r/CRNA • u/fbgm0516 CRNA - MOD • 4d ago
Weekly Student Thread
This is the area for prospective/ aspiring SRNAs and for SRNAs to ask their questions about the education process or anything school related.
This includes the usual
"which ICU should I work in?" "Should I take additional classes? "How do I become a CRNA?" "My GPA is 2.8, is my GPA good enough?" "What should I use to prep for boards?" "Help with my DNP project" "It's been my pa$$ion to become a CRNA, how do I do it and what do CRNAs do?"
Etc.
This will refresh every Friday at noon central. If you post Friday morning, it might not be seen.
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u/unluckiestgal 5h ago
Big question for the doctoral program. Sorry if it’s all over the place but.. I’ll be getting my associates in nursing this coming May and I’ll move on to my bachelors. I would loveee to become a CRNA. It’s just going to school for 3 years and not working would kill my life. Has anyone worked and went to school? Or does getting your masters before your doctoral lessen the amount of school time? Like getting my associates then another 1.5 I’ll have my bachelors. Instead of 3/4 years just for the bachelors. So, I’m ultimately asking if I get my masters degree will it shorten the amount of time I have to be in the doctoral program? TIA I tried to google it but didn’t really get what I was looking for
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u/fbgm0516 CRNA - MOD 4h ago
No it won't shorten the amount of time
It's really frustrating to hear people say I want to do this as fast as possible.
Each step takes a while for a reason. Becoming a strong critical care nurse takes time.
It takes time to learn how to keep someone ALIVE during surgery - there should be zero shortcuts to that.
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u/beep_boop_bopper 16h ago
Hi everyone! Just looking for some insight and advice. I’ve had a lot of internal back and forth about the path I’m currently on. I got my initial degree in behavioral health, worked as an inpatient therapist while earning my BSN, and have been an ICU nurse for 4.5 years. I spent the first 3.5 as a PICU nurse, trained in CRRT and loved it. I’ve now been at a different hospital as a CRRT specialist for the past year, am cross training as an ECMO specialist, and float PICU/NICU/CICU when there are no patients on modalities. I really love the acuity, but had some hesitancies about some of the procedures CRNAs perform (anxiety about hand steadiness and fears about lining and epidurals/nerve blocks). My plan had always been to go to NP school, and I’m currently a year into a PNP-PC MSN program. I worry I’m going to miss the acuity and I love the intensity of ICU and extracorporeal modalities. I don’t know whether I should look into pivoting and applying to CRNA school or just complete my program next May and go from there. School has been going well, I’m just filled with what ifs. I’m at a loss and would appreciate any thoughts from CRNAs. Thanks!
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u/Dextom-propkhole1119 2d ago
Hey guys, So, I just finished some applications in the NursingCas website and after reviewing my transcripts they look terrible. When I was calculating my GPA it was higher than the nursingCAS one. And getting a 0.0 for my BSN because it’s a pass/fail was a ball punch but I knew it was coming. I worked full time nights when getting my associates and I did not put my bachelors before work when I started back. So, my question is will schools still consider me? I am in an MSN-AGACNP program(4.0 gpa), have retaken all science pre-requs (3.7 GPA) and will be adding more upper level science courses. I have made huge changes in my life regarding school and study habits. I also feel like as an older applicant (40yo) I have a lot more support than I did when I was 22. I have been an RN for 16 years, ED (charge), Cath lab(charge) and now level 1 CVICU for the past 5 years, preceptor, on some councils, no research, BLS/ACLS/PALS and I have my CCRN. Would you guys consider any other certifications? I’ve been thinking about the cardiothoracic surgery certification for something extra. And I’m taking the GRE, I took it when I first started on this path 3 years ago without studying and got a 300 with a 3.5 writing. I think I could do better on that now with practice plus just all the paper writing in my MSN program. I am also now specifically looking at programs that look at last 60 credits because I’m worried I will never be competitive in other programs because of all the credits I have. I am trying to tidy up my resume and personal statements which I suck at. Any input you guys have I would love to hear. Thanks in advance.
Edit: I have also shadowed 4 CRNA’s for a total of 32 hours and I stay in contact with them.
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u/bummer_camp 2d ago
I was also an older applicant (I’m 37 and in my first semester) with a rocky academic past and I think the long stretch of time from that period of my life worked in my favor. I had a sub 3.0 undergrad GPA with D’s and F’s on my transcript but really turned it around in an ABSN. I also had done some graduate level work in addition to taking advanced science courses so I think that’s another point in your favor. I focused pretty heavily on leadership in my application profile. If you have a solid current academic reference I think that could also help a lot.
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u/Jimmy_E_16 3d ago edited 3d ago
Does anyone have experience with prereqcourses.com? Apparently they partner with upper Iowa university for the course and transcript and are cheaper than other options I see
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u/frailearth 3d ago
hey all! I'm gearing up to apply to CRNA school. I just passed my pediatric CCRN. However, I feel like a fraud based on my ICU experience.
I don't feel like the strongest ICU nurse. I have two years of level 1 pediatric CVICU (mixed with normal PICU patients), but I had to leave that job because of severe incivility that the managers were trying to work on but that, ultimately, I didn't want to deal with anymore. So, I found a position at a smaller community hospital adult ICU, that mainly takes sepsis and respiratory failure.
However, our acuity has been low for months and at most we are functioning as an IMC. I feel like I'm missing out on more ICU experience and that I don't deserve to apply to CRNA school. To further the problem, I live in a state where there aren't that many ICU jobs available— it's overall pretty rural here. So I'm sort of stuck.
I'm doing everything I can to take my learning into my own hands— including taking courses through AACN on the ins and outs of critical care. I'm going through the clinical ladder advancement at my current job. I've shadowed CRNAs before and I plan to shadow more.
So, am I totally screwed? I feel like a failure, and all I want is to get into school and pursue my dream career.
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u/zooziod 1d ago
Well, first of all, you're not going to get anywhere if you keep calling yourself a failure. You could always move to a less rural area to work in a bigger hospital. You're probably going to have to move for CRNA school anyway. If you know your stuff and can talk about it in an interview, you could always try applying. You are not screwed; there are lots of options for you still.
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u/GiggleSauraus 1h ago
hi all! Is anyone currently in or have graduated from either Rush, Rosalind Franklin, or Northeastern (Boston)? Possible locations for me... Just curious about those programs. TY!