ICU
SeaStar Medical Holding Corporation Common Stock
stock NASDAQ

Hi everyone,
I am a 21 year old senior (turning 22 soon) trying to choose between two career paths with very different financial and professional trajectories. My science GPA is 3.7 and my cumulative GPA is 3.6.
My long term goal is to work in mental health, especially in treatment resistant depression and PTSD. I am also interested in eventually opening a ketamine clinic that is clinically appropriate and compliant, and ideally participating in research collaborations. I am trying to choose the path that offers the strongest combination of patient impact, financial security, and long term autonomy.
Right now my two realistic routes are:
# Option 1: Postbacc then Medical School then Psychiatry
**Timeline**
Postbacc coursework for 1 to 2 years
MCAT preparation
4 years of medical school
4 years of psychiatry residency
**Financial considerations**
• Highest total debt load
• Very long runway with little income
• Highest eventual ceiling for clinical autonomy and billing
• Strongest long term ability to supervise, run, and medically direct a mental health clinic
• Highest stability and protection from scope of practice changes
• Broadest regulatory authority in psychedelic and ketamine treatment spaces
**Pros**
• Clear alignment with mental health
• Strongest credibility for research or academic collaboration
• Ability to diagnose, prescribe, and manage long term mental health care
• Ability to directly bill for a wide range of services
**Cons**
• Long training period
• Greater lifestyle volatility during training
• Delayed earning compared to CRNA route
# Option 2: Accelerated BSN then ICU then CRNA
**Timeline**
ABSN next year (12 to 16 months)
1 to 2 years of ICU
CRNA school (about 3 years)
**Financial considerations**
• Much lower total educational debt
• Ability to earn a solid income earlier in life
• Excellent earning potential as a CRNA
• Faster path to financial independence
• Better ROI in the short and medium term
• Potential risks due to scope of practice battles and variability between states
• Less clear regulatory positioning when it comes to running a mental health clinic without MD involvement
**Pros**
• Strong job market and high income
• Faster and cheaper path to autonomy in some states
• Procedural skillset that aligns with ketamine infusion protocols
• Potential to co-run a clinic with a psychiatrist or physician partner
**Cons**
• Limited training in diagnosis and long term psychiatric management
• Research involvement is harder to access without an MD
• Clinic ownership may require an MD or psychiatric collaborator depending on state law
• Less ability to independently manage complex mental health cases
# My Core Questions for WCI
1. From a financial independence perspective, is the earlier earning potential of the CRNA path enough to justify the limits on psychiatric training and scope?
2. For those who have experience with ketamine clinics, how important is having a psychiatrist or MD at the helm for long term compliance and business stability?
3. Is psychiatry simply a safer long term investment considering regulatory authority, reimbursement, and the future of psychedelic medicine?
4. How concerned should I be about scope of practice and legislative risk if I choose the CRNA route?
5. For those who have taken the postbacc route, was it worth the longer timeline and debt if your passion was specifically mental health?
# My Intentions
I want to make a responsible and financially sound decision. I care about patient outcomes and want to avoid cutting corners both clinically and ethically. At the same time, I want a career with strong long term income, stable reimbursement, and room to grow a clinic that is compliant and respected by other professionals.
Thank you all for any insight. I appreciate hearing from psychiatrists, CRNAs, anesthesiologists, and anyone who has built outpatient clinics or worked with ketamine services.

Hard agree. I ended up managing an estate for a cousin who chose this route *along with his spouse who was suffering from Lyme disease.*. His effort worked, hers did not. So I basically had to unfuck his will to get everything allowed under the law back to his surviving spouse. She spent some time in ICU with jaundice from blowing up her liver and eventually moved in with her elderly father. I can only imagine the regret.

Hi everyone,
I am a 21 year old senior (turning 22 soon) trying to choose between two career paths with very different financial and professional trajectories. My science GPA is 3.7 and my cumulative GPA is 3.6.
My long term goal is to work in mental health, especially in treatment resistant depression and PTSD. I am also interested in eventually opening a ketamine clinic that is clinically appropriate and compliant, and ideally participating in research collaborations. I am trying to choose the path that offers the strongest combination of patient impact, financial security, and long term autonomy.
Right now my two realistic routes are:
# Option 1: Postbacc then Medical School then Psychiatry
**Timeline**
Postbacc coursework for 1 to 2 years
MCAT preparation
4 years of medical school
4 years of psychiatry residency
**Financial considerations**
• Highest total debt load
• Very long runway with little income
• Highest eventual ceiling for clinical autonomy and billing
• Strongest long term ability to supervise, run, and medically direct a mental health clinic
• Highest stability and protection from scope of practice changes
• Broadest regulatory authority in psychedelic and ketamine treatment spaces
**Pros**
• Clear alignment with mental health
• Strongest credibility for research or academic collaboration
• Ability to diagnose, prescribe, and manage long term mental health care
• Ability to directly bill for a wide range of services
**Cons**
• Long training period
• Greater lifestyle volatility during training
• Delayed earning compared to CRNA route
# Option 2: Accelerated BSN then ICU then CRNA
**Timeline**
ABSN next year (12 to 16 months)
1 to 2 years of ICU
CRNA school (about 3 years)
**Financial considerations**
• Much lower total educational debt
• Ability to earn a solid income earlier in life
• Excellent earning potential as a CRNA
• Faster path to financial independence
• Better ROI in the short and medium term
• Potential risks due to scope of practice battles and variability between states
• Less clear regulatory positioning when it comes to running a mental health clinic without MD involvement
**Pros**
• Strong job market and high income
• Faster and cheaper path to autonomy in some states
• Procedural skillset that aligns with ketamine infusion protocols
• Potential to co-run a clinic with a psychiatrist or physician partner
**Cons**
• Limited training in diagnosis and long term psychiatric management
• Research involvement is harder to access without an MD
• Clinic ownership may require an MD or psychiatric collaborator depending on state law
• Less ability to independently manage complex mental health cases
# My Core Questions for WCI
1. From a financial independence perspective, is the earlier earning potential of the CRNA path enough to justify the limits on psychiatric training and scope?
2. For those who have experience with ketamine clinics, how important is having a psychiatrist or MD at the helm for long term compliance and business stability?
3. Is psychiatry simply a safer long term investment considering regulatory authority, reimbursement, and the future of psychedelic medicine?
4. How concerned should I be about scope of practice and legislative risk if I choose the CRNA route?
5. For those who have taken the postbacc route, was it worth the longer timeline and debt if your passion was specifically mental health?
# My Intentions
I want to make a responsible and financially sound decision. I care about patient outcomes and want to avoid cutting corners both clinically and ethically. At the same time, I want a career with strong long term income, stable reimbursement, and room to grow a clinic that is compliant and respected by other professionals.
Thank you all for any insight. I appreciate hearing from psychiatrists, CRNAs, anesthesiologists, and anyone who has built outpatient clinics or worked with ketamine services.

Hard agree. I ended up managing an estate for a cousin who chose this route *along with his spouse who was suffering from Lyme disease.*. His effort worked, hers did not. So I basically had to unfuck his will to get everything allowed under the law back to his surviving spouse. She spent some time in ICU with jaundice from blowing up her liver and eventually moved in with her elderly father. I can only imagine the regret.