Why is BSN required for CRNA?

Nurses General Nursing Nursing Q/A

I'm working on my RN and plan to go to CRNA school. I've noticed that a few CRNA schools will allow you to have a bachelors in other science areas, as long as you are an RN. But the best school seem to require a BSN. Why is that? Why is an easy, relatively useless, easy to obtain degree required over something like a bachelors in chemistry?

Specializes in Critical Care.

Because schools like to make money. That’s what the CNO at my hospital told me straight up. It’s a scheme to make money. Bunch of bs classes that they can make you take and charge you for. My RN to BSN was about 50% repeat stuff from diploma program, 25% silly outdated nursing theories, and 25% opinion essays that were only graded for APA formatting and not for content.

Specializes in MICU.
18 hours ago, MM1989 said:

Jeez folks, just was curious why they’d require a BSN over chemistry in a field that is much more related to science than whatever the hell a BSN teaches. That’s it.... a couple people actually answered the question, while others wanted a pissing match.

Babe, it’s a NURSING role. Certified registered NURSE anesthetist. It’s a nursing role & honestly , if you aren’t a BSN I don’t think you should be able to apply to any CRNA programs. It absolutely should be required. As nurses, we take our role very seriously, as you’ll find out once you finish & become one. It’s almost an insult for someone to ask why they have to have their BSN first. There are levels to this .. lol don’t feel offended babe.

Specializes in School Nursing.
11 hours ago, MM1989 said:

Correct, I don’t have a license yet. Not for another few months. Stated that from the start. But how does that mean that I can’t have my path planned from A to Z? I know exactly what I want and how to get there, so it’s irrelevant that I’m not licensed yet.

I believe that it is relevant. If you don’t have the license, you haven’t started to accrue the experience needed in order to know the proper and appropriate way to plan your path to a goal you may not be able to achieve. So, this is not a “pissing contest”, it is real nurses that have already walked the walk, talked the talk, and have gotten the appropriate education, not taking a circuitous route, or an easy path letting you know how it is!

Specializes in Critical Care.

The school in my city/affiliated with the medical center i work for allowed RNs with ADNs to apply who had hard science BS to apply as organic, biochemistry, etc are helpful for crna students to have. however, once they moved from a masters entry program to a doctoral entry program, they now require a BSN. I think this is a national trend so it may be a part of a new national standard. Just a thought.

Parts of any degree are useless. It is what it is until things changes. No shame in thinking about advance degrees this early either.

Specializes in SRNA.
On 12/17/2019 at 7:14 PM, MM1989 said:

I’m working on my RN and plan to go to CRNA school. I’ve noticed that a few CRNA schools will allow you to have a bachelors in other science areas, as long as you are an RN. But the best school seem to require a BSN. Why is that? Why is an easy, relatively useless, easy to obtain degree required over something like a bachelors in chemistry?

In my experience of researching programs to apply to and submitting applications, I have seen more than just a few schools that allow non-nursing bachelor degrees. In fact, there are many great, and even top programs that allow this. Off the top of my head, VCU and Georgetown immediately come to mind. I imagine it partly depends on the program director and what they believe will make the most successful students. Additionally, CRNA programs will only be offering DNP versus MSN degrees within the next few years. So, this could also contribute to their wanting BSN-prepared students--even if the degree itself is easy to obtain.

Are you willing to move for CRNA school? If so, I would recommend widening your search. If you do have a bachelor's degree in another science related field and CRNA is your goal, getting your BSN will make you all the more competitive in the application process--especially if you are trying to get into those top programs that you desire.

As others have mentioned, a lot of hospitals are requiring their new hires to either have a BSN or obtain one within a certain time frame. I've worked in busy ICU's in magnet and teaching hospitals with RN's that did not have their BSN, so it is definitely possible to obtain that experience you will need for CRNA school. However, it could be another hurdle you encounter in your journey.

Also, I completely understand wanting to vent your frustrations about something you believe is an unfair process! Totally support it. I'm sure if you re-read some of your language, you can clearly see how it comes across a wee antagonizing, which in turn takes away from you receiving the answers or support you seek, and diminishes the productivity or usefulness of this forum.

Best of luck to you.

Specializes in kids.
12 hours ago, ArmyRntoMD said:

Because schools like to make money. That’s what the CNO at my hospital told me straight up. It’s a scheme to make money. Bunch of bs classes that they can make you take and charge you for. My RN to BSN was about 50% repeat stuff from diploma program, 25% silly outdated nursing theories, and 25% opinion essays that were only graded for APA formatting and not for content.

I too, find APA formatting a pain in the tush, until you need to be able to write about and produce evidence based practice data and information. It is crucial to be able to correctly cite sources , especially if you move into the academic arena. No one knows where they will end up career wise. I had lofty plans of commissioning into the Navy as a midwife, until life took over.

I ended up on a different career path. Never in a million years did I think I would end up in a small rural town doing school nursing, yet here I am!!

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

In my experience, a degree program is what a person puts into it. You want to slide by with doing the minimal amount of work, you probably can. You want to actually LEARN something and challenge yourself, you can choose to do that as well. Those who say a BSN program is a joke, or useless, or full of "opinion essays" - I think that attitude speaks far more about the people saying it, than the rigorousness of the program.

Several of us actually did real research in our BSN programs, that got published and/or presented at conferences. Again, you get out what you put in.

Specializes in Cardiology.

I have a BSN but I dont think it makes me a better nurse over someone who has their associates. I do agree that its a money grab. Its not just limited to nursing. Look at PT, OT, Pharmacy. All these require "doctorates" now but before all you needed was a bachelors. Education is big business now.

3 hours ago, NutmeggeRN said:

I too, find APA formatting a pain in the tush, until you need to be able to write about and produce evidence based practice data and information. It is crucial to be able to correctly cite sources , especially if you move into the academic arena. No one knows where they will end up career wise. I had lofty plans of commissioning into the Navy as a midwife, until life took over.

I ended up on a different career path. Never in a million years did I think I would end up in a small rural town doing school nursing, yet here I am!!

There's nothing wrong with APA formatting or being graded on your use of it. I doubt Armyrntomd is claiming otherwise.

I suspect my RN to BSN experience has been similar to Armyrn's in that I've found most assignments grade on APA format (which is fine) and on using a clear, formulaic writing style (which is also fine), while either ignoring the quality and analysis of research or even discouraging high quality research and analysis via assignment guidelines that consistently ask students to tackle huge, complex subjects via 3 to 5 page high school-quality essays. It's not the APA formatting that's the problem.

Nursing education has some serious deficiencies both in presenting high-quality course materials and in teaching students to read and evaluate research. These problems are exacerbated the further nursing education gets from teaching medicine, and if you look at the curricula of most RN to BSN programs, you'll see that they're especially chocked full of the kinds of courses where these problems are most evident.

I'm not trying to put down anyone's education or accomplishments. Just saying that I don't think posters like armyrn are making things up or posting maliciously. I've been to several different schools for nursing education, some bad, and some reputed to be quite good. They all have had some of the same issues.

The school wants money. Lol. Jk. It depends really in each institution. In some nursing school in universities, general chem, biochemistry, and other kind of chemistry are required. They even required maths that are beyond college algebra. So, it depends what they prescribed. Not all schools are the same but almost identical general education with other disciplines.They did accept an ample of my courses from a non nursing degree. Classes I needed were pretty much all about the human body, biochemistry, nutrition, and other relevant courses.

Why classes like sociology and fine arts are requirements to graduate?

Specializes in Critical Care.
1 hour ago, Cowboyardee said:

There's nothing wrong with APA formatting or being graded on your use of it. I doubt Armyrntomd is claiming otherwise.

I suspect my RN to BSN experience has been similar to Armyrn's in that I've found most assignments grade on APA format (which is fine) and on using a clear, formulaic writing style (which is also fine), while either ignoring the quality and analysis of research or even discouraging high quality research and analysis via assignment guidelines that consistently ask students to tackle huge, complex subjects via 3 to 5 page high school-quality essays. It's not the APA formatting that's the problem.

Nursing education has some serious deficiencies both in presenting high-quality course materials and in teaching students to read and evaluate research. These problems are exacerbated the further nursing education gets from teaching medicine, and if you look at the curricula of most RN to BSN programs, you'll see that they're especially chocked full of the kinds of courses where these problems are most evident.

I'm not trying to put down anyone's education or accomplishments. Just saying that I don't think posters like armyrn are making things up or posting maliciously. I've been to several different schools for nursing education, some bad, and some reputed to be quite good. They all have had some of the same issues.

Exactly. I had never learned APA prior to RN to BSN. I was taught MLA. I was told my analysis of articles was “doctoral level” but made 88-90 on my papers. So I decided to look at other students papers that were making 98-100 and saw that while formatted properly, the actual content of the essay was NOTHING. Merely restating what the writer of the original papers had said in their own words without analyzing the perspective, bias, purpose etc of the paper. I took an afternoon and really dove into the APA manual and saw the difference in case usages, etc.

Since I was also taking physics and gen chemistry at the college for premed at the same time (about 18 hours a semester of college total) on top of working full time, I said “well if thats all they want, fine.”

I couldn’t believe the literacy of some of the papers fellow classmates online were writing. They were using first person, the wrong to/two/too their/there/they’re... I was shocked. And they passed because C = BSN ?

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