Looking for honest advice Paramedic to CRNA

Hello all,

I will try to make this short and to the point. I am a graduate from Texas A&M with a B.S. in Biology in 2003. I am currently working as a med tech and injectionist. This is my plan

1) I begin an EMT basic night course in September which ends in December
2) As soon as I receive my EMT certification I enter a paramedic night course
3) I receive my paramedic certification and apply to nursing school
4) Hopefully enter an accelerated nursing program (possibly Austin Community College in Austin)
5) Take the NCLEX and begin working as an R.N.
6) Enter an R.N. to B.S.N. bridge program (Texas Tech has a program for graduates from Austin Community College)
7) Continue working as an R.N. and transition to the I.C.U.
8) Enter a C.R.N.A. program

Here are a few questions that hopefully someone out there can answer for me

Is this the best route to take? My GPA was a 2.90 which is not very competitive.
How long must I work as an R.N. before entering a C.R.N.A. program?
Is this a logical plan?
Any advice based on the timeline I presented?

Thank you very much and the best of luck to all of you.

Steve
I thought there was only 5 CRNA schools in Texas - 2 in Ft. Worth and 3 in Houston.Cost around $50 to $60k

Hi Steve, First of all, why do you want to become a paramedic? Are you planning to work as a medic or use it as a stepping stone to CRNA? If you're not planning to work as a medic, I would highly recommend skipping the whole EMT and medic route and go straight to nursing school. You already have a BS, so you may be able to enter an accelerated BSN program for people who already have a bachelors degree. It would save you quite a bit of time and money. From there you can work in an ICU and get the required experience for anesthesia school.However, if you truly want to work EMS, go for it. I'm a paramedic and I plan to go the anesthesia route eventually. But I have other things I want to do first. I want to work as a medic for a couple of years while going to nursing school (will be ready for a bridge program next summer/fall). I also plan to work as a flight medic or nurse for a few years. Anesthesia school will be there when I'm ready. And I'll have gained some valuable experience along the way. If that's the sort of road you had in mind, go for it. But if you're looking at EMS as nothing more than a stepping stone from one thing to the next, I'd recommend skipping it. Don't work for the paramedic degree or cert if you're not going to use it.Good luck!Christina

Can I ask why you wan't to do the medic to nurse to crna, why not nurse to crna

Time spent as an ICU nurse will be much more valuable than time spent as a paramedic, for CRNA purposes.Take all the chemistry you can get your hands on. Advanced pathophysiology and graduate pharmacology as a part of your BSN (a lot of programs will let you take graduate level classes if you ask as part of the undergrad) if you possibly can. Once you get out and get a job in the ICU, start studying for your CCRN, and take it.Texas Wesleyan (Ft. Worth) requires at least 12 month's ICU experience. I don't know what Texas Christian requires. Good luck - feel free to message me any time you have questions.

I'm kinda surprised you can go directly from a new EMT to paramedic school. A lot of programs require at least a years experience as an EMT first. Why not just go directly to a accelerated BSN school since you already have your BS? The way you have it mapped out follows the path of a wandering cow. As if I have room to talk... I have been a CNA, LVN, EMT, I-EMT, Paramedic, apprenticed midwife, animal health technician and an RN! Just go directly into a accelerated BSN program.

Thank you all for your advice. I have looked into accelerated programs but as far as I can tell a 2.90 is not good enough to get into an accelerated program. I do find working as an emt and paramedic very interesting, but it is a means to an end. If I understand this correctly a paramedic can qualify for an accelerated program. Because of my low gpa, this is my roundabout way of entering nursing school. I am currently in College Station TX and I have looked into programs in Houston and Austin.

2.90 may not be "good enough" for the accelerated program, but you can work on the additional core classes you need to bring up your GPA. Most nursing programs have about 30 hours of core classes even for an ADN. If your GPA comes up, you may qualify for the program or at least for a regular BSN program. A traditional BSN program would likely only cost you two year, rather than a year for EMT school, at least a year for paramedic school (assuming you go straight from EMT school to paramedic school and don't work between the two or need to take time for additional core classes for paramedic school), another year for core classes towards a nursing bridge program while you gain the required minimum one year of experience as a medic, one year for a paramedic to RN bridge, 1-2 years for an RN-BSN program, 1-2 years working in an ICU to gain experience for a CRNA program (could do this while doing the RN-BSN), 2-3 years for CRNA. That's 2-3 years vs 5-8 years. Think about it and weigh your options. Consider the cost of all that education and the cost to your family. Believe me, it's not easy being away from your family constantly. I've been in school almost non-stop for the past four years. Paramedic school was by far the most difficult year we've experienced. My kids are already dreading school starting in the fall and I'm only doing online classes! LOL Anyway, good luck to you! Send me and IM if you need any help with EMT or paramedic or just to talk.

Thanks for the advice. I am entering an EMT program through TEEX here in College Station. The EMT class is 3 months and the paramedic is 5 months. I will have both completed within the next year. I have looked into ACC, Austin Community College and they have a 9 month program designed for students who are LVNs or paramedics.

Quote from MedtechtocrnaThanks for the advice. I am entering an EMT program through TEEX here in College Station. The EMT class is 3 months and the paramedic is 5 months. I will have both completed within the next year. I have looked into ACC, Austin Community College and they have a 9 month program designed for students who are LVNs or paramedics.

It's better this way. RN --ICU (3 to 5 years minimum--the ones with less don't do as well in practice--the new CRNAs are very, very nervous)...then apply to CRNA with BSN, GRE, etc.,That makes the best CRNA.

Quote from MedtechtocrnaHello all,I will try to make this short and to the point. I am a graduate from Texas A&M with a B.S. in Biology in 2003. I am currently working as a med tech and injectionist. This is my plan1) I begin an EMT basic night course in September which ends in December2) As soon as I receive my EMT certification I enter a paramedic night course3) I receive my paramedic certification and apply to nursing school4) Hopefully enter an accelerated nursing program (possibly Austin Community College in Austin)5) Take the NCLEX and begin working as an R.N.6) Enter an R.N. to B.S.N. bridge program (Texas Tech has a program for graduates from Austin Community College)7) Continue working as an R.N. and transition to the I.C.U.8) Enter a C.R.N.A. programHere are a few questions that hopefully someone out there can answer for meIs this the best route to take? My GPA was a 2.90 which is not very competitive.How long must I work as an R.N. before entering a C.R.N.A. program?Is this a logical plan?Any advice based on the timeline I presented?

I am so glad to see y'all say the same thing I've been itching to say, but sometimes get in trouble for saying. Love the "shake-and-bake" reference.Some of my anesthesia classmates worry me that they only have a year of ICU, and that's their ONLY experience as a nurse. They're perfectly lovely people, and they absolutely mean well...but they scare me. And they don't realize yet what they DON'T know. They're all extremely bright, but there is NO substitute for the experience - both life and clinical. Hell, I have 15 years of critical care, and I'm sucking wind HARD with the sheer VOLUME of what it is we're expected to know...and sucking wind even HARDER at the responsibility and different permutations of clinical situations I know are out there. I won't be the one to freeze up in clinicals, but that doesn't mean I won't be scared witless. In other words, don't be in too much of a hurry to get there. Make sure your clinical experience is solid - you will be a much better practitioner for it.