FilAmICU

I completed the program this year and let me tell you it was all worth it! You gotta put your work in. If you work full time, double the effort on reading ahead. Network, network, network for your clinicals! Do not wait until you're done before preparing for the certification exam. I took an extra course to get myself ready for the big exam, apps, and read and understand the concepts. I was nervous at the testing center, but I did it! I passed! FNP-C I am! Just got a call last week from a big hospital to start on-boarding process after my interview last month. I can't believe it! I know USU is not a brick and mortar or UC expensive university, but hey I'm proud of my accomplishment. A coworker went to a more expensive university and graduated last year and was not successful on his first try. He's a bit discouraged, but been encouraging him to try again. USU is not bad at all as some may think it is. We're all gonna have a different take on it especially being an online program. I was not a big fan of online education, but I made it! Let's go!

I love your attitude towards your profession! I'm keeping my staff job and I would like to develop this deep loyalty to my profession and my patient. No politics! No BS! You're my hero!

I have 3 years Med/Surg, 3 years ICU, and now I'm in PACU and I love it! I have just been promoted as Charge Nurse after being there for 8 months and I still love it. Being in charge entails responsibilities and let's be honest, some politics too. Anyhow, travel nursing came to mind recently. After doing the math, I'd be making $10K more if I stay where I work now and still able to keep all my benefits intact. I have a list of PROs and CONs in mind. TRAVEL NURSE PROs - Travel to different parts of the country per assignment. - Meet new people. No attachment. - Make non taxed income CONs - Learn new hospital policies and computer system. - Pay rental while maintaining my mortgage. I don't wanna give up my house since it will be my home base when waiting for the next assignment. - Possibility of getting floated to other units. I don't like being floated. STAFF NURSE PROs - I'm comfortable with the system - I'm familiar with the policies and procedures of the hospital - My house is only 5 miles away from work. It works perfectly when I'm on call. - Opportunity to pick up extra shifts to other units that I like. I have a choice. CONs - I have to deal with newly promoted managers from other units who do not have a clue of what they're doing. Although this is unavoidable in all hospitals. There will always be that one person who will f*ck it up for you. I guess after writing this down, I'm no longer torn on my decision. I'm leaning towards staying at my current hospital. I'll just suck it up and toughen it out. I'm giving myself another 4 years in this current hospital to lower my home loan then I can go wherever I want. Feel free to comment. Thank you!

I am very torn between CRNA and FNP. I definitely don't wanna see myself being a bedside RN until I retire. I know there are so many routes to choose from in Nursing and I have eliminated some of them and narrowed it down to those two. I started late in my nursing career after realizing that engineering was not for me. Anyhow, right after graduation I was grateful to land a job in Med Surg by choice. I stayed there for 2 years to learn all the basics of real nursing with real patients. Being a foreign graduate, I didn't want to jump right into a Tele or ICU; it did help me immensely. Having completed those 2 years, I got a spot in our ICU and this is where I was introduced to the idea of considering CRNA. I am now on my second year in ICU and already have my CCRN. I don't know if I can afford to go back to school and not be allowed to work with my living expenses amounting to $2.5K a month for the next 2 to 2 and a half years depending on which school I could get in here in California. Also, I have yet to acquire all my credentials overseas to make sure they are in line with what they want. So many buts and ifs. The fire is there to pursue this path but there are so many questions in my head. I know I can do it as I've accomplished quite a bit without any support from my family. I'm single and I can pretty do whatever I want and I would like to think that it is an advantage as I don't have to worry about anything. I am in a battle with myself everyday. I am very self motivated yet I am torn. I'd say what scares me most is the expenses I have to go through in this journey. If I could only take a loan from a wealthy individual who has a chunk of disposable income, that would be great! Haha! Anyone? My plan is to turn in my application to the only school I want and if I get rejected then FNP it is which there is a program that's offered all year round. Definitely not staying at the bedside for long. Thanks for this thread. Very helpful. Thanks for reading mine too. :)

I used Laura G's lecture videos and watched it close to ten times. One last time the night before I took the test. I like to cram and it works for me all the time. I also watched more in depth videos on YouTube on topics that I need more explanation. I did about a thousand practice questions for mental aerobics as Laura described it. Passed it on first sitting. Good luck to you!

Since my last post, there's been quite a lot of things that's changed. First I thought, "Oh well, I'll just stay as an ICU RN and work my behind until I'm old and gray". And so I missed the opportunity in turning in my application for this school year. I told myself that one and a half year of ICU experience is personally not enough to get a full grasp of critical care nursing. And so I waited for a couple of months before taking the CCRN exam (I was supposed to take it in August 2014 so I can have it on my application), which you all know is one of the requirements. Lo and behold! I passed it just a couple of days ago! My electrical wirings are activated again. I'm turning in my application this year, maybe 3 schools here in California and I'm setting a goal to start saving now until I can get into the program which hopefully happens next year (2016). Two of my friends are in the program; one will finish up this year and the other next year so hopefully I can shadow them. Thank you guys!

Congratulations! How's the program so far? I'm not even sure if you have the time to check this forum. I will surely take your advice on checking if the school would recognize my degree considering it's from another country. Good luck to you as well!

Thank you all for your encouraging words. I will surely give it a lot of weighing and considerations. Like I mentioned, I do not see myself at the bedside until the day I retire. I know I have other options to get out of it such as Case Management and Informatics among others but if I have to go back to school anyways then I'd rather do the CRNA program. Having experienced working in an office/corporate settings in the past allowed me to handle work place politics quite effectively so I don't mind it at all if ever there is going be one. The only advantage I can think of right now is that I'm single and I believe I can manage my time and finances if I just try a little harder. I can save some money for my day to day expenses and then the rest of it through a loan. I still have a couple of months to think about it so yeah. I'll keep you all posted. You guys have my gratitude.

While some are here sketching the blueprint of their nursing career, here I am torn whether to pursue a career to become a CRNA or stay as an ICU nurse. Brief background about me. I'm a male nurse who took nursing as a second degree overseas at the age of 35. 2 years later came back to the US but not without a struggle with BRN for an ATT. Thankfully passed NCLEX on my first attempt then landed my first job in a hospital after 4 months. Accepted an offer at a Med Surg unit which I wanted to since I'd like to get a good foundation of being a floor nurse. Two years passed and I showed my interest in the ICU. I was given the chance to work with the finest RNs in the hospital. I'm on to my first year in ICU and plan to take the CCRN this year. My initial intention was to get a good grasp of the ICU setting in order to join the ranks of RNs in the academe. However, I became interested in CRNA when one of my colleagues encouraged me to look into it since I don't see myself being a bedside RN until the day I retire. Here's my dilemma. No savings. Not liquid. Living paycheck to paycheck because of my previous loans. Not certain if I can financially survive the 2 yr program without having to work. My mind is willing to go through the rigid program that the course requires. Would a student loan be able to fund it 100%? Is 41 years old too old to get into the program? (I'll be 41 if I get accepted for next year's. My co worker's advice was to apply first and let destiny take its course since there is only a very limited number of seats available each year. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks guys! :)