "required" ICU experience (meaning more than 1-2 years). A little extra experience will pay off big dividends later in your career.

1. What drew you to this profession? I wanted a career in the health field with 1 on 1 patient interaction and good pay and stability 2. How much education did you complete and where? I completed a 4 year bachelors of science in nursing, but education ranges from one year for those with a degree to 2 years associates program 3. Please describe a typical day in your work week. what do you do on a daily basis? Typically report is at 0730 where we learn about all the patients in the ICU. We hit the floor around 8, do our initial assessment of our 1-2 patients. From then on we monitor patients, treat problems. We get new patients from the ER or from Surgery so we accommodate for that. Every day is a little different. 4. What are your favorite aspects of your job? I like that I am not sitting behind a desk all day. Also the ICU can be fast paced and challenging at times. I like thinking on my feet and working as a team to accomplish a goal. 5. What are your least favorite aspects of your job? Sometimes you see patient's on their worst day (or couple of days). Sometimes the stress and sadness can be mentally draining. 6. What frustrates you the most on the job? Families and patients who have unrealistic expectations about medicine and their plan of cares. We end up doing a lot of unnecessary (and painful) procedures for patients who end up dying, which all could have been avoided with good communication 7. How many hours per week do you work? Do you control you schedule? I work 40 hours per week, we get to choose our schedule 8. How stable is your job? Do you worry about losing your job? My job is stable. I have no fear of losing my job. Despite what some people say, there is currently a nursing shortage and it is only going to get worse. By 2025 there are estimated to be 260,000 nurses needed in the workforce 9. How much stress do you experience from your work? When you are not at work, how often do you think or worry about aspects of you work? Stress is a state of mind. Some people deal with it better than others. I'm lucky to be not as affected by stress as others. For the most part I don't think about work when I am at home. Some patient's really get to you. One important thing is to have good hobbies outside of work to release stress and a good support system. 10. what's your advice to someone thinking of entering this field? Go for it. Its has been a great experience, there are a lot of fields of nursing you can get into and a wide variety of education levels. If you don't like you work, you can move to something else.

VA USAGPAN letters have been sent out via the Postal Service. They take 4 people out of 16 slots (I think). Just fyi. Good luck everyone.

That is a load... there is no such thing a too old. Think of all the real world experience you have and highlight that in your interview. When i started in the ICU I was 22, some said I was too young, but I made it work anyway.

Its great if you like the population (older men generally). Benefits are great as you are a federal employee. The downside would be that you either love the population or hate it. Also lots of bureaucracy as its is the government. Don't get bogged down by "reputation", talk to your recruiter and find a nurse to follow and see for yourself. I think the VA system has "a bad reputation" stemming from its history, I hear that bad rep thing a lot from people (and patients). The best thing to do is make up your own mind.

It's specially designed to be hard to push in because "it" wants you to push it in slowly. Since it is so acidic it can cause serious damage if given rapidly. If you do a little bit at a time it should go in fine!

I don't know, I would have to brush up on my anatomy and pharmacology of anthropomorphic cartoon characters.

See if your city public library has any books available. I checked out a bunch, and tried to use as many as I could. It's free and if you don't like the style of the book you have nothing to lose. Good luck on the GRE!

Roses are red violets are blue c-diff is brown what's that on my shoe?

Seriously? That's up there with "why doesn't that homeless person just get a job at McDonalds" in terms of broad misguided statements. I won't touch that one with a ten foot pole. They asked an honest question, and wanted an honest answer. Save your opinion for Fox and Friends. To answer your question, I took a medical spanish class online at my local community college, it was cheap and educational. Good luck.

Don't sweat it, it seems they look at the math hardest anyway. You can always brush up on your verbal stuff and take the test again (I'm taking it again next Friday for my 2nd time to boost my math score).

I try to use SBAR format when I call Situation Backround (sort and sweet, maybe what they had done Assesment (again short, what's wrong right now) Recomendation (what do you want me to do, or here's what I want to do when you get more experience) Also 1st make sure you have the right resident and they are familiar w/ the pt,and don't draw a blank and forget the patient's name (both things I frequently do wrong) Hope this helps