CRNA school: All you need to know

Onmyway110> · Mar 1, 2017

Any advice for loans or scholarships available for Texas students?

texanRN0415 · Mar 1, 2017

Hi!

There are a variety of options for you in terms of loans or scholarships for Texas students. When you start school, there is a high chance they will sign you up for the AANA as members (this was mandatory for my school). The AANA is the official organization that represents the nurse anesthesia community. Once a member, they usually send out email links to possible scholarships that you can apply for. Also, your school will highly likely offer scholarships all year round and you can apply for that as loan. In terms of loans, the most widely utilized is FAFSA, which is federally funded. I make this distinction of being federal because depending on the state, some states also offers state loans. I recently discovered that Texas offers a state loan that has a cheaper interest rate than FAFSA and offers almost the same repayment options. What is also good about this loan is that the interest rate is fixed (the graduate plus loan for FAFSA, which you also apply for, is varied and starts at a higher interest rate). I will be putting out a link at the end of this post so you can check out those loan options. I hope that helps!

Loan Options:

Home - FAFSA on the Web - Federal Student Aid

HHLoans.com

widmaerjm · Mar 2, 2017

Thank you for sharing, I am on the journey myself! Currently gaining ICU experience

Would you mind sharing with us a breakdown of your week during your first week, how much time did you spend in class? How long did you spend studying?

texanRN0415 · Mar 2, 2017

Widmaerjm,

My first week in school was mostly going over the syllabus for every class. The professors get a chance to meet the cohort, and the cohort is also introduced to the anesthesia faculty. We had a day of general orientation regarding the program: what are the policies, expectations, student services and the like.

The classes themselves would run anywhere between 2-3 hours, depending on the day and subject. Core anesthesia classes such as advanced A&P and pharmacology, would take longer. On some occasions, we would have online modules to do but its very rare.

In a particular cohort, every individual will have their own unique study schedule/hours. Personally, I aim to study for 8-10 hours of QUALITY studying for my core anesthesia classes and spend maybe 1-2 hours for my DNP classes. On exam weeks, you can imagine this significantly increases. The amount of material being taught can be overwhelming if you can't stay on top of work. And most importantly, everything is cumulative so you have to be able to assimilate and remember information from what was taught last semester onwards.

I hope this helped!

guest769224 · Mar 2, 2017

What is the minimum passing percentage score for each class you are taking? I hear CRNA programs you need to get somewhere around an 85% minimum in each course?

texanRN0415 · Mar 2, 2017

Hi ICUman!

It is true that majority of CRNA programs will require a certain passing grade in order to be retained in the program; however, the specific passing grade is highly dependent on the school. For example, my program requires a minimum of 80% to pass. Also, some of the core anesthesia courses will require you to pass certain exams or DNP projects with a minimum grade in order to pass that particular class, regardless of what your grade is in other areas likes quizzes, homework or exams.

That being said, not everyone makes it forward. Failing a class in CRNA school is cumbersome because you do not have the option to retake that class by itself. You have to wait another whole year in order to retake the class and fall behind your expected graduation year. I was very intimidated at first, but I also kept in mind that in anesthesia, there are no grades involved. You either put a patient to sleep successfully, or you can put them at harm, or even worse, kill them. With that as mindset, I am always encouraged to learn and study as much as I can to be the best anesthesia provider that I can be. And so far, that mindset has been working to my advantage. Haha!

m1lkofamnesia · Mar 2, 2017

Yep, it varies. My program requires 84% to pass each course.

Leo135 · Mar 4, 2017

Are you able to work a low FTE while doing school?

Are most programs in person or are some totally online?

Are your clinical sites set up for you or do you have to find your own sites?

How difficult/easy is it to find the first job out of school?

Thank you SO much!

jj224 · Mar 4, 2017

Leo135

1. No. Not advised.

2. No online programs. Thank God, the profession would go straight down the toilet.

3. Set up for you. Don't know why anyone would go to any type of program where you have to find your own clinical sites.

4. Depends on your location. Most people get a job at one of their clinical sites. They see it as a working interview.

texanRN0415 · Mar 4, 2017

Hi Leo135!

I personally did not attempt to work when I started CRNA school. However, some of my classmates did keep a PRN job to where they worked 1-3 times per month. Depending on the semester load, it can be doable. But as the workload started getting more and more demanding, my classmates eventually decided to quit.

I have never seen or heard of a CRNA school that is online. And I honestly think that it will highly compromise the quality of education if they did decide to do one. The classes that we are taking are highly comparable to what medical students are taking. These are core subjects that require a face-to-face interaction to make sure that the students are assimilating the information.

I cannot speak for all the programs regarding the clinical sites. For my program, they have our clinical sites picked out by the time we enter the program. I believe we rotate to 7-10 different clinical sites. This was one selling point for my program when I was trying to decide on where to go. I like the fact that we are exposed to different health care facilities with varying degrees of autonomy and supervision. It also provides diversity to the cases and surgeries that we can take.

I spoke with the graduating cohort (they graduate in May) regarding the ease of finding a job. They said that all of them were offered jobs even before they graduate. Most of them received offers around December and January; that's 4 months before even graduating. However, like I said, I cannot speak for all programs. Job opportunities are also highly dependent on the state and city. I have heard of some people (outside of Texas) who went to graduate without job opportunities yet were eventually able to get one after a couple of months.

Leo135 · Mar 4, 2017

Thanks a bunch! This is very helpful. I am graduating with my BSN in May and moving to TX this summer. I'm really thinking about pursuing CRNA school or DNP for NP. I am mostly concerned about how to support myself while in school since it sounds like I wouldn't be able to earn much (if anything) for 2-3 years. I guess this is why most people wait several years until they are on their feet before they start a program. Thanks again!