MSN prior to crna school

Nursing Students SRNA

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Any advice please. Basically went through ADN school and practiced as an RN for a few years before BSN. Ended up with a not so great GPA after my BSN classes. Fast forward after 7 years critical care and finished an MSN program with certification as FNP. 4.0 GPA in my MSN classes. I'm taking my GRE in a few weeks and have A"s in chemistry and statistics. What are my chances of getting n a CRNA program with the prior MSN degree. Any other advice? TIA

You could be a competitive applicant, depending on your cumulative and science GPA. Hopefully some of your MSN level courses would transfer.

What makes you desire to change from FNP to CRNA?

I think you could very well be one of the more competitive applicants in any school given you get great letters of recommendation, have your certifications (minimum CCRN), shadowed, and worked full time critical care. That said, your biggest hurdle to overcome is legitimately and truthfully answering, why are you leaving FNP so soon after. There are many applicants who go down this route to become more competitive for anesthesia school but from a different perspective, the thought process from the admissions committee is, this person got into another graduate school program, completed it, and turned away from it, what are the chances they'll do the same with anesthesia. If you say, well I wanted to be more prepared for anesthesia, be prepared to answer follow up questions regarding how exactly your FNP helped prepare you for anesthesia school that your critical care experience didn't, also be prepared to address how your selection into that FNP program took the spot away from someone else who might have decided to actually pursue FNP as a profession and not use the degree as a stepping stone. I think you are very competitive based on the very small amount of information you provided, but your selection will definitely come down to your interview and how you answer your questions, thats a fact.

Specializes in Pulmonary / Critical Care NP, CRNA.

I have my MSN and made sure to comment in my personal statement about getting it and why I want to persue my CRNA now. I found that they also asked me about it. They wanted to know that I wouldn't have a chip on my shoulder (act like I was better than everyone else) and asked why CRNA and why now. So just be prepared for questioning along these lines.

Why switch from FNP to CRNA?

Specializes in Pulmonary / Critical Care NP, CRNA.
Why switch from FNP to CRNA?

Don't know about the OP, but for me going from acute care NP to CRNA is about the type of work and job satisfaction for my personality.

FNP just wasnt for me. When I was younger I always had the CRNA desire. Now that I have pursued a graduate degree and did well, I want to push forward to work in a place that my heart desires.

I interviewed two places and both times I was asked why now and how i plan to incorporate my MSN into my CRNA practice if able. They also asked how this can attribute to their progrm.

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