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Discussion

Trauma Levels

I just did an interview for a SICU position. My goal is to eventually become a CRNA. The hospital is a level III trauma center. The patients are really sick. They have open hearts and very complicated patients. My question is, should I accept the job? I have a friend who wants to refer me to the hospital where she works. It's a level I trauma center. How important is the trauma level when you apply to CRNA schools? How much do the schools take that into consideration? Also, they want me to sign a two year contract.

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    Level I and II trauma centers will likely have patients requiring a higher level of care. There are a lot of factors that go into a facility and their trauma designation, but in my research it seems to depend on the program that you are applying to. Depending on where you want to go, call or email the program directors in that area and see what they recommend. Sometimes it seems that some CRNA schools want ICU experience, some schools want high quality ICU experience at trauma centers. It will also depend on the rest of your stats, if you have really good grades, CCRN, good GRE scores if required, good LORs, this may not mean so much. Hopefully I have been helpful, even if I am not yet enrolled in CRNA school.

    -D

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    Schools want to know you are working with sick patients. The hospital doesn't have to be a major trauma center. If you work at a level III, but your SICU is caring for open hearts, dealing with swans, pressors, vents, etc. That is what they are looking for. A common interview question they ask is "tell me about a typical patient on your unit".

    This is only one part of the equation, you will also need a good GPA, CCRN, etc to make yourself competitive.

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    • Author
    Level I and II trauma centers will likely have patients requiring a higher level of care. There are a lot of factors that go into a facility and their trauma designation, but in my research it seems to depend on the program that you are applying to. Depending on where you want to go, call or email the program directors in that area and see what they recommend. Sometimes it seems that some CRNA schools want ICU experience, some schools want high quality ICU experience at trauma centers. It will also depend on the rest of your stats, if you have really good grades, CCRN, good GRE scores if required, good LORs, this may not mean so much. Hopefully I have been helpful, even if I am not yet enrolled in CRNA school.

    -D

    Thank you. This will help me in my decision.

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    SICU with open hearts would definitely be a plus, trauma level doesn't really matter. I'm in anesthesia school now and I have classmates with such a variety of backgrounds from peds only to Neuro ICU. I agree with CKH23, your GPA and having your CCRN are also two big factors.

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