What are my chances of getting accepted?

You'll be fine. ICU specialty doesn't really matter. In anesthesia school they'll teach you everything you need to know, and you'll have close to 1000 hours of clinical to get experience with unfamiliar drips.

Edit: And that isn't to discourage you from learning as much as you can while you're on the unit, but you seem to have taken all the right steps so far. Continue to soak up what you can, and focus on your interview skills. Coming across as confident, humble and teachable are important traits, in my opinion. Search these boards for interview questions, and practice in front of a mirror how you would answer them. Everyone you're competing against for a spot will have awesome grades and a decent amount of experience doing the same things you are. Figure out how you're going to make that interview committee remember you, and want to invest the next 2-3 years of their lives teaching you to become an anesthesia provider.

Hey, thanks man that's good to know. I have heard from several people that I will be taught what I need to know in anesthesia school, but I just worry that I will be in class with others who are more prepared than myself and somehow my experience will put me at a disadvantage and therefore I'll be unsuccessful. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I want to pursue anesthesia and I am motivated to do whatever it takes to succeed. I've also been told that it is not uncommon in NA school to be told to (for lack of better terms) "forget what you learned in ICU" because while ICU provides some background knowledge, the practice of anesthesia is so vastly different. I guess I just want to be as prepared as possible and not somehow get accepted into school without having the proper training beforehand (ie: solid ICU experience). However, I suppose if the interviewers deem me an acceptable candidate and allow me into the program I should I just assume that they know what they are talking about and believe that I am worthy! Thanks for the pep, talk!

"but I just worry that I will be in class with others who are more prepared than myself and somehow my experience will put me at a disadvantage and therefore I'll be unsuccessful"

You have to remember that the competition is over once you receive the acceptance letter; at least, that's how it is in my program. When you're looking for a job, no one is going to ask you what your CRNA school GPA was, or where you fell in the class ranking. You will have classmates who can regurgitate information, will answer every question the professors ask, and get > 95% on every test. And you may be one of those people, but if you're not, then you will go crazy trying to compete or compare yourself with them. Trust me, anesthesia school is stressful enough by itself, and if you psych yourself out trying to be the smartest guy or gal in the class then you'll end up in the nuthouse. Focus on you, and only you. Everyone learns differently, studies differently, tests differently. But at the end of the day, it's you who will be the one at the head of the bed calling the shots, so figure out what you have to do to be successful, and don't worry about everyone else.

That's great advice, I appreciate the response. I guess my main concern is not really my level of knowledge and experience in relation to everyone else in my class, it is more the fact that I am well aware that there is a certain level of knowledge base and expertise require PRIOR to beginning to anesthesia school. I know that schools don't have time to teach certain ICU skills and that these skills are assumed to be gained before starting.

On the other hand, like you said, I've heard that the school will teach you what you need to know. I also know that there are people who are admitted from smaller facilities with lower acuity than the hospital I work at. I really just want to be as prepared as possible and set myself up for success when I start.

You simply DO NOT need Cardio-specific ICU experience. Any good, busy, diverse ICU will be fine. I have precepted students for over two decades, and truth be known, consistently the best SRNAs come from the Neuro ICU. Once or twice might be a coincidence, but this is a consistent phenomena. "Experience" is more for the process. For feeling comfortable and confident. For having mastery over your little domain. CVICU specific is not important(It is not bad, just not superior). Good Luck.

Hey that's awesome to hear. I think I might be a little paranoid about the whole thing. One of my co-workers who I've talked (who is currently in ACNP school) has told me that he has no doubt that I'll do just fine. He has about 7 years of ICU experience in just about every ICU specialty imaginable. He has said that the ABILITY to learn and understand the concepts is (sometimes) better than experience. The CRNAs that I've shadowed have had a variety of experiences (trauma, burns, and only 1 from CVICU).

Thanks for advice guys, much appreciated!

Sounds like you have pretty solid stats, I know a lot of schools like to see upper level pharm and patho classes. I think you'll have no problem getting in.

Sounds like good stats to me. The only other thing I would recommend is getting involved in committees at your hospital, for example I'm on a medication safety committee that looks at all medication errors in the hospital and looks at process changes to prevent further errors with high risk meds.