SRNA2011

In my experience, I have not heard of anyone who has been accepted to CRNA school with NO ICU experience. I know some programs may consider PACU and/or ER as critical-care experience, depending on the setting and what kind of patients are taken care of there. I also heard that some programs may accept applicants who are newly transferred to an ICU floor (but with med-surg floor background), and will have at least 1 year of critical-care experience done by the time they start the program. I am not sure if there are certain CRNA schools out there that will accept applicants with NO ICU experience. So it will all depend on what program you are applying to. I would contact the school or Program Director and see if they consider your unit as critical-care experience.

As the previous post stated, yes it is possible to apply to CRNA school with your BSN degree from online (as long as the school is accredited etc). I know of a CRNA who got her ADN, worked full-time in the ICU to gain her critical-care experience while obtaining her BSN degree online at the same time. So if you go with this route, I would try and get high grades in all your science classes and obtain the highest GPA possible in both your ADN & BSN. And I'm sure you already know that the GPA is one aspect- CRNA admission committee will look at the whole picture of an applicant. So you're on the right track, wish you the best of luck!

Hi, I started my CRNA program this past September 2011 and am currently using loans to pay for my tuition and cost of living. You are right that the Stafford Loan will cover $20,500 per year. If you need additional loans, you either have the option of GradPLUS or Private Loans (Ex: Wells Fargo). The 2 loans are both credit-based, with an option of a co-signer. The GradPLUS loan has a fixed interest rate, whereas a Private Loan interest rate can vary depending on where you look. I decided to go with GradPLUS loan and was able to borrow up to the maximum amount of the cost of my tuition/attendance year. Once you decided which CRNA program you will attend, you can also contact their Financial aid office and they can provide you with more specific information on how much you can borrow. Some other helpful advice that I would pass on is to create some kind of reasonable monthly budget that will show how much you spend & need each month, therefore you will know how much you need to borrow. Also before you start CRNA school, try and eliminate as much debt- such as credit-cards (if you have any) as best as possible. I did this, along with saving as much as I could until I started school and this has helped me a lot. So I hope some of this information will be useful to you, good luck!

I just started CRNA school in September and I am using student loans to pay for my tuition, cost of living, etc for the next 2-3 years. Depending on what program you attend, you may be able to work part-time or per-diem before clinicals or during semester breaks. I decided to quit working full-time before school started, but several people in my class are still working since we are not yet in clinical. I chose the Federal Stafford loan & GradPLUS loan and borrowed up to the maximum amount I could. Private loans are also a good option, but it is credit-based and the interest rates are variable. Some things that helped me before I started school was I paid off my debt and eliminated my credit-card bills. I also worked A LOT of overtime in the last few months before I quit and that definitely helped me save more money. So I would take a good look and see where you are financially and if it would be possible to make it work. Remember it will be a financial hit, but hope the sacrifice will be worth it in the end. Good luck!

My credit was checked when I applied for the GradPLUS loan, it also gets checked if you apply for a private loan. I'm not sure if a GradPLUS loan is easier to get vs a private loan, I'd have to research more into that. All I had to do was apply for the GradPLUS loan online, and was approved after my credit-check (Equifax). Now I just have to follow up with my school's financial aid office to see when the loan gets in.

After my BSN I was able to get hired straight into the ICU as a new grad. I initially wanted to apply after 1 year ICU experience, but I knew it's very competitive to get accepted. So I took another year to boost my application/resume- I got my CCRN, took graduate-nursing courses, and shadowed a CRNA. I applied to CRNA schools with 2 years of ICU experience and was accepted for admission the following year. Now I have 3 years ICU experience total and will be starting my CRNA program next month... and I still think this was a pretty quick route.

When I was doing some research online, I found that Wells Fargo interest rates were lower, but are variable. I contacted the Financial Aid office at my school and decided to go with GradPLUS since it's a fixed interest rate (7.9%). I was able to apply online and borrow up to the maximum cost of my attendance, and since my credit score is good I did not need a co-signer.

I would recommend a CCRN Review book. It will be useful for when you're working in the ICU, and if you take the exam later it's a big plus on your application to CRNA school. If you're looking for an anesthesia book- Duke's Anesthesia Secrets is good book that's in Q&A format. You won't really need it until you're in school, but I find it's interesting to flip to a page and read a question here & there.

I am also in the process of trying to find more info on taking out a private loan. I didn't want to use the GradPLUS loan, and so far I'm looking into Wells Fargo as a good option. I haven't applied for the loan yet and I'll probably speak with my school's loan officer first to see what's best.

Hey everyone! I just wanted to see what reaction others have got after they told their manager or co-workers they are pursuing or leaving for anesthesia/CRNA school?? On my ICU unit, once its out in the open that you are headed for anesthesia school- you are pretty much destined to have the worst patient assignments on unit, PAIRED together . And the reason is "well you're leaving for anesthesia school anyway". However, the nurses who are in school to become a Nurse Practitioner (NP) do not get this treatment.. it's strictly meant for those nurses going for CRNA. I'm not asking for the sickest patient assignments on the unit, but why does it have to be that way???

I am also a SRNA and was CCRN Certified prior to applying for CRNA school. I definitely recommend obtaining your CCRN Certification, this can help increases your chances of acceptance. From what I read online, the process of CCRN Renewal- "You must have spent a minimum of 432 hours caring for critically and acutely ill patients during the 3-year period you held the CCRN certification. During the 12 month period leading up to your renewal, you must have spent at least 144 hours caring for these patients. These hours must be spent caring for a specific patient type: adult, neonatal, or pediatric. There are three renewal options to choose from: take the CCRN Certification exam (again), renew with CERP’s (Continuing Education Recognition Point Programs), or choose inactive status. You may not meet the eligibility hours requirement. You do not want to lose your CCRN certification, but you need more time to gain the required hours. You will need to pick the inactive status option. The Inactive status will give you more time to earn those hours, up to 3 years. However, during your inactive status, you must never represent yourself as CCRN certified. If AACN discovers this, your status will be revoked." However, I will be in CRNA school during that time and I am not sure if my hours spent in the clinical/OR will qualify for renewal. I also heard that most people let their CCRN expire since once you become a CRNA you will not need your CCRN. If you still want to keep your CCRN, I read online that you can apply for Alumnus Status. "Alumnus status was designed for CCRN-certified who have left direct bedside care but are still in the nursing profession in some other capacity, many of whom have expressed a strong desire to remain connected with their credential. Alumnus status is renewable on a 3-year cycle. The "Alumnus CCRN" designation, written out, may be used on your CV or resume or below your name and credentials on a business card, but may not be used after your signature or on a name badge.The eligibility requirements are: Have held CCRN certification for at least 3-years at some time in the past; No longer working at the bedside of acutely or critically ill patients for enough hours to renew an active CCRN certification; Submission of a completed application and fee; No submission of CERPs is required." So I might plan to keep my CCRN as well, and will probably go with this option.

When I was in nursing school I remember our Dean told us the reason why they have a cut off requirement and cannot let more students in the program also has to do with clinical placement for students and lack of faculty staff. If there are a lot of students in the program it might be harder to place them at clinical sites, since not every single hospital is a teaching facility or accepts nursing students. Also keep in mind that other nursing schools/programs in the area will be at the same hospital, so there is limited space during the week. This is why some nursing programs have clinical rotation during the weekend. There is also not that many full-time nursing professors and clinical instructors. Usually nursing classes are offered once or twice a week with a few professors teaching the class. In clinical, it has to be a small group of nursing students since nursing units cannot have 20 students there all at once with only 1 clinical instructor.

Congrats on your acceptance! If you decide to go to UPenn, I would recommend taking their MSN core classes (pharmacology, pathophysiology) since you have a year before you start CRNA school. I did this and it will help lighten your course load when you're in the program. If you have already done this, try contacting the Program Director to see if she can e-mail you the first year's syllabus or a list of CRNA books used. A lot of students did this in my program so its okay to start reading to get ahead, Good luck!

You'll only need to take the NCLEX exam once as long as you pass. You can have your RN license in more than 1 state, this is called transferring your license or endorsement. In your example- You can have your original RN license in NY and you will apply to transfer/endorse your license to CA. NY will have to verify your RN license, and then you will be issued a RN license in CA. As long as your RN license is currently registered in whatever state you choose, you can work as a RN in that state. Eventually, your RN license will expire and then you will have to renew your license again. Hope this made sense, I have a RN license in 3 different states and it can cost a couple hundred of dollars to apply and keep current, so keep that in mind!

I also agree with the comments above, I have never heard of a CRNA program that can be completed on a part-time basis. All the CRNA programs I searched were a full-time requirement and you had to quit your job (whether you sign a contract, or by choice). I have heard of students though who have worked on a per-diem basis, or up until clinical starts (Ex: working a few shifts during Christmas break). But then I came across this website online... http://www.all-crna-schools.com/crna-programs.html#section8 It mentions 2 CRNA programs that can be completed on a part-time basis- Rosalind Franklin University, IL and Carolinas Medical Center & University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC. So now I'm curious to know if anyone knows if this is updated and still true?

My best advice for you is to enter a Bachelor of Science Nursing (BSN) Program after high-school. Most BSN programs will take 4 years to complete. There are many located all over the country- some at community, state, and private colleges. As long as you have good grades in high-school, SAT score, etc- it shouldn't be too hard to get accepted. You can even volunteer at a hospital or nursing home just to get some exposure to the health-care setting. As a nursing student, I would definitely take your classes seriously and get good grades in all your undergraduate science courses. That way when you graduate from nursing school with a high GPA, it will make you a competitive applicant for CRNA school later down the road. After nursing school, obviously pass your NCLEX (also called the Nursing Boards, it's an exam you will have to take after nursing school for you to become a licensed registered nurse and work). In order to apply for CRNA school, you will have to work as a nurse in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for at least a year or more. Once you are accepted to CRNA school, it can take about 2 to 3 years more of school and clinical (depending on where you apply) to complete. Afterward, you will have to take the CRNA Board Exam, which is another test you have to pass in order to practice as a CRNA. Then you get a job and you become a CRNA :) I hope that all made sense, just know that it's not very easy to get accepted into CRNA school, you will have to have a very competitive profile. But I wanted to break it down in a simple way that's easy to understand. So basically to become a CRNA, you will first get your Bachelor's degree in Nursing, then work as a ICU nurse, then will be going back to school for your Master's Degree for CRNA. So it's different from other health-care professions- example Physical Therapist: you do all the schooling first, and then graduate as a Physical Therapist and work. CRNA will definitely be a long road ahead, but it's good to know that as a young person you want to start now and plan for your future. Good luck!!!

http://nurseanesthetist.org/anesthesia-library/ I found this website online and it provides a good list of books that are used or recommended for CRNA programs.

It will probably be easier to transfer to the ICU at the same hospital you currently work at. Most ICU job openings usually look for RNs with prior ICU experience. The ICU manager will probably want to know why you're interested in going back to bedside care and why you want to work in an ICU setting. I would probably leave out the part of going back for CRNA school since most managers wouldn't want to waste their time and money to train you and then leave. Your hospital should provide a basic critical-care class that you take on orientation and you will be ACLS certified later on. So don't be too worrried about studying and having to know all about critical-care beforehand- you'll learn it all on orientation. We have OR nurses that came to work on my ICU floor and they are doing just fine!

Other than the CCRN, GRE, and taking a graduate class- you should also shadow a CRNA. This looks really good on your resume and personal goal statement/cover letter. CRNA admission panels really like to see and are impressed if the applicant has shadow experience. If you want you could consider transferring to a high-acuity surgical ICU, but I would probably still apply with your 4-5 years of ICU experience and see if you hear back. You should also mention all the things you have done to get into CRNA school in your personal goal statement letter. Best of luck!!!

Hi Tachy, The CV-ICU unit that I work at also gives RN (with prior nursing experience) about 3 months of orientation. I am also a preceptor and the orientee recovers fresh post-ops in the last few weeks as well. If you are still worried that you don't feel ready or prepared to work on the unit, I would express these concerns to your preceptor, manager or supervisor. If they agree, they might be able to extend your orientation a couple of days and focus on the skills that need improvement. Even though the time limit is strict, I really don't think they should force you to come off orientation if you feel like you are not prepared- to me that seems unsafe. Also, you most likely will get assignments with stable ICU patients when you are off orientation and on your own. It can be a little nerve-wrecking and scary to think that you only had a short amount of time to train, but the understanding is as long as you understand the unit and practice safely as a RN, you should be fine. Just don't be afraid to ask other RNs for help or when you don't know something. Hope this helps & good luck!

Hi avillam2, I think I scored somewhere around 65-70% on the AACN Practice Exam as well, so you should still be okay. I'm sure you prepared yourself well for this exam, just remember to not panic and take your time during the test. The majority of the CCRN exam questions are Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, and Professional Caring and Ethical Practice. If you are taking it via computer, you will receive a CCRN Score Report that tells you if you passed/failed as well as your percentage score in each category. I wish you the best, let me know how it goes & good luck today!!!

I started as a new graduate RN straight to the ICU after school. It was a very shocking but exciting experience in the the beginning, and I'm glad I made the decision to start my career there. It definitely helps if you have a good orientation process (mine was 6 months) and a supportive staff to help you along the way. When I was on orientation, my preceptor let me borrow Kathy White's- Fast Facts for Critical Care. I personally liked using this book as a reference when I was learning in the beginning. For continued learning, I am a member of the American Association of Critical Nurses (AACN). Every month you receive a journal magazine with tons of articles that I just read whenever I'm having my lunch break at work or eating breakfast. I also attended their critical care conference, which I highly recommend! They have all kinds of critical-care nursing topics taught by amazing RN speakers from different hospitals. I went with a bunch of co-workers and it was a great refresher-learning experience. I also bought the PASS CCRN book that I kept as a reference, but I never used it until I needed the CD to help study for my CCRN exam. And the easiest place to learn more information is from the senior RN staff and doctors at work. I always keep an open mind and willing to learn something new :)

I also used the PASS CCRN CD for practice questions and passed the CCRN exam this year. I was scoring the same as you on the practice exams and felt these questions were similar to the real questions on the actual CCRN exam. Other than the PASS CCRN CD, you could also try AACN's CCRN Adult Self-Assessment Exam. It's $50 and is an online exam with 60 questions, including rationales that "mirrors the content outline of the actual CCRN exam". I purchased this as another test to practice beforehand because after a while the PASS CCRN CD will reuse and recycle the same questions, which made my score falsely higher since I already knew the answer. Don't worry, I wouldn't get too caught up with your score. You are on the right path- just keep doing lots of practice questions and review and read the rationales after. You could also focus on your weak areas to help improve your scores. I hope my information helps, good luck on your CCRN!!!

I also agree with starting in the CICU since you'll get exposure to the critical-care environment. The time you spend there will also count towards your ICU experience (which is required), and the CT stepdown won't. Good luck!

I was interested in about 4-5 CRNA programs around my area, and the application fees were at least $50 for each school. I applied to my top 2 choices and got accepted. The 2 programs I applied to were in my area, so I didn't have to pay for flight, hotel, etc. However, the other applicants that were at my interview day did come from out of state, even as far as across the country. They said they had an early flight on the day of the interview and got a return flight in the evening. If you gain acceptance into a program, you usually are required to put a security down payment that is non-refundable and it may or may not be credited towards your future tuition bill (mine didn't). Also, I'm not sure if every CRNA program requires their students to have a current RN license in that state or where you will be assigned for clinical (mine did). So if you apply to a program that is not in the state you currently work or are licensed as a RN- you will have to apply and pay to transfer/endorse your RN license to that state. Depending on which state, this can cost a couple of hundred dollars. These were all costs that I didn't realize, so it definitely adds up in the end!