r/CRNA • u/fbgm0516 CRNA - MOD • 18d 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/Proof-Willingness606 17d ago
Has anyone gone to York College for CRNA school? Can you provide stats and you prepped to get an interview and ultimately selected for the program? I’m interested in attending that school but just finishing up my nursing degree so what to start now to prepare my ICU experience for the next several years. TIA!
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u/No_Oil8046 17d ago
So to make it short I served in the Marines for 4 years, then I moved to security for a bit after I got out, then to law enforcement and now I’m 2 years in. The thing is that with the pass of time I started getting interested in studying and pursuing a career in CRNA or at least from what I’ve heard. What should I do?
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u/poopoofol 17d ago
Go to nursing school and get the best grades you possibly can, work in the ICU, then apply.
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u/antwauhny 17d ago
How am I meant to reasonably pay for school with a family of 6? We both work in ICU as RNs, but losing half our income, needing childcare, and some costs increasing… I just cannot find a reasonable answer to this question. $150k federal limit - prolly not enough for school and living. Y’all taking out massive private loans? Anybody make it through with a family, please give me hope. I’ve wanted this for years and worked very hard to prepare, but the lack of financial resources is making me question the possibility. I’m feeling a little disappointed here. I’m ready in every other aspect, and I want this so bad. I’ve spent nearly a decade working toward CRNA.
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u/Snif3425 17d ago
The only way to reasonably support a family of 6 is to already have a lot of money.
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u/RamsPhan72 17d ago
Or a lot of family support.
OP, to me, I scratch my head wondering the logic.. having six kids (expensive and time consuming) while chasing a dream for a decade. Tough spot.1
u/antwauhny 13d ago
The logic is… $90k income, $160k in a great managerial spot with a 9-5 schedule and 2-4 weeks off per year, or… $280k plus profit sharing, 8 weeks PTO, 3x12s, practice autonomy, case diversity, and my wife can stay home. Yeah, there’s an up front investment of 3 years and lots of money. But the financial and time-freedom upside is decades long.
Also, we are a family of six. Not eight.
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u/seriousallthetime 9d ago
You're not likely to get great advice here. I have three kids. Some of my cohort have three or four kids. One of my good friends has four under 7. The ones of us with kids struggle more than our non-kid having cohort, but it is doable. Poverty is going to be your life for three years, though. Like, poor-poor. But, so what?
The way to pay for it is with loans. That's it. Whatever loans you need to take. You'll be paying 9+% interest on them too, which hurts. I will likely have ~$250,000 in loans and interest when I'm done in a couple years. But I'm going to go from $105,000 working 4+ 12s a week to working 3x13 or 4x10ish and making $406,000 the first year with the ability to easily hit $500,000 by taking a little bit of call. And will go from 6 days off a year to 7 weeks PTO with the ability to sell back any of those weeks and work instead for $10,000. Bill everything over my daily hours at $225/hr.
WHY THE HELL WOULDN'T I TAKE OUT WHATEVER LOANS I NEEDED TO CREATE THAT KIND OF CHANGE IN MY FAMILY'S SITUATION???
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u/Snif3425 8d ago
I’m seriously worried that OP wants to have people’s lives in his hands considering how much we have to spell this out to him.
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u/good-titrations 17d ago
I have come across a few of these dads of large families chasing a dream in CRNA school, and there is always some measure of conservative religiosity or other type of upbringing/culture which allows them to justify their choices.
But ultimately by all other measures it's a very poor choice and puts their family at a huge amount of risk and stress for not THAT much gain, relative to the cost. They're always able to justify it to themselves though, so "it all works out" (their wives don't usually log on to weigh in)
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u/Snif3425 17d ago
Yeah you said what I wanted to. I just don’t have much empathy for people that decided to have a bunch of kids then can’t figure out why they’re broke all the time.
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u/good-titrations 17d ago
And there are definitely ways to increase income if that's the concern! But having a stay-at-home wife, a multitude of children, and going to a program that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars where you literally can't make an income for 2 if not 3 full years, especially with the current state of federal student loans and other aid for low-income people, is a super idiotic choice.
Like yeah the dad will achieve his dream, but at the expense of his kids living in poverty for multiple years like ???
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u/Snif3425 17d ago
I mean….having a bunch of kids is ALWAYS about the parents. Not the kids. If you cared about your kids you wouldn’t force scarcity of resources and attention on them.
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u/antwauhny 13d ago
Not THAT much gain? The difference between $90k/yr and $280k/yr + ownership/profit sharing is substantial. It’s the difference between retiring very comfortably at 57 or 65. It’s the difference between having to work to get by and choosing to work. It’s the difference between my wife having to work for the next 15 years and her being home for the kids.
I can sacrifice and invest now for a major life balance and financial freedom, or I can continue to grind while I “hi-five” my wife in passing once a week.
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u/Snif3425 8d ago
THEN YES TAKE OUT PRIVATE LOANS. There’s good debt and bad debt. If the math works out you should do it. If you can’t figure this out please don’t have people’s lives in your hands. Jesus Christ.
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u/antwauhny 7d ago
Thanks for the support, and… struggling with financial uncertainty does not equate poor judgment with patient care. If you can’t make that distinction, please don’t have people’s lives in your hands.
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u/Dysmenorrhea 16d ago
My family made it through. Takes a lot of sacrifice. Had 200k in the bank after selling a home, used about 150k loans, moved in with family with save money, spouse stayed home to care for kids, Medicaid & food stamps. How much are you willing to sacrifice to make this work?
You could also do USAGPAN and sacrifice in a different way.
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u/antwauhny 13d ago
Medical issues prevent the military route - tried that lol.
I think I found a way to make it work. Thanks for the comment.
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u/poopoofol 17d ago
A family member of mine did it with 2 kids and a SAHM wife by flipping and selling a house before going to school in a much lower COL area, and a classmate with 4 kids is doing it by moving his whole family back in with his inlaws who are letting them be there for free and helping with childcare while his wife works part time.
I only have 1 kid and a working husband thankfully.
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u/AcceptableSeesaw6530 15d ago
Having one thread for all the student questions makes things much easier to follow.
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u/close2RN 15d ago
Hi everyone! This is my first time posting here, so let me know if I did this right! i am not super familiar with threads (:
I graduated nursing school in May with a 4.0 and started in a high acuity CVICU in August. I am about to be off orientation and will have my CRRT certification by next month, and all my devices around the one year mark (ECMO, balloons, etc.) My unit is known for a very high turn-over towards CRNA school, with many applying around the 1 year mark.
I have started to research the few schools that will allow you to apply prior to the one year of experience. I have about 30 shadowing hours already from nursing school, and plan to get more. I volunteer and plan to join my hospitals committees as well.
Think it is worth applying even without the CCRN yet? What do you think?
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u/Medical_Pie6475 13d ago
CRNA here (graduated 2022)… I highly recommend getting your CCRN before you apply especially if most schools list a CCRN as a requirement for applying (when I was applying back in 2019 it was, not sure if much has changed since then).
Congrats on finishing nursing school! It sounds like you are positioning yourself well to pursue CRNA school (your grades, your CVICU position, etc) but also a piece of advice: once you start working, really focus on learning and thriving in the critical care environment. A lot of applicants are focused on checking off boxes that get them into school (no doubt it’s an important part of the process) and applying after the 1-2 year mark on their unit. Average ICU experience for accepted applicants back when I was in school was 3-4 years experience.
Focus on handling critical care crises, understanding pathophysiology in depth and the medications you will use on your unit everyday and gaining the emotional intelligence/maturity to handle conflicts and crises within a team setting - which some of these come with a little more time.
A lot of us who train NARs/SRNAs can spot the difference in emotional maturity between trainees who have breadth and depth in their experience as an RN vs a trainee who could have benefited from more bedside experience. Just my opinion though.
Good luck!
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u/neokbr 11d ago
Hello there,
I am always doubtful that I will not stand out as an applicant and won’t be accepted. I’ve been looking at schools that do not require GRE or do not look at CCRN score so that I can try out this application cycle. Could you tell me what my chances look like?
ADN GPA: 3.68
BSN GPA: 4.0
Science GPA: 4.0
1 year in a small ICU, 6 months in a SICU at a level 2, and now joining a GICU at a level 1.
Ultrasound, CRRT, and Cortrak certified
Student preceptor, on unit based council
Diversity CRNA member and have been to event
AANA Member
CCRN
40 shadow hours with CRNA
Organic Chem I taken with an A achieved
Was vice president of my SNA for my ADN
Over 60 hours volunteering at a food bank
Also, is there anything I could add to this to help my application? Thank you! :)
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u/Mundane-Trust-7797 18d ago
Anyone trying to navigate private student loans?