Reply To: CRNA School Without Being a Nurse?

[SoCalCRNA]

[SoCalCRNA]

Mike, a CRNA is a certified registered NURSE anesthetist, so becoming a nurse is kind of a huge part of the whole career path. You will have to become a registered nurse to eventually become a CRNA, there is no way around that. If the idea of nursing is not appealing, I would probably look into a different career choice. You will have to have a nursing license, as well as (at a very minimum) 1 year of critical care nursing experience (more like 2 or 3 years, for most schools), before CRNA programs will even consider you for acceptance. Many people see what a CRNA will make, and they think “hey, I’m going to do that!”, however, the reason they make what they do is because of the HUGE amount of knowledge, risk, and responsibility that is involved in our job. If you really want to become a CRNA, start by becoming a nurse. The journey to becoming a CRNA is long, but it is extremely rewarding. Good luck to you.