Ten years ago, there were CRNA schools without ICU experience that required no ICU experience. Before, there were also CRNA programs that required only three months of ICU experience. However, today there are no CRNA schools without ICU experience. As of September 2020, all CRNA schools in the United States require minimum 1 full year of ICU experience. In fact, many CRNA schools are now requiring 1.5 to 2 years of ICU experience prior to application. The good news is CRNA admissions are understanding that getting ICU experience is challenging. With that in mind, there are some CRNA schools without ICU experience which are more flexible in accepting experience in ER, NICU and PICU in place of traditional ICU experience.
ICU Advice for CRNA Requirements
Without a doubt, ICU experience is the most difficult of all the CRNA requirement to meets. ICU stands for Intensive Care Unit, which are specialized departments in a hospital that patients in bad shape go to. The truth is ICUs are not interested in training nurses to work for short periods of time only to lose them in a year or two to CRNA schools. I would like to share some ICU advice to help you prepare for CRNA school.
Intensive Care Unit Tips for CRNAs
ICU Tip #1: Do not openly share during the ICU interview that your intention is to apply for CRNA school.
ICU Tip #2: Network, network, network! Reach out to people on LinkedIn, your alumni network and any mentors you may have for help. You need someone to help open the door for you to get you into the right ICU unit.
ICU Tip #3: CRNA schools value experience in a large ICU over a small ICU.
ICU Tip #4: These are the top ICU departments preferred by CRNA schools
Top ICU Departments
- Cardiothoracic ICU – caring for postoperative cardiac and thoracic surgery patients
- Coronary Care Unit (CCU) or Cardiac ICU – caring for patients with heart attacks
- Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) – caring for patients with wide range of medical conditions, such as lung problems, gastrointestinal problems, and blood infections
- Neuro ICU – Caring for patients with life threatening neurological problems.
- Surgical ICU (SICU) – caring for patients who recently had or potentially need surgery
- TICU – Trauma ICU
If you do not have ICU experience, some CRNA schools will consider the following experience
CRNA schools that accept ER experience
The following two CRNA schools accept Emergency Room (ER) experience
The following twenty CRNA schools will consider ER experience on a case by case basis
- Jefferson CRNA Program
- Villanova CRNA program
- Detroit Mercy CRNA
- Marian University CRNA
- Barry University Nurse Anesthesia Program
- University of Minnesota CRNA
- Excela Health School of Anesthesia
- FranU CRNA
- Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes
- U of M CRNA Program
- FIU CRNA Program
- Columbia University CRNA
- Lourdes University CRNA
- USF CRNA Program
- Missouri State University CRNA
- UNF CRNA
- UPMC Hamot
- Florida Gulf Coast University CRNA
- Inter American University
- Military CRNA
CRNA schools that accept PICU experience
The following 96 CRNA schools accept Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) experience
- UPenn CRNA
- Emory CRNA
- Northshore CRNA
- Boston College CRNA
- USC CRNA School
- Georgetown CRNA
- Jefferson CRNA Program
- USC CRNA School
- Case Western CRNA
- UM CRNA Program
- Loma Linda CRNA
- Buffalo CRNA Program
- La Salle CRNA program
- OHSU Nursing
- Rosalind Franklin CRNA
- Northeastern CRNA
- University of Tulsa Nursing
- TCU CRNA
- AdventHealth CRNA
- National University CRNA
- Texas Wesleyan University CRNA
- Baylor College of Medicine CRNA
- Villanova CRNA program
- Marquette CRNA
- Samuel Merritt CRNA
- Detroit Mercy CRNA
- University of Arizona CRNA
- York College CRNA
- University of Minnesota CRNA
- Charleston Area Medical Center
- Augusta CRNA Program
- Goldfarb CRNA
- Excela Health School of Anesthesia
- Samford CRNA
- NKU CRNA
- Bryan College CRNA
- University of Wisconsin Oshkosh CRNA
- Gonzaga CRNA
- Drexel CRNA
- Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes
- Mount Marty CRNA
- Midwestern University CRNA
- Otterbein CRNA
- UNE CRNA Program
- Quinnipiac CRNA Program
- Union University CRNA
- University of Maryland CRNA
- Clarkson College CRNA
- Rutgers CRNA
- Webster University Nurse Anesthesia Program
- U of M CRNA Program
- UND CRNA Program
- UAB CRNA
- Integrated Anesthesia Associates
- University of Pittsburgh CRNA
- Westminster CRNA
- Oakland University CRNA Program
- FIU CRNA Program
- Yale CRNA
- University of South Carolina CRNA
- MUSC CRNA Program
- Fairfield CRNA
- LSU CRNA Program
- University of Iowa CRNA
- University of Cincinnati CRNA
- Columbia University CRNA
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center
- Lourdes University CRNA
- USF CRNA Program
- UAMS CRNA Program
- Michigan State University CRNA
- FSU CRNA
- Newman CRNA
- Western Carolina University CRNA
- VCU CRNA Program
- Missouri State University CRNA
- Murray State CRNA
- Mayo Clinic Health System
- UNF CRNA
- UT Houston CRNA
- Mayo Clinic CRNA
- Truman CRNA Program
- KU CRNA Program
- Old Dominion University CRNA
- Bloomsburg CRNA
- Florida Gulf Coast University CRNA
- Saint Marys CRNA
- Wake Forest CRNA
- ASU CRNA
- Saint Joseph Hospital
- Minneapolis School of Anesthesia
- USM CRNA Program
- Antillean Adventist University
- University of Puerto Rico
- Military CRNA
- Army CRNA
Select PICU Experience
The following 10 CRNA schools will consider PICU experience on a case by case basis
- Marian University CRNA
- Barry University Nurse Anesthesia Program
- Rush University CRNA
- FranU CRNA
- Keiser University CRNA
- Lincoln Memorial University CRNA Program
- SIUE CRNA
- Raleigh School of Nurse Anesthesia
- UTC CRNA
- Inter American University
CRNA schools that accept NICU experience
The following 80 CRNA schools accept Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) experience
- UPenn CRNA
- Emory CRNA
- Northshore CRNA
- USC CRNA School
- Georgetown CRNA
- Jefferson CRNA Program
- USC CRNA School
- Case Western CRNA
- UM CRNA Program
- Loma Linda CRNA
- Buffalo CRNA Program
- La Salle CRNA program
- Rosalind Franklin CRNA
- Northeastern CRNA
- University of Tulsa Nursing
- TCU CRNA
- AdventHealth CRNA
- National University CRNA
- Texas Wesleyan University CRNA
- Baylor College of Medicine CRNA
- Villanova CRNA program
- Marquette CRNA
- Samuel Merritt CRNA
- Detroit Mercy CRNA
- University of Arizona CRNA
- York College CRNA
- Charleston Area Medical Center
- Augusta CRNA Program
- Excela Health School of Anesthesia
- Samford CRNA
- Bryan College CRNA
- University of Wisconsin Oshkosh CRNA
- Gonzaga CRNA
- Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes
- Mount Marty CRNA
- Otterbein CRNA
- UNE CRNA Program
- Quinnipiac CRNA Program
- Union University CRNA
- Clarkson College CRNA
- Webster University Nurse Anesthesia Program
- U of M CRNA Program
- UND CRNA Program
- University of Pittsburgh CRNA
- Westminster CRNA
- Oakland University CRNA Program
- FIU CRNA Program
- Yale CRNA
- University of South Carolina CRNA
- MUSC CRNA Program
- Fairfield CRNA
- LSU CRNA Program
- University of Iowa CRNA
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center
- Lourdes University CRNA
- USF CRNA Program
- UAMS CRNA Program
- Michigan State University CRNA
- FSU CRNA
- Newman CRNA
- Western Carolina University CRNA
- VCU CRNA Program
- Missouri State University CRNA
- Murray State CRNA
- Mayo Clinic Health System
- UNF CRNA
- UT Houston CRNA
- Mayo Clinic CRNA
- Truman CRNA Program
- Bloomsburg CRNA
- Florida Gulf Coast University CRNA
- Wake Forest CRNA
- ASU CRNA
- Saint Joseph Hospital
- Minneapolis School of Anesthesia
- USM CRNA Program
- Antillean Adventist University
- University of Puerto Rico
- Military CRNA
- Army CRNA
The following fourteen CRNA schools will consider NICU experience on a case by case basis
- Marian University CRNA
- Barry University Nurse Anesthesia Program
- Rush University CRNA
- University of Minnesota CRNA
- FranU CRNA
- Drexel CRNA
- Keiser University CRNA
- Integrated Anesthesia Associates
- Columbia University CRNA
- Lincoln Memorial University CRNA Program
- SIUE CRNA
- Raleigh School of Nurse Anesthesia
- UTC CRNA
- Inter American University
All CRNA Schools Without ICU Experience
In this section, we list out all CRNA Schools Without ICU Experience in the United States. All the CRNA programs have been approved by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. Please click on the CRNA School name for more detailed information on the selected CRNA program.
Some of the CRNA schools are marked as Depends. Usually these schools are less stringent on pure ICU experience. Rather they are looking that you received an experience comparable to an ICU experience. In general, characteristic of experience include
- Comparable in intensity / stress of ICU environment
- Use of ventilator and other hospital equipment
- Invasive monitoring which may include arterial blood pressure, CVP, pulmonary artery catherization, ABG analysis, ICP and IAP, etc
- Experience with critical care pharmacology
Top CRNA Schools
We spent hundreds of hours studying all CRNA schools and interviewing over 125 nurse anesthetists to create our exclusive list of Best CRNA Schools. So now you know CRNA Schools Without ICU Experience, your next research is to compare the Best CRNA programs with CRNA schools that accept NICU experience in order to see which CRNA schools are the best fit and which programs you should apply to.
Map of CRNA Schools by State
To complement CRNA programs without ICU experience, we also list out all CRNA programs by State in the map below for your further research and study.
Notes:
The darker the blue color equivocates to more CRNA Schools in the State.
Tier 1 = 6 or more CRNA Schools
2nd Tier = 3 to 5 CRNA Schools
Tier 3 = 1 or 2 CRNA Schools
White means no CRNA schools in the State.
Data source: everythingCRNA
Nurse Anesthetist Salary
As you’re interested in Nurse Anesthesia Schools without ICU Experience, be sure to check out our CRNA Salary Guide and CRNA Starting Salary. If you are still a student or if you’re wondering how much a fresh CRNA can make right out of nurse anesthesia school, this information will be especially helpful. You might be surprised too! We spent hundreds of hours researching salary information from the BLS, the AANA CRNA survey from over 5,000 actual nurse anesthetists as well as from my own CRNA job offers after I graduated. In addition, different states have different demand and supply economics for nurse anesthetists, so our CRNA Salary by State Guide will help you see which States are the best fit for you.
CRNA schools Without ICU Experience Conclusion
Did you find the list of CRNA schools without ICU experience helpful? Did you get into CRNA school with ER, PICU or NICU experience? Please help share your experience with the community below!