jj224

Good luck from a 2018 grad!

Where I work, we had a new SRNA on her first rotation that had only NICU experience - she did very poorly and got booted from her program.

Look at programs with huge classes (30+). They're usually easier to get into..

I'm not going to answer all your questions, but will say this - I know many NPs that wish they were CRNAs, but don't know a single CRNA that wishes they were an NP instead.

There's someone that has been kicked out of CRNA school, went to medical school, and is now an anesthesia resident. What I'm getting at is - anything is possible. You may have to travel to another state, but as long as your only issue was the one class, you should be okay. PDs all know each other and will talk to each other when you apply / interview, so as long as you were in good standing otherwise and left on decent terms with your PD, you'll find a way.

When I interviewed and while I was in school, this is what the process was like 1) 20-30 min to sit with / meet current students. I found this to be nice when I interviewed so I volunteered to do this while I was an SRNA. You'd be able to bounce questions off the SRNAs that you might feel uncomfortable asking during the interview. You get to hear a student's prospective on the program, clinical sites, numbers, etc. 2) Interview with the faculty - when I interviewed there was no written test. They'll ask questions to get to know you and your experience. They'll ask about your typical patient, meds, etc. They'll ask standard CRNA school interview questions. This will be with the program director and some of the instructors. If you have any questionable grades or anything on your transcript, make sure you have a good reason for it.

Serious question - what's wrong with Loyola?

This has been asked and answered many times. Search and you'll find the answers you're looking for.

Dude. You don't need 6mos to prep for the GRE. Its like highschool level math.

Khan academy if you're REALLY dying to brush up on stuff.

Save your money

Relax. Sleep. Enjoy time with family and friends. Travel. Save up some money. These are things that will be in short supply when you get into the thick of things. They'll teach you everything you need to learn. If you're weak in a specific area, relearn it then. No need to stress about it now - you're not going to relearn everything chemistry in 6 mos.

I try to avoid the terminology "blew the vein" or "the vein blew" in front of a patient. It makes it sound a lot worse than it is, and it certainly doesn't make the patient feel better about having a student drawing labs. I think it was poor form of your instructor to say that. They could have said something like "the blood isn't flowing well over here," or something else similar. That said, don't sweat it. I've started many, many IVs and I still miss every once in a while.

Not to be snarky, but read through the many other posts about this topic. While it won't contain specifics that are only relevant to your situation, you can piece together what is needed from reading the other posts. If this only has 3 people comment on it, wouldn't hearing input from 10-100 people be more beneficial?

But do you think you will be any more or less an expert in anesthesia because you have a doctorate? The MSN grads are the same as DNP grads at the end of the day - new grads. You won't be an expert at anesthesia when you finish CRNA school. Expertise comes with years of working and continually wtwyint current on new EBP, which you can do with a doctorate or a masters.

Sure - as long as you explain to the person that has NO idea what a nurse anesthetist is, what a nurse anesthetist is. I can't tell you how many times I'll tell a patient in pre-op that I'm a CRNA and they'll later call me Dr. So and So, completely tuning out the fact that I'm a CRNA and not a physician anesthesiologist. So as long as the patient knows that you are a CRNA and what a CRNA is (not a physician), then go for it. Sadly, the APRNs that I have seen go in to introduce themselves to their patients don't do this and just say "I'm Dr Blank." This was in my ICU days. I have yet to see a DNP prepared CRNA introduce themselves as Dr.

My opinion - the public perception of the title Dr. in a hospital / healthcare setting is that Dr = MD/DO/DDS. Think about how many people have no idea what a CRNA is. Saying I'm Dr. Doe, CRNA, doesn't do much to let the patient know that you aren't a physician, which I think is misleading. I personally think the DNP, which I've earned, is nowhere near as rigorous as a PhD. I don't think I'm any better prepared than an MSN CRNA. It does nothing. For these reasons, I don't and won't refer to myself as "Dr."

I graduated from that program, feel free to contact me with any questions!

Save your time & money. Whatever perceived shortcomings you have with your applications, make up for in critical care experience and if you feel you need to boost your GPA, do it with some sort of advanced science class at a local CC.

3.3 GPA BS bio & chem, 2 years in EMS, 4.0 GPA in nursing MS, 3 years MICU - CCRN, preceptor, unit committees, etc, clinical instructor at nursing school 1 year.

What are your mother's opinions of CRNAs and CRNAs practicing independently?

I'm part of a large networking group with many CRNAs. One posted a job listing either from gaswork or a hospitals site that listed doctorate preferred. In the grand scheme of things, it literally makes no difference. Either program, you'll come out of school with similar skills as a new grad. I haven't heard or seen of any other postings of doctorate preferred and I don't think it'll be a big issue. Unsure of reimbursement issues.

No. There are plenty of surgeries, just comparatively not a lot of lung transplants.

I did a few lung transplants during school. The surgeons don't really dictate whether or not students are able to participate on the anesthesia side of things, so it's not really prudent to use that as a metric in choosing a school. There's no school that is going to have a student do 10+ lung transplants during training because there simply aren't enough lungs to go around for all the people learning. The academic center I was at had anesthesiology residents, who trained to do these cases as well as SRNAs. The residents got precedence on these types of cases. CRNAs are able to do them (meaning, there's no restriction saying the can't participate in these cases), but as long as there are residents in training and there isn't a more interesting / complex case for them to do, the resident will be assigned to it. The CRNA would give breaks during the case and take over at 3 (or whenever the resident left for the day, which was 3 o clock at this hospital). Lung transplants take place at teaching facilities (usually), so there will likely be residents there. It depends on case volume to dictate how many you'll be involved in during your education. I read in a previous post that you want to specialize in lung transplant. There are specialized cardiac teams at some hospitals, but I haven't heard in someone specializing specifically in lungs just since there aren't 2-4 done per day (as is the case with hearts at a large facility). I'd guess one place that might have the lung transplant volume you're looking for for during education is Mayo - they have a 42 month program (barf) you could look into.

This background check is run by the FBI, I believe. They will see what you were charged and convicted with and it will be reported to your school. The fact that it was 20 years ago is good, but possession with intent to distribute is a huge red flag given our nearly unlimited access to narcotics. Has this conviction come up on other background checks for nursing school / job?