Oh My, the Four Letter Nightmare, C-C-R-N!
I knew that I had to take it to make me more marketable when applying for school. That’s really the only reason I did it, to get into school. I knew it was not required but recommended. So, I tried getting 2 other nurses involved to study for the exam. I did a little research, bought a couple books, and divided the body systems into 3 equal lists. I emailed them their lists, wrote out a schedule blah blah blah….. And guess what, no one did ANYTHING! I was a bit disappointed because I knew it was not an option for me to take it and also knew I had to take before I applied to schools. So, I kept looking for other options on how to study. Thankfully one of the hospitals I worked for offered a 3 month review course for its employees. I spoke to the manager about it only because I needed to reschedule some days to be able to complete the course. She said it was fine as long as I got someone to cover for me.
Three weeks into the review course, she sends me an email saying that I had to withdraw from the course because she couldn’t pay a PRN nurse to take the review course. At first, I was insulted and livid. For the record, I never recorded any educational hours, nor was I going to. I was simply doing the course to pass my CCRN, not to get paid. I approached her that day and clarified that the course never mentioned anything about employment status and that I did not want to get paid. Of course, she laid out the politics, but I stood my ground, and voila, you are now reading a blog from a CCRN.
Perseverance is the Name of the game!
After taking the review course, I made flashcards on all the notes and once again, divided all the body systems into 4 weeks. Pardon my french, but I studied my “behind” off for those 4 weeks. I studied in the car, in the bathroom, at work, everywhere. I did practice questions. I went to bookstores and cracked their CCRN books open and took more tests. I even studied right before I walked into the exam center building. I felt confident through out the test. I had prepared for it like none other, and knew those 4 little letters were going to be mine.
I have about 45 days before starting CRNA school, and I plan to study those flashcards again. The CCRN and all of the studying,training, and hard work you put into it, will look good on your CRNA school admission application.
S. Cantu RRNA
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