Hikingonthru

I am in my second year (hooray!) of my program. One of our instructors has been a CRNA for over 20 years and was our director for a LONG time. In class the other night, we were reviewing professional responsibilities. He just up and commented that Scope of Practice insight is severely lacking in incoming students...that applicants "want a job with less hard work that pays a whole lot more money - we all know that is what you want, but noone comes out and says it!" Hate to say it, but I think she is right....many people want the $$$$$ so they go into an anesthesia program. Some are very smart and capable, but have personality issues that cause problems on the floor...so anesthesia is a more attractive option to these folk. It puts them pretty much alone and at the top (so they think). I have seen some young CRNAs not yet 30 living LARGE and yet they are some of the most malcontent, disparaging people you could ever meet. Others, who may work in smaller areas for less money, are incredibly upbeat. Others of us just love the challenge...I would do this (were it not for the school cost and lost income for 2+ years) for a box of donuts and a poke in the eye. It really does need to be more than just an interview question...it needs to be answered in your own heart. (Especially as salaries start to drop and positions are not as available as they once were.) In a single year, I have met enough CRNAs to know the profession has enough people who are not sure why they are doing this. And enough who are dedicated to the profession to make a difference.

3.97 GPA 1370 GRE V/Q 5+ years critical care experience Resume flush with "above and beyond" activities on the job. Glowing references. A reference from a respected alumnus of your program would not hurt. Good shadowing experience Excellent interview skills. I highlighted how prepared I was for school...economically, emotionally (shared how I deal with stress well), physically.

I am in school right now as well. Four years ago...the CRNAs were getting signed by my hospital 6 months before they even took the cert exam. Now, they are over-run with CRNA applicants...tough to get a job period around here.

3.95 GPA BSN, 6 years critical care experience, V/Q 1370 GRE score, great letters of recommendation, resume of involvement above and beyond just showing up to work (committees, change projects that effected real positive patient outcomes, serving on hospital code response team, floating to different critical care units). You must shadow. The more the better. Also, be prepared to show your knowledge...completing the PACE training can help for some interviews. The interview for teh school I ended up in was more about preparedness...what have you done to ensure your success? What support networks and coping mechanisms do you have in place? What have you done to be able to cope financially? It is a lifestyle change!

You'll need to bring those scores up somehow. Using a GRE prep book with a CD to practice can help. It helped me raise my V/Q scores. Also, what sort of shadowing have you done? What have you done to ensure that you will be able to successfully complete the program? If you have bad grades, why? Can you retake a class that you did not do well in the first time? I can tell you that academic ability is paramount. I literally study 50+ hours a week on top of class time, driving time and clinicals. Working is not an option...what have you done to prepare to move back into the life of a student?

that is what I am being told. Right now, CRNA educations have to have a doctorate prior to that date to continue educating. Not sure when that date is. Getting caught in a profession's upward transition can be frustrating. A good idea may be to keep your grades as good as possible (straight As from a well-respected, stringent institution can't hurt)and just plan on getting your doctorate.

The MSN for Nurse Anesthesia is very specific to the service you will provide as an anesthetist. 0The Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA ) oversees nurse anesthesia programs here in America. There are rules and regulations about how many and what type of anesthesia cases you must do to be eleigible to graduate and sit for the cert exam. I will be starting my program in a few weeks and getting in was quite competitive. There were around 130-140 applilcants for around 30 slots. My BSN GPA was pretty good (3.97) and my GRE verbal and quant scores were over 1300 with 6 years of critical care nursing experience. And that was not far off from my fellow applicants scores. Any one of the people with whom I interviewed could have gotten in and done well. It is competitive, but attainable. I believe as the American and global economy develops, more affordable healthcare provision will be mandated. As a CRNA, you will be in a position to provide anesthesia services in an affordable, sustainable manner.

I was assaulted by a patient last spring. A patient was on "white papers" (psych eval) and could not leave legally before being evaluated. Of course, he had a foley, IV lines and monitor lines attached and being young, male, antisocial PD, and an addict; he decided fighting was his best choice since he could not do his usual AMA departure. We were able to restrain him and assist him back to bed. He swung on my fellow RN and I caught his fist (she never saw it). He then spit in my face and made the comment that he had AIDS. I called security who called the police. The charge for assaulting a nurse, EMS worker, doctor or other healthcare worker is Federal Felony Assault. Being that he was found to be sound and able to make his own choices...that carries time. The hard part is...that trial date has not even come up yet. People who assault others may have to be held in jail for months awaiting a trial date. Life is about choices.

You have gotten some sage advice on this thread. If you have to cancel, it never hurts to send a letter explaining why and expressing your gratitude for the opportunity they offered. They know students apply to numerous programs. This should come as no big shock to them. And someone on their alternate list will add you to their hero list! Good luck to you!

(To the moderators: apologies for the cross posting, but the other forum did not generate too many responses. Hoping for more here as I have to have my app. package in soon!) Hello to all. My name is Hikingonthru. I have been a nurse for seven years...five of those in critical care. I am applying for a MSN program, FNP track for this Fall. As you may guess, my personal statement has been more than a little challenge. I would greatly appreciate any feedback at all you may have. The question is just as it appears on the application. There is no guidance or parameters other than the broad question: Why do you want to pursue a degree in your chosen field of study? As I consider why I have chosen to pursue a Master's of Science in Nursing degree and become a Family Nurse Practitioner, I think of the story told of my grandfather as a young man, starting life as a sharecropper, planting a tree. Coming in from a long day of plowing in the fields, he had paused at the edge of the yard to plant a small oak sapling. A visiting neighbor had asked him, "Do you think you'll ever get to enjoy its shade?" His reply had been simply, "I might not, but someone else might want to." Planting trees whose shade others would enjoy, sitting up all night to comfort the sick or pausing in his own work to help a neighbor were kindnesses typical of my grandfather. He always sought to give more than he received. My grandfather passed these same values on to me. These days, when I stand in the shade of that oak, I consider how his legacy of service to others, his vision beyond his own lifetime and his sense of community responsibility are a part of me. It is natural that my desire to continue the legacy of my grandfather has led me to a career in the helping professions. I was first drawn to nursing as I began to practice as a young mental health counselor. While working for a state mental health agency, I had the privilege of working with two superb nurses. The manner in which these nurses carried out their nursing duties and lived their lives was inspiring. Part of my duties included teaming with these nurses to provide intense community-based care to persons with severe chronic and persistent mental illness. The grateful manner in which these nurses were received in the community impressed me. This was my first experience seeing the actual implementation of the nursing process at all levels of the patients' care needs; psychiatric, spiritual, physical and social. It was also the first time I experienced the life-affirming impact a nurse can have on a patient. One particular instance stands out to me. Upon arriving at a patient's home, we learned the patient's mother had just passed away. The patient was distraught over the fact that she had no dress shoes to wear to her mother's funeral. After administering the patient's medication, the nurse with me used every connection she had to procure a pair of dress shoes for the patient. After delivering the shoes, the nurse simply sat with the patient all afternoon. While returning to the office, the nurse looked at me and said, "Being a good nurse means meeting the patient wherever they are." That observation has remained a part of me during my career as a healthcare provider. In addition to the competent patient care these two nurses provided on the job, each donated hours of their time giving nursing care to underserved populations. Their skill and effort made a tangible, measurable difference in the lives of people on many levels. As a result of their example and encouragement, I made the decision to augment my own education with an Associate's Degree in Nursing. As a nursing student and immediately following graduation, I had the good fortune to interact with a number of excellent nurses who had earned a Master's of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. Most of the faculty members who taught me held MSN degrees. I'd often corner them between and after class to learn about their experiences earning their degrees and working in their chosen specialty. The stirrings of a desire to earn my own MSN degree were beginning. As a staff nurse on an orthopedic/medical-surgical floor, and later on the intensive care unit, I developed a solid professional identity as a nurse. My conviction that nursing was my calling was affirmed daily in my work. Then, as now, I am ever amazed at the profound impact we, as nurses, have on the lives of our patients. In my duties as a staff nurse, I began to interact with nurses who held graduate degrees and worked in the hospital or clinic setting. I met Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Nursing Administrators and Nurse Educators. Once again, I found myself questioning any and all who would share with me about their experiences earning their MSN degree, about the nursing role they currently held and about the impact they had on patient care. I spoke with nurse practitioners working in a wide variety of clinical settings such as acute care, cardiology, neurology and family practice. All with whom I spoke were proud of their roles as nurse practitioners. At the same time, I was interacting more frequently with residents who quite often asked the critical care nurse, me included, for treatment recommendations regarding patients. I began to consider how much better I could serve my patients as nurse practitioner. By this time, I had been a nurse for six years and had developed a clear picture of what I wanted professionally. I knew that to achieve to my professional goals of practicing at the level I desired, while serving others in the community, I needed to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, I will be able to broaden my scope of practice while still applying the principles of nursing to patient care. I will be able to expand my role as care provider and health educator for my patients. Having seen firsthand the positive influence of nurse practitioners providing health education during clinic visits, I look forward to expanding this role in my own practice someday. Being a Family Nurse Practitioner will allow me to invest in my patients throughout their lifespan. I will be better able to partner with them at each stage of their development, promoting health and disease prevention, in addition to helping them during periods of acute illness. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, I will have the skills, knowledge and flexibility to serve populations for whom I have a heart. I have always felt working with underserved populations, such as the rural poor, is part of my calling as a nurse. In addition, I have a strong interest in furthering point-of-care nursing competencies when providing cross-cultural/multi-cultural nursing care to diverse populations. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, I will be better able to serve the community, locally and globally. I have served on the mission field prior to becoming a nurse. There seems to always be a need for competent practitioners abroad and here in America. Such medical missions hold a strong appeal for me. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, I will be able to participate more productively in providing medical care in underdeveloped parts of the world as well as underserved populations the region. Having decided that I wanted to pursue my MSN degree and become a Family Nurse Practitioner, I set about planning for success in the endeavor. I firmly believe that I am personally accountable to the School of Nursing faculty, ______ University, my employer, my family and myself to do all I can to succeed in the MSN program. I am currently completing my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Thus far, I have a 3.92 GPA. Last year, upon the advice of several respected physicians and nurse practitioners, I moved my employment to a larger teaching hospital to increase my breadth of clinical experience and further develop my network within the community of healthcare professionals. This experience has been invaluable. Each time I have attended college, I have worked in addition to my studies. Presently, I attend college full-time, work full-time and am a full-time husband and father. I am active in my sons' lives through Cub Scouts and sports. I am an active member of my local church. My time management and prioritization skills are honed. I am fully capable of balancing the demands of school. work and family. In addition, I have built my support base among my family, friends and colleagues. My wife is supportive and encouraging of my desire to become a nurse practitioner. I have actively balanced my life to ensure that I have the highest probable chance of success in the MSN degree program. Looking back, it is easy to see my life experiences, personally and professionally, culminating with my application to Family Nurse Practitioner track of the MSN degree at _____University's School of Nursing. The decision comes after long and careful consideration of the many educational opportunities available in nursing today. I have the skills and ability to complete the degree. I have the support of friends, family and colleagues. Moreover, I have the determination to see this program through to its completion. When I set out to complete a goal, in my mind it is as good as completed the moment I begin. I plan my work and work my plan; step by step, mindful of others, flexible, yet enduring until the goal is achieved. It is with this tenacity and sense of purpose that I will apply myself to the MSN degree program at _____ University

Sitting on the brink of beginning my own FNP program, most of it self-guided, I think you are looking at an opportunity to forge a superior reputation for yourself as a practitioner. Hard times call for creative measures. You have been offered some good suggestions. Call upon your own network of colleagues and professional peers. One of the most important thing for any professional is to be able to form a professional network. This may be one of the elements your program uses to weed out those who can from those who cannot. That may not be what you want to hear, but often it is simply the case. You are smart enough to get in the program and complete other clinicals. You are smart enough to figure out a solution to your dilemna. BTW, now may be a good time to start making contacts for the next semester's clinical. and the next. Best of luck!

Thank-you for your comments and feedback. I always have been a fairly gifted writer, but was surprised to find that this personal statement composition took me all day and most of the night. You make some astute points about the possibility of plagiarism. The digital age has its advantages in this regard. In its current form, this statement is actually archived via one of my professors on a site that educators use to check paper submissions and such to determine if a student is plagiarizing another source. Each update will be added to the archive. I cannot honestly say for sure how long it will be archived, but I am guessing till that professor's account is deleted...and this faculty is tenured. Soooo. if someone wants to use it, it is at their own peril. They risk being tagged at the front end for academic dishonesty if the institution to which they are applying uses that type of service. Let's hope that those who aspire to advanced practice have an ethical foundation greater than to plagiarize another's penmanship.

This is your chance to toot your own horn. And you will need to do so. Many times, when a supervisor is too busy, they defer to the applicant to author the letter. You know you better than anyone so go ahead and scale back the humble. I imagine myself standing on an awards podium getting an award for "best nurse" for the unit. What would I hear, that is true, in the awards speech. Timeliness, time management skills, interdisciplinary team member, patient-focused...those are all good words. Look up your school's mission statement and try to incorporate some of those concepts if they are applicable to you. (If they are not, reconsider the school choice!) Also, you may consider the ethics of "waiving your right to view" this letter. Doing so strengthens the letter's impact, but can one really do so if one has authored the letter?

(Bump)....any feedback at all is appreciated! Many thanks!

Hello to all. My name is Hikingonthru. I have been a nurse for seven years...five of those in critical care. I am applying for a MSN program, FNP track for this Fall. As you may guess, my personal statement has been more than a little challenge. I would greatly appreciate any feedback at all you may have. The question is just as it appears on the application. There is no guidance or parameters other than the broad question: Why do you want to pursue a degree in your chosen field of study? As I consider why I have chosen to pursue a Master's of Science in Nursing degree and become a Family Nurse Practitioner, I think of the story told of my grandfather as a young man, starting life as a sharecropper, planting a tree. Coming in from a long day of plowing in the fields, he had paused at the edge of the yard to plant a small oak sapling. A visiting neighbor had asked him, "Do you think you'll ever get to enjoy its shade?" His reply had been simply, "I might not, but someone else might want to." Planting trees whose shade others would enjoy, sitting up all night to comfort the sick or pausing in his own work to help a neighbor were kindnesses typical of my grandfather. He always sought to give more than he received. My grandfather passed these same values on to me. These days, when I stand in the shade of that oak, I consider how his legacy of service to others, his vision beyond his own lifetime and his sense of community responsibility are a part of me. It is natural that my desire to continue the legacy of my grandfather has led me to a career in the helping professions. I was first drawn to nursing as I began to practice as a young mental health counselor. While working for a state mental health agency, I had the privilege of working with two superb nurses. The manner in which these nurses carried out their nursing duties and lived their lives was inspiring. Part of my duties included teaming with these nurses to provide intense community-based care to persons with severe chronic and persistent mental illness. The grateful manner in which these nurses were received in the community impressed me. This was my first experience seeing the actual implementation of the nursing process at all levels of the patients' care needs; psychiatric, spiritual, physical and social. It was also the first time I experienced the life-affirming impact a nurse can have on a patient. One particular instance stands out to me. Upon arriving at a patient's home, we learned the patient's mother had just passed away. The patient was distraught over the fact that she had no dress shoes to wear to her mother's funeral. After administering the patient's medication, the nurse with me used every connection she had to procure a pair of dress shoes for the patient. After delivering the shoes, the nurse simply sat with the patient all afternoon. While returning to the office, the nurse looked at me and said, "Being a good nurse means meeting the patient wherever they are." That observation has remained a part of me during my career as a healthcare provider. In addition to the competent patient care these two nurses provided on the job, each donated hours of their time giving nursing care to underserved populations. Their skill and effort made a tangible, measurable difference in the lives of people on many levels. As a result of their example and encouragement, I made the decision to augment my own education with an Associate's Degree in Nursing. As a nursing student and immediately following graduation, I had the good fortune to interact with a number of excellent nurses who had earned a Master's of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. Most of the faculty members who taught me held MSN degrees. I'd often corner them between and after class to learn about their experiences earning their degrees and working in their chosen specialty. The stirrings of a desire to earn my own MSN degree were beginning. As a staff nurse on an orthopedic/medical-surgical floor, and later on the intensive care unit, I developed a solid professional identity as a nurse. My conviction that nursing was my calling was confirmed daily in my work. Then, as now, I am ever amazed at the profound impact we, as nurses, have on the lives of our patients. In my duties as a staff nurse, I began to interact with nurses holding graduate degrees. I met Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Nursing Administrators and Nurse Educators. Once again, I found myself questioning any and all who would share with me about their experiences earning their MSN degree, about the nursing role they currently held and about the impact they had on patient care. I spoke with nurse practitioners working in a wide variety of clinical settings such as acute care, cardiology, neurology and family practice. All with whom I spoke were proud of their roles as nurse practitioners. At the same time, I was interacting more frequently with residents who quite often asked the critical care nurse, me included, for treatment recommendations regarding patients. I began to consider how much better I could serve my patients as nurse practitioner. By this time, I had been a nurse for six years and had developed a clear picture of what I wanted professionally. I knew that to achieve to my professional goals of practicing at the level I desired, while serving others in the community, I needed to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, I will be able to broaden my scope of practice while still applying the principles of nursing to patient care. I will be able to expand my role as care provider and health educator for my patients. Having seen firsthand the positive influence of nurse practitioners providing health education during clinic visits, I look forward to expanding this role in my own practice someday. Being a Family Nurse Practitioner will allow me to invest in my patients throughout their lifespan. I will be better able to partner with them at each stage of their development, promoting health and disease prevention, in addition to helping them during periods of acute illness. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, I will have the skills, knowledge and flexibility to serve populations for whom I have a heart. I have always felt working with underserved populations, such as the rural poor, is part of my calling as a nurse. In addition, I have a strong interest in furthering point-of-care nursing competencies when providing cross-cultural/multi-cultural nursing care to diverse populations. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, I will be better able to serve the community, locally and globally. I have served on the mission field prior to becoming a nurse. There seems to always be a need for competent practitioners abroad and here in America. Such medical missions hold a strong appeal for me. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, I will be able to participate more productively in providing medical care in underdeveloped parts of the world as well as underserved populations the region. Having decided that I wanted to pursue my MSN degree and become a Family Nurse Practitioner, I set about planning for success in the endeavor. I firmly believe that I am personally accountable to the School of Nursing faculty, ______ University, my employer, my family and myself to do all I can to succeed in the MSN program. I am currently completing my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Thus far, I have a 3.92 GPA. Last year, upon the advice of several respected physicians and nurse practitioners, I moved my employment to a larger teaching hospital to increase my breadth of clinical experience and further develop my network within the community of healthcare professionals. This experience has been invaluable. Each time I have attended college, I have worked in addition to my studies. Presently, I attend college full-time, work full-time and am a full-time husband and father. I am active in my sons' lives through Cub Scouts and sports. I am an active member of my local church. My time management and prioritization skills are honed. I am fully capable of balancing the demands of school and work. In addition, I have built my support base among my family, friends and colleagues. My wife is supportive and encouraging of my desire to become a nurse practitioner. I have actively balanced my life to ensure that I have the highest probable chance of success. When I set out to complete a goal, in my mind it is as good as completed the moment I begin. I plan my work and work my plan, step by step; flexible, yet enduring until the goal is achieved. It is with this tenacity and sense of purpose that I will apply myself to the MSN program at _________University.