Finishing up my first year of CRNA school. Ask me anything!

[SRNA1221, BSN]

These posts were extremely helpful when I was in the process of applying to school and wondering what to expect. I'd be happy to return the favor and answer any questions one might have.

[go_jets82, BSN, RN]

1. How are you handling the financial implications of no longer working and providing for yourself while in school. Are you relying on mostly loan money, etc?

2. Is there any specific area in school that was challenging for you that you wish you did preparatory work prior to admission (i.e. I've heard some people say they struggled with general chemistry concepts, etc)

[SRNA1221, BSN]

47 minutes ago, go_jets82 said:

1. How are you handling the financial implications of no longer working and providing for yourself while in school. Are you relying on mostly loan money, etc?

2. Is there any specific area in school that was challenging for you that you wish you did preparatory work prior to admission (i.e. I've heard some people say they struggled with general chemistry concepts, etc)

Finances are difficult to manage. My wife is also in school so we have no income. I saved money prior to school and took a travel assignment immediately prior to quitting work for school. This was a great way to save some money. I made sure I had enough in my savings account to cover our house payments for the entirety of the program. As far as living expenses go, we rely on loans. We're fortunate to have family to help us out with small expenses too. The loans are generally enough to cover expenses, but they're not limitless. Some of my classmates with kids have an extremely tight budget. Other classmates have also had to take out private loans. It's doable, but I personally think the financial aspect is the most difficult difficult part of anesthesia school.

As far as preparation, enjoy your free time while you have it. I know everyone says this. I too wanted to dive into concepts that would better prepare me for school. I studied a little bit before starting and it didn't help. They will teach you what you need to know. My program has a chemistry course incorporated that was anesthesia specific so I didn't spend any extra time on chemistry. Take a vacation, sleep, enjoy time with family, and be ready to hit the ground running. It is hard, but doable. Some students on here are so discouraging. I was scared to death before starting. I still have free time, just not near as much as I did before or even while in nursing school. We start our "real" clinical in the spring so I may be eating my words, but the didactic portion is all about time management.

[bfreezy, CRNA]

No questions from me, but I'm 3 weeks from graduating. Best of luck with the rest of your program! It may not seem like it, but it goes by fast and continue at it day by day.

[SRNA1221, BSN]

45 minutes ago, bfreezy said:

No questions from me, but I'm 3 weeks from graduating. Best of luck with the rest of your program! It may not seem like it, but it goes by fast and continue at it day by day.

Thanks for the encouragement bfreezy! At the beginning of the program, a senior described it as "long days and short months". I've definitely found that to be true. Best of luck in your career and congratulations!

[SammytheSRNA]

@SRNA1221 I’m worried about finances too. Are you classified as an in state student?

[SRNA1221, BSN]

11 hours ago, SamICURN said:

@SRNA1221 I’m worried about finances too. Are you classified as an in state student?

No I am considered out of state. My tuition is nearly double that of an in state student.

[Nursng_life, BSN, RN]

Congratulations and best wishes to you during and after your studies! I was originally waitlisted for a local DNP Nurse Anesthesia Program but received an email invitation to interview Dec. 2. I literally have only a week to prepare. I graduated with my BSN from there as well. If accepted, I will have exactly 2 years MICU experience by the start date of the program. I live 2 miles away from the University which means I can literally ride my bike to class. Any interview tips? Things you wished you'd done (or not) prior to interviewing or during the interview? Thanks!

[SRNA1221, BSN]

2 hours ago, Nursng_life said:

Congratulations and best wishes to you during and after your studies! I was originally waitlisted for a local DNP Nurse Anesthesia Program but received an email invitation to interview Dec. 2. I literally have only a week to prepare. I graduated with my BSN from there as well. If accepted, I will have exactly 2 years MICU experience by the start date of the program. I live 2 miles away from the University which means I can literally ride my bike to class. Any interview tips? Things you wished you'd done (or not) prior to interviewing or during the interview? Thanks!

My best advice is to be yourself. There were some great nurses get rejection letters because they were cocky in the interview. Be humble and confident. Luckily, my interview was not clinical based, so all of my questions were personality related. You can search online some common questions. I found that they really seemed to like hearing about shadowing experience. Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience at all. I definitely had less experience than most of the other applicants, so I think your experience is great.

[johnsonks11, BSN, RN]

Congrats on the success, I hope to be in your shoes in the near future and thank you so much for taking the time to respond to everyone!

I'm currently working on revamping my resume and was thinking about my past work experience. I've been a nurse for a little over 6 years, the first 1.5 years in rehab and neuro/tele, 1.5 years in PACU, and most recently a little over 3 years in the ICU.

For the sake of resume brevity I'm inclined to leave out the rehab and neuro/tele as it is not pertinent to CRNA school but I also don't want it to look like I didn't work at all for 1.5 years after graduating nursing school.

What do you recommend?

[SammytheSRNA]

5 hours ago, SRNA1221 said:

No I am considered out of state. My tuition is nearly double that of an in state student.

Ok thanks now I don’t feel so bad since I’ll be out of state too. I don’t have a family it’s just me so hopefully loans will be enough. I start in May so I’m trying to say a good chunk from traveling. Good luck on the rest of your journey. I’m sure you’ll do well.

[beachbabe86]

Just out of curiosity, how long is the typical program? Also I admire your foresight to save up your money for your house payments!