GeauxJoe

UAB MSN of Nurse Anesthesia University of Alabama at Birmingham I did have 14 months of ICU experience once I started the program.

Agreed only you know which path is better for you. I'm currently in CRNA school. I started on a telemetry unit and transferred to the ICU after 1.5 years. I did get a lot of good experience on the floor but I would have preferred to be in the ICU thinking back now. I interviewed for CRNA school with 7 months ICU experience and got in. I find myself having to look up some things my classmates don't but I'm far from the bottom of my class! So my lack of experience, compared to some people who have 15+ years, isn't hurting me but it would have helped to have all my nursing career be in the ICU. Now as far as type of ICU for CRNA school. It doesn't matter, my class ranges from strictly NICU to CVICU to a mixed unit where you got everything. As long as you get good experience, and at a level 1 trauma center you will! Go into whatever interests you the most and learn it like the back of your hand! Now will CVICU help you when you do the cardiac portion of CRNA school...yes! But what about when you get to peds or trauma/burn??? Crna schools only expect you to be good at what you do and be eager to learn about every other speciality. Figure out what will interest you the most and go for it. Again "only you know which path is better for you". Good luck!

It was put into quotes because they actually told heyjack55 that. Actually said it to him, which would imply to me that they may have some animosity towards him/her if they left early. Of course employers don't want there employees leaving early but to specifically say this is a little too pushy for me. Especially if I'm trying to further my career and extend my education and will need reference letters from managers etc.

I'm in CRNA school right now and my classmates and I range from only NICU to only CVICU to a mixed unit where you saw everything but peds. The type of ICU really won't make a difference but what you learn while working there and becoming proficient at what you do will make the difference. I would choose the one that didn't "expect" you to work a certain amount of time only because I wanted to start CRNA school ASAP. I only had 7 months icu experience at the time of my interview and 1.5 years when I started the program. The reason I say it won't matter is because you will be doing anesthesia on all patient populations so 1 ICU type of experience isn't necessarily going to be beneficial. It may help when you study that 1 patient population but for the most part it will be negligible. Good luck!

Everything malenurse69 said was spot on! No the ICU isn't classes but you should be learning as much as possible about what your doing there. He also mentioned that you should try to get your CCRN. Which is Critical Care Registered Nurse. It is an extra certification you can obtain while working in the ICU that basically says I'm really good at what I do! CRNA school's look up to that!

I'm currently in CRNA school and took a path close to what you described. I obtained my ADN then worked as an RN while I took online classes to get my BSN. All the while I got a job in the ICU got my experience and got into CRNA school. As HouTx mentioned it was very competitive getting into school and the schooling itself is very hard. You mentioned not liking science... Science is the backbone of our job. Chemistry, anatomy and physiology and biology are the major subjects that anesthesia is based on. Another thing is that most CRNA schools specifically look at your science GPA to see how well you do in those particular areas. As with your case I hope it was just your teachers and you do have a soft spot for science because it is a very important subject for CRNA's. Let me know if I can be of any more assistance. One more thing, it would be unnecessary to obtain your masters degree because all you need is a BSN to get into CRNA school. You will receive your advanced degree once your graduate from CRNA school wether it be a master's or a doctorate, depending on which program you attend.

We, class of 2017, only have class M-TH for the didactic portion but I have heard that future classes will be M-F. Yes it is a hard program. I have never had to study before now and have just learned how to really study since I've been in the program. Now there are a few students, like 2 or 3 out of 36, in our class who have no problem with the classes and say that it seems easy to them but that is not the popular belief. You have to put in a lot of study hours to keep up with the information load. Our instructors repeatedly compare it to drinking out of a fire hydrant! Don't let this scare you though, they wouldn't accept you into the program if they didn't think you could handle it, it's student success that makes them look good!

I agree with the above comments check with your hospital and find out if they will hire you into the ICU straight out of school. I'm in CRNA school right now and took the exact road your describing. Graduated with ADN worked on a telemetry unit on the floor for 1.5 years and then got an ICU job, all the while I was doing an online rn-bsn program. Interviewed for crna school after 7 months in the ICU and was accepted. I did have over a year of icu experience before starting CRNA school though. Good luck!

Hey btfly, I'm in the class of 2017 at UAB. At the time of my interview I had 7 months of ICU experience. 1 year 3 months of ICU experience when the program started. I originally applied to get an interview under my belt so I could have some experience for other interviews but was accepted at UAB! My GPA was 3.75 Science GPA was 3.85 297 on GRE 3.5 writing portion No ccrn Anything else you would like to know just ask.

Hey guys was just reading yalls post, I'm in the class of 2017 and here are the stats for our class. They accepted 38 and I believe between 200-300 applied. I interviewed in October and got my acceptance letter at the end of November.