CallAnesthesia

Most employers will not ask, nor care, what your CRNA school GPA is/was. Just keep grinding and don't get kicked out.

I'm almost done with didactic. I've made a couple high Bs. I will graduate all the same.

It is not so much that initials matter when it comes to intubations. It is experience. On the floors of a hospital (pre-COVID) airway management was an infrequent, high-stakes practice. When you have a procedure that is infrequently used, you want it limited to a small number of people to avoid skill dilution. Think about the IV guy/gal on your unit. Typically, whoever does a procedure more frequently, will be more capable. The case of a hospital in BFE with no one around to intubate is a different story and doesn't warrant training nurses in nursing school to intubate. Most new grads can't even insert foleys in females with good success rates. This is definitely a case where I do not think the medical profession is trying to keep the nurse down. I was a paramedic before becoming a nurse. I'm now in anesthesia school and I have been in clinical for 3 months with 30 or so successful intubations. I have had every resource available and I still have been humbled by difficult airways and had to have a more experienced provider intubate. These have been with stable patients in ideal conditions. I say all this to tell you that you really don't want this responsibility in the hospital. Mask ventilation is a more valuable skill than intubating for a bedside nurse. Most cannot do that either, because they never do it. See what I mean?

I think this is perfectly acceptable. You may not get a response though. They have a lot on their plates. If there is an admissions coordinator or something you may have better luck there. However, as long as the email is professional, I don't see how it could be a negative.

What is it about ICU that would prevent from doing 2 years? Your overall GPA is competitive, but your science GPA is not. Will you get in with 1 year? Maybe. I would recommend getting a competitive GRE score. We can't promise you that you would get in at the 1 year ICU mark. Many, many people have to apply more than once and have 2 or more years of experience. If one extra year of working ICU makes you not want to pursue anesthesia then you might need to reevaluate your priorities and goals. There is nothing wrong with being an OR nurse.

Yeah, you need to be honest about it. Tell them now. Of course it is dishonest behavior not to mention it even though it has been "sealed." Just assume they'll know anyways. Might as well get out in front of it. It's not like you were doing heroin. However, it was illegal and shows "poor decision making." Just tell them how you have grown, how you have changed yada yada.

If CRNA is your goal. Don't take the job.

Sure you have a chance. GPA is the hole in your application. Don't let yourself have any more holes. Do well on the GRE. Get an A in this grad class you are taking. Get your CCRN when you can. For your own sake, don't be heartbroken if you don't get a call for an interview the first time you apply. A sub 3.3 GPA with only 1 year MICU doesn't necessarily jump out at the adcom. The difference in 1 and two years ICU experience is huge. I say all this to prepare you for the worst, which is just a "not right now." And I say this to encourage you to push on if you do get a "not right now."

Sounds like you have a great support system in place. The hardest part, aside from having a strong support system, is just all the time you don't get to spend with them. But it is doable. Many before us have done it. Truly, if you have dependable childcare and a super supportive spouse, it is doable. Just know that once things pick up in your program, you cannot be the primary caregiver for your children. Best of luck!

The rule deals with "primary domicile." It is confusing. If you are wanting to keep your NC license and plan on moving back there then you would need to have a mailing address and DL from NC. You could use a family member's address I guess. I went ahead and moved all of my stuff to the state my school is in because it had me worried about getting caught in a bad situation. From the way I understand it, you want your DL and your nursing license in the same state and where you have a "permanent" residence. I am no expert though.

A lot of SRNAs come from night shift. It can be hard to get on day shift as a new nurse. Also, a lot of SRNAs also did some traveling to save up money. It all depends on the acuity of patients you cared for and how you can articulate your experience. If you have the type of travel experience where you get stuck with lower acuity patients about to be transferred out of the unit, then that would be a negative.

You will find that many programs will be understanding of that. Use this to your advantage. Show that you have developed healthy coping mechanisms. Reflect how you learned more about yourself through the process. Showing that you are willing to address stressful situations and work through them via healthy means is a great way to impress the ADCOMs. Substance abuse is big problem in anesthesia and healthcare in general. If you have healthy coping mechanisms, you will be that more resistant to it. Anesthesia school is very burdensome and stressful. If you have been in that type of situation before and have already developed the coping skills to work through tough situations, I think you are ahead of the game. I have noticed a different attitude toward mental health in anesthesia school. All of the faculty has focused on self care, healthy outlets, hobbies, time with family, even counseling, etc. I would bring it up and highlight how you have grown.

That's tough. Unfortunately, they do not usually include any money except for YOU. Childcare and the like are not usually included. Like for me, I have two kids and cannot take any more money out than a single 25 year old. The only other option I have is a personal loan and those can be hard to get.

I took out the federal direct loans and the discover health professions loan up to the cost of attendance. Your cost of attendance should include living expenses. My advice is to call the financial aid office and get this sorted out.

Saved up a good chunk of money before school. However, I am taking out loans to cover tuition and cost of living right now. I may deplete my savings later in the program as I am just in the first year. You never know what can happen over the course of three years.

https://mtsa.edu/news/mtsa-expands-focus-on-ultrasound/

Don't get me started on KEDs

****** the admissions coordinator, will be retiring next month. I remember that when I was applying she was super graceful and helpful. If she has helped you out, you may consider sending her a thank you email. I'm sure she would appreciate it!

Yeah I see where you're coming from. I worked in weird ICU. We were a "heart recovery" unit but also had a ton of sepsis and resp failure. Toward the end of my time there we pretty much stopped using SWANs. IMO you are probably in a good spot, and I don't recommend switching at this point. I would try to apply and see what happens. You are right that moving units would make it more difficult to get recommendations. The big benefit to recovering hearts is the immediate post op period where they sometimes have pretty labile hemodynamics. Depending on the unit culture it may take a while before they even give you those. If I were you, I probably stay where you're at and make sure I knew everything about the unit, the drugs, and the conditions that you routinely treat.

I don't know that I would switch units. How often are you getting sick patients? Vasoactive medications, vents, and the like?

People do get accepted with only PICU experience. They are exceptions, but it happens. As it stands, your GPA is not competitive at this point. Schools can be different on how they calculate science GPA, doesn't hurt to ask the admissions contact. I would consider the CCRN a must for you so I'm glad to hear you are planning on taking it. A good GRE score (like 310+), even if they don't require it, could help a little given your GPA. It is obviously completely up to you but I think if you took the next year to work in an adult ICU with high acuity, get your CCRN, shadow, and take a couple upper level sciences and get As, you would be a much more competitive candidate. I'm not trying to be a downer but most schools get a ton of applications and will cull by GPA. The problem with where you are now is that to have a real chance of landing an interview, you will have to apply to a lot of schools. That costs money and time and will wear on your references. I have a friend that was in a similar situation GPA wise. He wanted to go to one school that was about 2.5 hours away. He began taking the open classes of the CRNA program, driving up there twice a week. He got As. He got to meet the faculty. He applied after the first semester and didn't get an interview. He took a couple more classes and was granted an interview and got accepted. That is a tremendous amount of dedication and makes it real hard to say no to a candidate like that. If this is what you want, don't give up. You CAN do this. It is just going to take some work. Best of luck!

I interviewed last year. The PD gives a presentation at the beginning of the day. You all then remain in the lecture hall and have the opportunity to talk to current students. You will taken in small groups to wait upstairs for your interview. Panel interview with like 10 faculty. My interview was literally less than 7 minutes. Some people's are twice that. Some people are asked strong clinical questions. I was asked like 5 personal questions and no clinical questions. It is highly variable. I walked out shocked that is all they asked me. I was waitlisted.

@Michael Jacques don't sweat it if you don't get an interview this year. I would say that people that get accepted with just a year of experience are becoming the exception and not the norm now. I was told by two programs after interviewing that the only thing I needed was more time in the ICU. I kept applying to other programs while working and got accepted at the third school I interviewed at. You'd be surprised what one year can do. I've heard lots of stories of people not getting any interviews with 1 year experience, literally doing nothing else but working for another year, and getting accepted to the same schools the following year.

I would not recommend any program that is like what you are describing. It may be fine for management or whatever but applying to a competitive graduate program requires a GPA. Most RN-BSN programs are a money grab and the program you are referencing sounds like the worst of them. I could be wrong but I'm probably not. Other than that it doesn't really matter where you get your BSN. I would just make sure it gives you a GPA and get all As. If you want to be picky, go with a brick and mortar school with an online option.

Love at first sight?