Successful CRNA students consider listing your school, GPA, experience, GRE et.

[Roland]

In this way a database could eventually be created of the average profile of successful/unsuccessful applicants at various schools. Obviously, this would only be a guideline since the profile of a successful applicant changes to some degree even from class to class. It might also be useful to list schools that did not accept you or ones that you elected not to attend. This could amount to a powerful tool enabling future applicants to direct their efforts to schools where they are the most likely to succeed (an especially important point with CRNA schools since travel expenses are often involved in the application process).

[Bamadawg]

Here goes:

Senior student at Bridgeport (GPA 3.6approx) Not very stellar, most of class is higher.

Undergrad 3.5 Science a little higher, not much.

MAT 55.

6years ICU(mostly SICU)5 years ER, 3 years nursing assistant, 2years bag boy in supermarket, 12 years landscaping (salaried with love)for my dad.

TNCC instructor ACLS instructor Certified Emergency Nurse.

Applied Bridgeport (did not complete application process anywhere else as Bridgeport responded first) had applied to FIU and UAB.

None of that matters really. If I were a prospective student, I would not worry about what I need to have but about making sure I know what a CRNA does everyday and if that is really what I want to do. Don't let money woo you into a job you may hate. In the interview they want to know if you want to do this and if you are someone they want to spend time around in the OR.

Your people skills and communication skills are HUGE!

Don't over think this numbers stuff. Just "git er done!"

Frank

[Roland]

Bamadawg a couple of points:

1. While the interview undoubtably plays a large role in the process so do the numbers! Your GPA, GRE, and years/type of experience determine whether or not you will even get a chance to express your commuication skills in person. Also, I would submit that some schools have different averages (in terms of minimum GPA, GRE et) than do others. Therefore, to the extent that it is possible it makes sense (all things being equal) to apply to those CRNA schools which give you the best opportunity for your personal GPA, GRE, and experience level.

2. While it is unfortunate that anyone should have " to do a job that they hate", I would submit that "loving your job" has not historically been a prerequisite for pursueing the American Dream. Indeed, I believe that much of the "do what you love" trend is part of a wider Socialistic/Liberal/Progressive dogma/rhetoric intended to diminish and undermine the traditional American belief of "doing financially well to live the American dream." I long for the days when men and women sometimes left their families for years doing horrid often deadly labor just for the remote possibility that they might one day be able to provide for a better existance for those whom they loved. I long for these days not because I relish the thought of human suffering, rather I feel that it was a more honest accessment of reality. Just last week I spoke at some length with a 26 year old woman from China who works at a local restaurant where we have eaten for years and who left her family six years ago to immigrate to the United States. She said that she worked briefly as a prostitute in an illegal brothel (to pay back whoever brought her here), and then worked three years washing dishes and doing kitchen work in the very restaurant she still works within. She has now "worked her way up" to server/hostess/assistant manager, but still works seven days per week fourteen to sixteen hours per day (and sleeps in the back of place). I doubt she "loves her job" however, she hopes to one day be able to bring her mother, father, and brothers from China so that they can have a chance at just a breath of freedom.

My point is that if someone is able to competently do the work of a CRNA what does it matter if they love the work? My mother hated teaching/nursing (something she pointed out on a daily basis), but was considered at least above average at both professions (yes she worked two jobs six or seven days per week). However, doing something that she hated enabled our family to live in relative prosperity, certainly compared to her doing what she wanted to do which was to be a stay at home mother and have many kids (something not possible as my father became sick at a relatively young age).

I would suggest that you read the book Nickel and Dimed, On not Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenrich. Although, I would disagree with many of her solutions (she takes a distinctly left of center/progressive approach to many issues), I believe she is correct in her primary thesis. Namely, a large percentage of Americans (and we have it very good compared with most places in the world) work miserable jobs which don't even pay for the basics, and which also cripple and sicken them at an early age. I would instead suggest that people find something that they can stand, and also do well enough to be employed and which pays an above average wage. Some will say that this is a self centered approach however I would counter that if a drowning man can save no one, then one is who is barely treading water is also unable to render great assistance to others.

Here goes:

Senior student at Bridgeport (GPA 3.6approx) Not very stellar, most of class is higher.

Undergrad 3.5 Science a little higher, not much.

MAT 55.

6years ICU(mostly SICU)5 years ER, 3 years nursing assistant, 2years bag boy in supermarket, 12 years landscaping (salaried with love)for my dad.

TNCC instructor ACLS instructor Certified Emergency Nurse.

Applied Bridgeport (did not complete application process anywhere else as Bridgeport responded first) had applied to FIU and UAB.

None of that matters really. If I were a prospective student, I would not worry about what I need to have but about making sure I know what a CRNA does everyday and if that is really what I want to do. Don't let money woo you into a job you may hate. In the interview they want to know if you want to do this and if you are someone they want to spend time around in the OR.

Your people skills and communication skills are HUGE!

Don't over think this numbers stuff. Just "git er done!"

Frank

[tridil2000, MSN, RN]

Bamadawg a couple of points:

1. While the interview undoubtably plays a large role in the process so do the numbers! Your GPA, GRE, and years/type of experience determine whether or not you will even get a chance to express your commuication skills in person. Also, I would submit that some schools have different averages (in terms of minimum GPA, GRE et) than do others. Therefore, to the extent that it is possible it makes sense (all things being equal) to apply to those CRNA schools which give you the best opportunity for your personal GPA, GRE, and experience level.

2. While it is unfortunate that anyone should have " to do a job that they hate", I would submit that "loving your job" has not historically been a prerequisite for pursueing the American Dream. Indeed, I believe that much of the "do what you love" trend is part of a wider Socialistic/Liberal/Progressive dogma/rhetoric intended to diminish and undermine the traditional American belief of "doing financially well to live the American dream." I long for the days when men and women sometimes left their families for years doing horrid often deadly labor just for the remote possibility that they might one day be able to provide for a better existance for those whom they loved. I long for these days not because I relish the thought of human suffering, rather I feel that it was a more honest accessment of reality. Just last week I spoke at some length with a 26 year old woman from China who works at a local restaurant where we have eaten for years and who left her family six years ago to immigrate to the United States. She said that she worked briefly as a prostitute in an illegal brothel (to pay back whoever brought her here), and then worked three years washing dishes and doing kitchen work in the very restaurant she still works within. She has now "worked her way up" to server/hostess/assistant manager, but still works seven days per week fourteen to sixteen hours per day (and sleeps in the back of place). I doubt she "loves her job" however, she hopes to one day be able to bring her mother, father, and brothers from China so that they can have a chance at just a breath of freedom.

My point is that if someone is able to competently do the work of a CRNA what does it matter if they love the work? My mother hated teaching/nursing (something she pointed out on a daily basis), but was considered at least above average at both professions (yes she worked two jobs six or seven days per week). However, doing something that she hated enabled our family to live in relative prosperity, certainly compared to her doing what she wanted to do which was to be a stay at home mother and have many kids (something not possible as my father became sick at a relatively young age).

I would suggest that you read the book Nickel and Dimed, On not Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenrich. Although, I would disagree with many of her solutions (she takes a distinctly left of center/progressive approach to many issues), I believe she is correct in her primary thesis. Namely, a large percentage of Americans (and we have it very good compared with most places in the world) work miserable jobs which don't even pay for the basics, and which also cripple and sicken them at an early age. I would instead suggest that people find something that they can stand, and also do well enough to be employed and which pays an above average wage. Some will say that this is a self centered approach however I would counter that if a drowning man can save no one, then one is who is barely treading water is also unable to render great assistance to others.

no one who works a miserable job to just pay their bills ever becomes great.

only great ones in life have an absolute passion for their work. they live it, and they love it, and it shows.

these people change the world everday and people who are passionate about nursing help make nursing what it is everyday.

i love my work. i have an absolute passion for it and i would do it for free. my peers know it and my patients receive better care for it. it's a whole different kind of unit when nurses love their work. i am sorry you've never seen this. it's truly amazing.

[oldnurse newnurse]

I'm scared to take the GRE I don't think I will do well.

[oldnurse newnurse]

no one who works a miserable job to just pay their bills ever becomes great.

only great ones in life have an absolute passion for their work. they live it, and they love it, and it shows.

these people change the world everday and people who are passionate about nursing help make nursing what it is everyday.

i love my work. i have an absolute passion for it and i would do it for free. my peers know it and my patients receive better care for it. it's a whole different kind of unit when nurses love their work. i am sorry you've never seen this. it's truly amazing.

You should be so fortunate to be one in a million. I get alot of compliments and thank yous from my patients and their femilies but doesn't mean I loovve what I do I would have rather been a person born into wealth and not laving to ever work but in reality I wasn't so I still love, respect, and warmingly take care of all my patients and treat their family members the same. Because this is a career I choose so I will respect it. Also I worked hard for it.

[Roland]

To those who say that they would do their work for free I ask, why don't you? After all there are abundant opportunities to work for organizations such as Nurses without Borders, The Peace Corps, and Catholic Charities (to name but a few) where the compensation is small or non existent. Of course there is nothing wrong with loving your job and it is unquestionably an asset to achieving greatness. However, it is my opinion that loving your job is the exception rather than the rule. In addition, I believe that loving (or at least liking) your job can be as much a function of mindset and attitude rather than the job itself. That Chinese person that I referenced has one of the most magnetic, uplifting attitudes that I have ever encountered despite working a job and hours (not to mention history and circumstances) that would make most sink to the depths of depression (and one of the things I would like to do if I ever become a CRNA is help this person go to school, become a citizen and perhaps bring their family to America).

With that said your compensation (what you earn) affects almost every facet of your life and lifestyle. Here are a few examples:

1. Where you live. If you don't earn enough money you are more likely to have to live in a higer crime, more polluted area. Furthermore, certain areas of the country (New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, HI, to cite a few examples) will be almost completely out of reach unless you live in a commune or some other shared sort of housing.

2. What you eat and how you are able to take care of yourself. Many who earn more are able to eat healthier foods. Foods which are fresher often organically grown and less processed. In addition, many I know who earn more are able to integrate more time for exercise (and able to afford gym memberships, and or equipment which encourages this being possible). I would submit that it is no coincidence that those most in poverty are most likely to suffer from obesity, poor nutrition, and the greatest raviges from issues such as lead and mercury poisoning. Health insurance is not cheap and even when you have health insurance money is often an issue (for example someone close to me has had chest pain for several years, but doesn't feel she could afford to have it investigated until now. Nor has she been willing/able to spend the money for Pap smears, breast exams et.). This is to say nothing of issues like taking care of your teeth. For example I have had a poorly done root canal (or at least one which experienced a negative outcome) which I have not been able to afford to rectify for several years. As a result when I am stressed for a prolonged period (read during nursing school) the left side of my face starts to swell as the latent infection starts to spread into the surrounding tissues (I manage this with antibiotics/tetracycline purchased from a Agriculture supply store intended for cattle and with garlic tablets, and green tea/honey and as many fresh fruits and veggies as I can afford). Due to lack of money I will likely end up having to extract this molar, and or be treated for osteomelitis of the maxillary area (or worse). Recently, one of my friends who earns good money working for Navistar asked me with a look of incredulity why I still wore glasses. After all exicimer laser surgery or at least contacts are so cheap. However, I had to explain that for me these were expenses way outside of our budget, and that I made due with glasses about five years old. Just the other day my 1994 Toyota Corolla with 330,000 miles broke down on the Interstate in a "bad area" and I was forced to hike about three miles with my four year old son the to the nearest pay phone. Most who I know who earn significantly more money would simply have used their cell phones to call AAA or better still used something like OnStar for immediate assistance (not to mention the fact they would have been driving newer, safer, vehicles where this would have been less likely to occur). I wonder if my son had been injured or killed in this incident if I would have been concerned with having a job that brought me more satisfaction rather than one which might have allowed me to avert the circumstances that contributed to his peril?

Another example, I recently had contact with an individual on my volunteer fire dept. who's son badly needs a heart transplant (due to a congenital situation). However, because he works as a security guard (and his wife at Wall Mart about 38 hours per week) without health insurance he makes too much money to qualify for Medicaid. He has been told that without insurance that he will have to come up with more money than he is able for his son to be considered for a transplant (yes he is in the process of applying for aid at many institutions, and there are a number of local efforts in our community to raise the needed funds). I have no doubt that Mr. M. wouldn't trade some of his job satisfication (he really likes his work as a security guard) for a higher level of income which allowed for him to more easily address this situation. In fact, he told me that he was going back to painting houses (although he hates that line of work) precisely for that reason.

Every semester in nursing school I literally pray each morning that my vehicle will not fail me since there is precious little tolerance for being late or absent due to vehicle malfuction (not to mention the myriad of other things that can go wrong with child care provider arrangements). I am sometimes stuck when I pull up to clinical and see some of my classmates who drive much nicer vehicles and SUV's, while still being teenagers/students. That is to say that even getting the opportunity to graduate and do something that you might love is at least in part a function of income, and or social class.

3. My half brother works as an osteopathic doctor of internal medicine and earns about $300,000 K per year (and his wife earns another $200k or so as a project manager for a prominent, architectual firm in Chicago). He has a second home on a nice lake in Northern Indiana, and is able to spend about six weeks per year with his family on various vacations. In addition, he has a nanny that helps care for his younger son, and his older son attend a prep school which costs about $18,000 per year in the 6th grade. Most of the people that I know (including myself) who work "survival jobs" (that is to say jobs that just barely pay the bills) take little or no vacation (our last vacation was ten years ago for four days to Florida which consisted of mostly driving). We send our kids to public schools or maybe we homeschool if we can some how find the time or coordinate our schedules.

The bottom line in my opinion is this having a job that you love is a true blessing however, earning enough money to have more than a survival level existance is even more important to overall life satisfaction. This is to say nothing of the issue that not caring about earnings facilitates a culture that encourages paying less than what the market would otherwise dictate. That is to say that the nurse who doesn't care about the money perhaps in part because he/she dosn't have a family (or has a spouse who earns a sizable income) contributes to a situation where the nurse who does need the money is less likely to receive greater compensation. That is because pay is largely a funciton of supply and demand, and institutions will pay the least that they can and still obtain sufficient nursing staff.

no one who works a miserable job to just pay their bills ever becomes great.

only great ones in life have an absolute passion for their work. they live it, and they love it, and it shows.

these people change the world everday and people who are passionate about nursing help make nursing what it is everyday.

i love my work. i have an absolute passion for it and i would do it for free. my peers know it and my patients receive better care for it. it's a whole different kind of unit when nurses love their work. i am sorry you've never seen this. it's truly amazing.

[Roland]

I'm scared to take the GRE I don't think I will do well.

Keep in mind that not every program requires the GRE. Also, there are numerous preparation books (I found five at my local library) to help you do better on the GRE. You can get several of these and work through them at your leisure. Unlike the NCLEX, the GRE doesn't present complex, application questions which lead many astray. Rather, your basic verbal, and mathematic skills will be accessed. These skills will tend to benefit greatly (especially the math) from basic review (after all how many of you remember your highschool and or college algebra in detail, what you don't use is often lost especially when it comes to math).

[prmenrs, RN]

I realize I'm risking my life here, but do you remember that it is against TOS to solicit membership for any purpose, including research. Therefore I'm closing this thread. And I do want to remind you that it is dangerous to post personal info on the internet.