Excela School of Anesthesia...

Nursing Students SRNA

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hey everyone,

I have an interview lined up with Excela School of Anesthesia and the Frank J. Tornetta School of Anesthesia both located in Pennsylvania in November. If anyone could give me some advice on how their interviews go i'd be really grateful.

Thank you!

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Specializes in CRNA, CCRN- Surgical/Cardiothoracic ICU.

Hello,

I interviewed at Excela in January. It was pretty laid back. The director, asst. director and a senior student were the only ones in the room. Some questions that I can remember were.......

1. Strengths

2. Weaknesses

3. Tell us about a mistake you made and what you did about it

4. "You seem to have a lot of experience, how do you feel starting over as a novice nurse again?"

I was in there for probably 10 minutes and then afterwards they gave a 50 question critical care test. Test is pretty easy if you work with PA caths on a regular basis, hemodynamics, etc.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Thank you so much!

i'm definetly nervous about the interview.....i think the clinical exam is whats making me the most stressed out!

Did you get accepted into Excela?

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Specializes in ICU.

I, too, am gearing up for my interview there as well. Why did you choose Excels, and what are your stats?

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical ICU, Trauma, Neuro.

Hello! I too, am also excited/nervous for my excela interview! When are your interviews? Is this your first? Good luck and just do the best you can!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

clintcron:

the reason i chose excela is i liked the small family type feel. I went to a small undergrad, and graduated with some of the most amazing friends in the world. the entire school was friendly with everyone else. So i liked the vibe excela was offering. I didnt want to be just another number in a big university. my gpa was alright....but I worked in CTICU at a ny medical center, we're the only unit where we didnt have residents, it was very nurse driven, did our own extubations, vasoactive infusions, swans, managed all lines, centrimags with oxygenators, IABP, code team, it was a pretty intense experience for my first job out of college, but totally worth it!

PutToSleep!:

yup this is my first interview, its in november.....i dont think im excited, just very, VERY nervous. i feel like i dont know anything! but just like you said, just going to do the best that i can. When's your interview?

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical ICU, Trauma, Neuro.

Josephj, it sounds like you have great ICU experience and that alone I think will make you stand out. My interview is coming up quick next week. Starting to get more nervous the closer I get. I have interviewed at two other schools so I have somewhat of an idea how its going to go. Still always nerve-wracking! Just need to get in and stay off the waitlists!! Excela seems like a great school so I'm excited to check it out in person.

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josephj, I interviewed at Frank J Tornetta in Aug, and got accepted for the 2014 class. Director is very nice. I am currently taking msn courses at LaSalle. Their program allows you to take all msn courses before starting anesethesia clinical residency. Good Luck, maybe we will be in same class for 2014

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical ICU, Trauma, Neuro.

So my interview at Excela went fantastic and I was accepted to start the program in August 2012!! :w00t: I still can't believe it and cannot wait! The assistant director and students I met were so nice and welcoming. I have nothing but good things to say about my interview experience and the people I met. Good luck you guys and just go in there with a positive attitude, tell them why you really want it and you'll do great! I have been waiting for this for years and so glad all the hard work has finally paid off! Hope to meet some future classmates soon!! :coollook:

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Specializes in Critical Care.

37icurn: congratulations! tornetta will be calling me later in the year to set up an interview.

PutToSleep!: congratulations into getting into excela! my interview is like in almost 2 weeks! i haven't been able to sleep! lol....i dont know whats stressing me out more, the interview itself or the clinical exam? or maybe the fear that im going to come off as an idiot, eek! well knowing that the people are nice puts me to ease!

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical ICU, Trauma, Neuro.

The interview itself is relaxed and they don't drill you. Just get to know you stuff. Practice answering your questions out loud because saying your answers is a lot harder than just thinking about what you want to say. That seemed to really help me. You take the exam in a private area so at least you can relax without anyone watching or critiquing you. It's not impossible but is meant to challenge you a little. They don't expect you to be perfect so try not to worry about it too much! I know in my first interview my stomach was in my throat, lol. :eek: Just remember to relax, be confident and go in with a positive attitude and you'll do great!! Make sure to keep us posted how it goes! :)

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PutToSleep,

Congrats on your acceptance! From what I read on their website from Excela, it looks like there is quite a bit of traveling for clinical rotations- tri-state area? Do you know if this requires you to live out of state temporarily during some rotations? Also, do you know if they are big on CCRN cert?

Thanks and again, congratulations- that's awesome!

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