cathys01

Why don't you either call or email the program director? Have you received any of the emails he has been sending (two or three so far I think) over the last few weeks about summer registration? I'm guessing that would be the best person to answer your questions.

If your wife is "tired of controlling doctors", then I doubt an AA program is what she'll want. An Anesthesiology Assistant is only allowed to work under an Anesthesiologist. If her desire is to do anesthesia solo (without "controlling doctors") then she'll need to either do a CRNA program or go to medical school. To be a CRNA, she will have to become a Registered Nurse. This is not optional, and cannot be substituted for any other discipline. An accelerated program (approx 12-15 months) would get her a BSN which means she could apply to ANY CRNA program in the country. Alternatively, she could do an ADN program (2 yrs) and apply to some CRNA programs with her bachelor's degree in another field if it is a BS, but it does limit the number of schools she can apply to. No matter which route she takes, it will require a MINIMUM of one year of bedside acute care experience as an RN. There is simply no way around this requirement. Each school determines what it will accept for acute care - some will take ER, some want only adult ICU, some will take pedi/neonatal ICU. Some programs require the GRE. Some require it unless you have a Master's. Some will take the MAT. Some don't need either. Each program (106 of them across the country) has different requirements and I'm sure there will be plenty she could apply to depending on which way she chooses to approach it. Check out the links provided by previous posters. There are many ways to skin a cat!!

I think the best way to find out would be to contact the schools you want to apply to and ask them. What kinds of drips? Titrating inotropes and vasoactive drips? I doubt you'll see those in an LTAC, but maybe I'm wrong.

If your ultimate goal is to get into a CRNA program, then you are probably wasting your time trying to transfer to ER. Most programs (for whatever reason) do not accept ER experience. You will need ICU experience. And a friend of mine was passed over for CRNA school because she had 4 years of travel ICU experience...the school wanted her to have stable experience at one hospital for a year. I'm not sure if travelling is just a personal desire, but it won't help your chances for acceptance. My suggestion: transfer as soon as possible into a high acuity ICU. Stay there until you apply for CRNA school (at least 1 year, preferably 2 years). Anything else probably hurts your chances rather than helps them.

I was in the same boat two years ago. I had two years Level III NICU and wanted to apply to CRNA school. My situation was a little different in that I still needed to complete my RN/BSN program. So I changed specialties and went to adult CVICU at a major heart hospital in Houston's medical center. I didn't necessarily want to switch to adults, but I also didn't want to limit my opportunities when applying to school. And I did feel the need to learn about adults. Having only NICU experience was very limiting, IMO. I feel much more well-rounded now as a nurse, having 2 years NICU and 2 years CVICU. I know it will make CRNA school more manageable as well. BTW, yes, I took a $6/hour cut in pay (I had been a weekender in the NICU so I had a premium on top of my salary) and was originally hired for the night shift when I switched hospitals/units. Fortunately, a day shift position opened up while I was on orientation so I never had to work nights again, but I still had the pay cut. But still, it was worth it in the end. I got my BSN and applied to school about 2 months later. I got into my first choice program and will be starting this Fall. :)

Everybody stands a chance. But there are some things you can do now to improve your chances. Generally, there's not much you can do for your GPA, so I would work on other areas. 1. Retake the GRE, use all the prep books and get your score above 1000 (>1100 would be even better) - most schools that require the GRE would prefer scores above 1000 2. Get your CCRN certification (and take the CSC also if you can) 3. Get ACLS and PALS certifications 4. Find another reference besides the "good friend"...preferably somebody you have worked with - preceptor, CRNA you've shadowed extensively, etc. 5. Shadow a CRNA (multiple times if possible) 6. Wait a year and apply with 2 years experience BTW, each school calculates GPAs differently. Some schools include nursing classes in the Science GPA (can't imagine why, but they do). Are there any classes you can take to boost your last 60 hours GPA? Organic chem or biochem? If you can take them and pull an A, you'll improve your last 60 GPA and your science GPA. Probably the best thing for your "chances" would be additional experience, and if you don't get in on your first attempt, you'll get that anyway while waiting to reapply the next year. Good Luck!!!

I agree 110% with Baby*Pink. I have done both. I went into NICU as a new grad because I had a definite passion for neonatal ICU. At the time, my plans were to continue to on and become an NNP. Along the way, I decided to pursue the CRNA route and after two years, switched to adult CVICU in order to get the best foundation for CRNA school (my plan is to do neonatal and pediatric anesthesia, so my NICU background definitely laid the foundation for my future). I have to say that not much carried over from one specialty to the other. Obviously, I had learned to be a nurse in the NICU, so the basic nursing stuff was established, but as far as meds/skills/knowledge of disease processes, nothing was the same. When I left the NICU and went to the CVICU, I started an orientation just like a new grad (thankfully, mine was only 10 weeks instead of 24 weeks because I was an experienced ICU nurse already). I would emphasize that the NICU is an environment that truly needs nurses that wholeheartedly WANT to be there. I would also guess that without the passion for NICU, few new grads would survive orientation -- you really, really have to want it in order to do it. And, if nothing else, the babies and their families deserve to have nurses with the passion to be there. NICU is not for everybody...and there is no shame in that at all. But, if I were you, I would pass on the job and find something that you are at least interested in.

I think you should have accepted the offer in the SICU. You will be working with surgical patients as a CRNA. The busy SICU is definitely the way to go. Can you get that offer back? I don't see the benefit of starting in a CCU to switch a year later to an SICU, you would be much better served (as would your patients) by doing your orientation in the SICU and learning everything you can in that unit from the start.

Student loans and private loans. Lots of loans. Some people also sign contracts with anesthesia groups that will pay a stipend while you are in school and/or pay off student loans upon graduation. There are many ways to do it. Primarily, the most important thing is to try to get as much as possible paid off before hand so that you can survive on as little as possible (to be able to borrow as little as possible). There are guaranteed federal loans and the schools allow students to borrow some money for the cost of living - but for most people it is not enough to pay all their bills so private loans are also needed.

Here's the latest info for parking in the med center... http://www.texmedctr.tmc.edu/root/en/Visiting/Parking/New+Parking+System.htm

SICU > CCU Big Hospital (Level I Trauma) > Community Hospital You want to have experience with surgical patients if possible, the sicker the better...but really, any good high acuity ICU will work. Every school has their own idea of which ICU is the best (some want CVICU, some want SICU, others will accept pedi/neonatal ICU if that's all you have). It just depends on the school.

On UTLink mine says: "You have been admitted to the program for the term shown above." The class that started in Fall2008 had 22 students, I think.

People (in the DFW area?) were posting yesterday that they had received acceptance letters. Sounds like those of us in the Houston area haven't received anything yet, based on a non-scientific quickie poll of several friends that interviewed at TCU also. Maybe by Monday...

I am sure the minimum REQUIREMENT isn't 5 years, however, perhaps the quality of the applicants is such that 5 years happens to be the least amount of experience of the applicants that get in.

Congrats!!!!! :yeah: