CRNA and NP

[mddoc20]

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I would like to be a CRNA and a NP. I want to be a NP in order to broaden the scope of practice and treat patients while they are still awake. I work in an emergency room as a CNA right now and am in an associate degree RN program. My questions are should I get the NP or the CRNA first? There is a RN-MSN for the NP available that I am interested in, that I can work and gain experience while going to NP school and then go to CRNA. OR I could work on a RN-BSN while getting experience, then go to CRNA school and do a post-masters certificate for the NP later. I know that CRNA requires the ICU experience and that really having some RN experience before going to school for either CRNA and NP is good. However I am really ready to get school done and work. I have a hefty amount of student loans to repay and would like to do so quickly. What is your advice? And who else has done this and what is your experience?
Thanks

 

[Farmer Jane]

Um, first just finish the degree you're working on now. Why do you have hefty student loans? Were you in another program? Become a nurse, live simply and work extra hours to pay off your student loans, and then go from there. You're putting the cart before the horse.

 

[mddoc20]

I have a large amount of student loans because I took them out to go to an expensive private college as a premed student.

 

[allopurinol]

What made you decide not to pursue medical school?

 

[mddoc20]

I really still want to pursue medical school. However, I am about to turn 25 and I have been in college for 6 years going part-time some semesters because I had to work full-time. I have an associates of arts degree. My grades are not spectacular. cGPA is ~2.98 The only prerequisites that I have left to take are Organic Chemistry I & II. I currently have 144 credit hours. It is very hard to raise the gpa with so many credit hours even if I get all A's. I kind of have lost hope. I hear of stories of people doing it but I know that if I am not 100% sure that I probably won't get in. SO, I am pursuing nursing and CRNA or NP. However, some days I wonder if I should just go for medical school. I have studied the osteopathic medical field and I have worked with some DO's and I really enjoy the philosophy. Sometimes I wonder if having an undergrad in Nursing is a bad degree to apply to medical school with. I have thought about getting a second bachelors in biology but that would take a lot of time. Plus i really need to start working in order to pay back all of my student loans that I have accrued as a premed student. I just took out loans with the idea that I would have no problem paying them back and I was also told that by many doctor friends that encouraged it.

 

[fab4fan]

I don't want to sound discouraging, but it's going to be very hard for you to be competitive in nursing with that kind of GPA. People with much higher GPAs are getting put on wait lists.

If you really want to be a physician, then you should look at ways to work toward that goal. Being a nurse shouldn't be a fall back goal; you'll never be satisfied.

 

[mddoc20]

That cGPA is every class I have taken. I have only finished one semester in the associate nursing program and I have a 4.0. I know that it is going to get harder but I am prepared. I am then going to continue to get my BSN online. Then decide at that point where I am at competitively. I believe that I can be competitive if I show grade improvement in nursing and keep a 4.0.

 

[DO2Be2013]

If you can raise your overall GPA into the 3.0-3.2 range with strong upward trend, couple it with an excellent MCAT (are you a good test taker?) and some significant healthcare experience as a nurse, you could easily be a candidate for D.O. school. If you have both the below-average GPA coupled with a below-average or average MCAT, then probably not. Do you think you're capable of a 30+ score?

I agree that if your real goal is to be a physician but for whatever reason you decide you can't hack getting in and "settle" for being an NP... a.) you probably won't be happy in the long run and b.) you'd be the kind of NP that most doctors and nurses tend to resent... the kind who really wanted to be a doctor but couldn't cut it and thinks being an NP is a backup path. The nursing profession deserves people who really want to be nurses. If you want to be a doctor you should go for it.

 

[mddoc20]

Thanks for the advice DO2Be. I know that I can do well on the MCAT with some time for reviewing my basics and finishing organic chemistry. What review material would you suggest for the MCAT? I still have all of my old text books, but what review books are best? I have calculated my cGPA as if I have finished my BSN and if I get all A's I would have a 3.2 cGPA and a 4.0 BSN.

 

[DO2Be2013]

Thanks for the advice DO2Be. I know that I can do well on the MCAT with some time for reviewing my basics and finishing organic chemistry. What review material would you suggest for the MCAT? I still have all of my old text books, but what review books are best? I have calculated my cGPA as if I have finished my BSN and if I get all A's I would have a 3.2 cGPA and a 4.0 BSN.

If indeed you can finish with a 3.2 overall and 4.0 in your BSN, I don't think your GPA will hold you back at all with D.O. admissions. I was in a similar non-trad boat and had a low GPA first time around in college, but pulled a major upward trend with a few years of post-bacc coursework and ended up around 3.1. I got accepted to PCOM, but I had an MCAT that was above their average. I didn't really use a formal review program, but I know MCAT study materials in general were a way better resource than old textbooks. I don't think you'll gain anything from reading those. Take a lot of practice MCATs. If you can afford the $2000 fee (I couldn't), you can take in-person review courses at places like Kaplan.

 

[OkieNurse]

I would like to be a CRNA and a NP. I want to be a NP in order to broaden the scope of practice and treat patients while they are still awake. I work in an emergency room as a CNA right now and am in an associate degree RN program. My questions are should I get the NP or the CRNA first? There is a RN-MSN for the NP available that I am interested in, that I can work and gain experience while going to NP school and then go to CRNA. OR I could work on a RN-BSN while getting experience, then go to CRNA school and do a post-masters certificate for the NP later. I know that CRNA requires the ICU experience and that really having some RN experience before going to school for either CRNA and NP is good. However I am really ready to get school done and work. I have a hefty amount of student loans to repay and would like to do so quickly. What is your advice? And who else has done this and what is your experience?
Thanks

So, just out of curiosity, why do you say you want to be BOTH a CRNA and an NP? Do you fully understand and appreciate the difference in these roles and how they practice? I can't see that it would be feasible to work as both. In the very near future, I believe 2015, the DNP will be required for a nurse practitioner so you may have to forget about the post masters certificate, it will be a doctorate by the time you are ready.

I can understand the internal struggle deciding between advanced practice nursing and medical school. I'm there.

 

[deleted6669]

doctorate requirement aside, I have a friend who is both an fnp and a crna.
he didn't plan it that way it was just were his interest was over time.
he went from icu nurse to fnp working in the er to crna. using both he works for an md run anesthesiology group covering the o.r., the icu, doing er consults, in the pain clinic, etc
because of his dual certification and broader scope of practice he makes 30k more/yr than folks in his group who have just the crna.

 

[mddoc20]

Thank you for the back up emedpa. That is exactly something that I would like to do. I like to intensity and challenge of the CRNA, but I also want to be in a clinic setting sometimes and maybe own my own practice someday. Sometimes I think about the length of schooling for both of them and wonder if it would just be better to go to medical school and that would solve everthing. The one thing that is appealing about the CRNA and NP is that I could get started working right away and go to school at the same time for the NP. Its just that the loans and starting a family that are always in the back of my mind. My wife is going to get her PhD in English and teach so she could support us for a little while though.

 

[Black Surgeon]

Thanks for the advice DO2Be. I know that I can do well on the MCAT with some time for reviewing my basics and finishing organic chemistry. What review material would you suggest for the MCAT? I still have all of my old text books, but what review books are best? I have calculated my cGPA as if I have finished my BSN and if I get all A's I would have a 3.2 cGPA and a 4.0 BSN.

I suggest taking a princeton course. Don't hesitate to go after what you want.

 

[mddoc20]

What I am thinking of doing is doing a RN-MSN program that gives me my bachelors degree also. While in that program that takes 3 years, I can be taking prereqs over again and maybe some upper level bio classes and study for the MCAT. Then I can apply to medical school when I am finished. I know that some schools will question why you went from NP to MD. However, not all will look down on it and I plan on applying to DO schools. What do you all think of that? And are there any others who did that? What were your experiences?

 

[bradt9881]

Wouldn't it be faster to just major in pre-med and apply? THe plan can work, but seems the long way to go about to attain your goal....