Frequently Asked QuestionsIf you have questions other than those listed, please contact the program office.
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Intensive Care Unit (ICU) |
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Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) |
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Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) |
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Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) |
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Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) |
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Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) |
The purpose of this requirement is for the applicant to have experience with long duration of care for critically ill patients. With acute care experience, an RN has developed as an independent decision-maker capable of using and interpreting advanced monitoring techniques based on knowledge of physiological and pharmacological principles. Emergency Room experience, OR experience, and post-anesthesia care unit experience is not considered "critical care" due to the relatively short duration of individual patient care.
2. I have my Bachelor's degree in an area other than nursing. Can I apply for admission to the program?
Applicants with non-nursing bachelor's degrees who are RN's, may apply to the program, however, a Community Health or Public Health nursing course is required. As our program leads to a Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree, most of the applicants will have a Bachelor's degree in the area of nursing.
If you are working on attaining your bachelor's degree and will have it completed before the start of the program (i.e. Fall semester), you may apply to the program prior to the deadline of October 1.
If you are interested in learning more about the University of Iowa RN-BSN program, visit the College of Nursing website.
3. How many applicants do you have each year?
On average, we receive between 10-20 inquiries to the program per month. The number of inquiries which lead to application varies from year to year. As the job market remains very strong for CRNA's, we look to continue receiving many applications for each new class of students.
4. Are all applicants invited for interviews?
No. Admission into our program is very competitive. All submitted applications are reviewed by our Admissions Subcommittee. All aspects of the application are thoroughly evaluated by the committee, including overall GPA, basic science GPA, clinical experience, reference letters, and the personal statement. Interview offers are extended to those applicants the committee feels are most qualified.
5. What can I expect during the interview?
All interviews will be conducted at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, usually on the Friday in November prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. The interview day begins at 9:00 a.m. and lasts until 6 p.m. The day includes a description of the program, lunch with some of the current students in order to gain their perspective of the program, and a series of interviews during which the applicant will meet with several faculty members, the medical advisor, and the program director.
6. How many students are admitted to the program each year?
We currently look to admit ten (10) students per academic year to the program, two of which will be based in either Des Moines or Spencer. Our class size is small due to the limited number of clinical experiences available in the state of Iowa. By remaining a small program we ensure exceptional clinical and case experiences for each student.
7. If I am admitted, can I start taking classes before the program actually begins?
Yes. Once you have been admitted into the program, you are strongly encouraged to take any of the College of Nursing (non-anesthesia) core courses listed for the first academic year. The program has a 36 month duration regardless of the number of courses taken early, but taking any of these early will lighten your work load during the academic phase.
8. What is an "upper level statistics course" and why does it need to be taken within the past 5 years?
Descriptions of qualifying course criteria for statistics classes can be found on the "Prerequisite Course Criteria" sheet.
"Upper level" means it is a collegiate level course. Statistics courses taken at the University of Iowa must be at the 100-level or higher. Statistics courses taken at other institutions must be equivalent to 100-level University of Iowa statistics courses. If you have questions about the suitability of a stats course, please contact the program office.
Statistics generally proves to be a fairly "use it or lose it" subject. The College of Nursing's requirement of this course to be taken "recently" is meant to assist the student in staying competitive with other students in the master's program.
If you are in need of a stats course, the UI offers a Distance Education (web/online) course which is acceptable for this requirement: 171:161 Introduction to Biostatistics. For more information on this course, contact the University of Iowa Center for Credit Programs.
9. I didn't have a course specifically in the area listed as a prerequisite (e.g. bio-chemistry, organic chemistry, patho-physiology...). What can I do?
Different institutions incorporate many of these topics in differing ways. At the University of Iowa, for example, Organic Chemistry and Bio-Chemistry are both covered in the course "004:008 General Chemistry II". If you have had experience with the topics listed in the overview of the "Prerequisite Course Criteria" in other courses which you've taken, you will need to supply the program office with a course description of that class for evaluation. If we feel you've had adequate exposure to the topic, we will count that course. If not, you would be required to retake the course.
10. I didn't take my sciences at the University of Iowa. What courses meet the science requirements for admission?
As a general rule, science courses at other institutions that meet pre-professional (pre-med, pre-dental, pre-vet, pre-pharmacy, pre-physical therapy, pre-engineering) admission requirements are preferred.
11. If I don't have one-year work experience complete by October 1, can I still apply?
If you are close to having one year of fulltime critical care nursing experience by October 1 (for example, you have 8-11 months experience), you are still encouraged to apply. The program may grant admission on a contingent basis, pending completion of necessary requirement(s). As long as all requirements for admission (see "Requirements") are complete by the opening day of classes, your admission status will be the same as all other students. You will be expected to continue working in critical care from application time until admission.
If, however, you do not complete all admission requirement(s) by the start of classes, you will not be admitted to the program and you would need to reapply for the next start date, repeating the entire process. As admission is very competitive and is based upon the applicant pool, there would be no guarantee that you will be readmitted.