Though I love my critical care floating job...will it help me for CRNA school???

[BlackRN]

Hi all,

Ok I have been a nurse for 4 years...2 years as a telemetry, 1 year as a telemetry float, 1 year ICU (full time) and now Critical Care float pool. My goal is to go to CRNA school. I love how flexible my schedule is and loving the float pool. I enjoy variety and change and the autonomy. But I recently was told by someone that the float pool isnt considered as heavy thus might affect my admission to the program.

Thus, here is my question, Is there anyone out there who got into CRNA after a critical care float pool experience? What else should I do to make myslelf more appealing to the admission committee? I have CCRN, and above 3.5 GPA (BSN and some MSN courses).

thanks

[love-d-OR]

I agree, it's going to be hard to sell yourself as an RN that cares for SICK patients. I would call the school counselor and inquire, but then again you have already applied so what's the point? Just sit back and enjoy the wait

[BlackRN]

yeah...i just hope i get an interview...if not...next year...i will find a full time position....see i trully never knew that floaters get less heavy patients...I honestly never have gotten a less heavy patient...may be because of my accent that I automatically get the worst and heavy patients...I just wish I get the interview...

[live2n2bate]

I also have to agree with Love.d.or--I worked float ICU for 4 years and although I took care of a variety of patients, I have to admit, rarely did I ever take care of the "fresh" hearts or the "fresh" traumas that came through the doors. Yes, on occassion I did however it was rather infrequent. The experience was invaluable though. I wanted to go to CRNA school and applied. Yet when it came down to the interviews they questioned me a lot about the experience. I didn't get in and I was told that they wanted me to work in one unit (preferably something surgical) to get "experience" with the "sickest" patients....At first i was somewhat ****** off and pretty resentful HOWEVER I was able to take a job in a TICU and after 2 years applied...got in...and have been a CRNA for 8 years now. I will say though, they were right...I didn't nearly get the experience I needed by working as a floater...Most times you get the patients that are still relatively sick just not so acute....You may get a swan but you aren't the nurse who is actually floating it and telling the MD's what chamber it's in....you may get the patient who is septic but after everything as calmed down...so to speak, etc...

My suggestion, if you have the opportunity to take a staff position in a unit, TAKE IT. I loved to float and learned a great deal however I would by lying if I said that I took care of the really critically ill patients. Hope this helps

[BCRNA]

If you already worked full time one year in one unit, I think you could play the "diversified" experience card to explain why you wanted to float. It will not effect admissions if that one year was recent experience. I was a a neonatal nurse for one year, and a CCU nurse for six months when I interviewed. Neonatal ICU wasnt accepted if it was your only experience. Float nurses don't USUALLY take care of the sickest patients (in a perfect world), but at my hospital we are so short staffed that the float pool nurses took care of the same patients as everyone else, you could mention this at your interview if it is true at your hospital too.

In your particular situation since you have worked full time one year in 1 ICU, no one is going to think you have inferior experience because of floating. I think you will have better experience for seeing more variety and caring for a more diversified population.

I worked at a very large hospital, we tried to help each other out, but you were expected to function as an independant RN as a float pool person. The only people we never gave new patients(or really sick) to were nurses pulled from step down units. The float pool was expected to take anything we gave them. It might be different at other hospitals, but the float pool was the "cream of the crop" at my hospital. They had CCRN and alot more education requirements.