Thinking about CRNA... Advice PLEASE!

apaisRN, RN, CRNA · Apr 12, 2006

Duck and cover.

suzanne4, RN · Apr 12, 2006

Ok, im getting ready to graduate with my BA in Biology with minors in chemistry and business administration... Im basicly a pre-dent right now, but have really thought about going into nurseing as a back up if i dont get excepted to dental school. Anyways, i have talked to many schools about their advanced curriculum to earn a BA in nurseing science, which will only take me about a year and a half... After this i want to enroll in a CRNA program, i have no interest in being a regular RN... Now what im curious about is this, how competitive are CRNA program?? I currently have a 3.6 gpa and am pretty sure i can pull the same off with the BA in nurseing science... I have already taken the GRE and scored a 1200. Does this sound like a pretty good plan? Any input is greatly appreciated!

Please read some of the other posts here. And you will need to be a "regular" nurse to get the experience to even be accepted into a program.

Minimum of one year of critical care, and most have even more.

Best suggestion that I have for you: Try shadowing a CRNA for a few days and see if it is something that you really want.

You will be dealing with secretions, from every body orifice, even as a CRNA; and especially respiratory secretions. You will not get away from that.

And it is extremely competitive to get into a program. Right now it is easier to get into a medical school, if that is any idea for you.

golfmontpoker · Apr 12, 2006

duck and cover???

midwestsrna1 · Apr 12, 2006

You are insulting us all by coming on here, talking about NURSING (notice the spelling) as your back-up plan and saying you have no interest in being a "regular RN". Sorry to break it to you, but you have to do this for at least a year to apply to anesthesia school. Also, most CRNA schools require a BSN or an BS in related field with an ADN-RN. I'm not sure where a BA in biology fits in...what, couldn't take the BS? Ha...I kill myself. I would say your grades and GREs are avg or sl above so it would depend on your experience (the more time as a "regular RN" the better) and the interview. I'd hope they'd see straight through you but I'm not worried because it sounds like you have no interest in working very hard. Stick with the tooth fairy.

golfmontpoker · Apr 12, 2006

More competitive then Medical school??? I find that hard to believe... Not trying to flame or anything, but the MCAT is ROUGH, GPA's for med school are averaging 3.7+. But hey your probably right, what do i know... I have read some posts through here though and lots of people being accepted with 3.3's and 1040 GRE's... doesnt seem that competitive other then the experiance of working in an ICU environment

midwestsrna1 · Apr 12, 2006

Have you seen "Meet the Parents"? Start there.

suzanne4, RN · Apr 12, 2006

More competitive then Medical school??? I find that hard to believe... Not trying to flame or anything, but the MCAT is ROUGH, GPA's for med school are averaging 3.7+. But hey your probably right, what do i know... I have read some posts through here though and lots of people being accepted with 3.3's and 1040 GRE's... doesnt seem that competitive other then the experiance of working in an ICU environment

Yes, because of the number of programs that are available, more than anything else.

So, please do your homework before coming here. And many of the applicants for the CRNA programs are 4.0 and have years of experience to top that off. They also go by your work experience in a critical care area, not grades alone.

golfmontpoker · Apr 12, 2006

What the hell does a movie have to do with anything?

golfmontpoker · Apr 12, 2006

Ahhh ok, thanx for clearing this up... I have researched many schools and it seems the requirements are at least a 3.0 and 1 year of ICU experiance, but im sure these are bare minimums. So CRNA type programs look at many other factors then grades and stats?? Work experiance is key then?

EMS/ICU/SRNA · Apr 12, 2006

Are you kidding us? First of all, there are not bachelor of ARTS in nursing that I am aware of. And being a "regular RN" is what makes CRNA's special. Like previous poster have said, yes it is more competitive to get into CRNA school than med school b/c of the incredible competitiveness to be accepted. Please never think of this highly respected profession as a "back up plan" (and I'm speaking of being a "regular RN") as you are clearly unfit for it. :nono: You should probably work on your spelling for that tooth cleaning application that you are so desperate to fill out.

EMS/ICU/SRNA · Apr 12, 2006

BTW, a 3.6 and a 1200 will not blow any program away. Like a CRNA that I shadowed told me: "you're gonna need to bring those grades up to be competitive." (I had a 3.62 and a 1230 GRE when she told me that)