SRNA and/or CRNA - Information for Future School Applicants

Nursing Students SRNA

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Hi all! There were so many people who helped me on my journey into CRNA school so, as an SRNA/RRNA, I want to pay it forward and help anyone who has questions or needs advice on stats, interviews, school, etc. It can be a very competitive and sometimes discouraging process but BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! You will get here when it's your time and you won't look back. ? Hang in there!

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Any recommendation/advice/platforms on preparing for interviews and making you stand out?

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Hi! I am just looking into going back to school to become a CRNA. A lot of stories are overwhelming. I was first a LPN in 2016 and RN in 2019. I have been working med/surg tele for almost a year now and am looking to transfer to the CCU. I work in a small hospital that does not have an ICU. Will CCU experience be enough to get me into school? I don't have many options because I live in a remote area. I would be able to go to school full time and not work when and if I get to that point, but I also have a child and would have to commute to school, there's only one school close enough to even commute to! Thanks for all the advice!! I feel so lost in where to even start!

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rnnursing013 said:

Hi! I am just looking into going back to school to become a CRNA. A lot of stories are overwhelming. I was first a LPN in 2016 and RN in 2019. I have been working med/surg tele for almost a year now and am looking to transfer to the CCU. I work in a small hospital that does not have an ICU. Will CCU experience be enough to get me into school? I don't have many options because I live in a remote area. I would be able to go to school full time and not work when and if I get to that point, but I also have a child and would have to commute to school, there's only one school close enough to even commute to! Thanks for all the advice!! I feel so lost in where to even start!

Many programs take CCU experience, if not all.. I would look into your desired program and email them

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Gbaid002 said:

Any recommendation/advice/platforms on preparing for interviews and making you stand out?

Hello, yes! Definitely research your specific school to know/understand what type of interview you're walking in to. Some school's will ask you about knowledge and other's will just want to get to know YOU! One of the best tips I can give you is speak about anything in your interview that you would be comfortable talking about - basically, anything that you bring up is fair game for them to ask you about so keep your answers simple and don't talk about or bring up topics you wouldn't feel comfortable elaborating on. Also, show them your PERSONALITY! Are you a happy, energetic, person? Show them that! A lot of times people walk into interviews afraid but you want THEM to feel comfortable with YOU too! Pretend like you are the one interviewing and you're trying to make them feel welcome and comfortable! There are TONS of CRNA school interview question examples on Google! I would copy/past them and then type your answers underneath so you can brainstorm the different questions and come up with examples you would like to elaborate on. I will try to find some of the pages with those questions and link them for you! Lastly, show them what you've done to PREPARE to get here as this is basically your next step in the process! Best of luck! Reach out if you have more questions - I'm not sure why I didn't get a notification for these questions. I'll try to figure it out for though!

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rnnursing013 said:

Hi! I am just looking into going back to school to become a CRNA. A lot of stories are overwhelming. I was first a LPN in 2016 and RN in 2019. I have been working med/surg tele for almost a year now and am looking to transfer to the CCU. I work in a small hospital that does not have an ICU. Will CCU experience be enough to get me into school? I don't have many options because I live in a remote area. I would be able to go to school full time and not work when and if I get to that point, but I also have a child and would have to commute to school, there's only one school close enough to even commute to! Thanks for all the advice!! I feel so lost in where to even start!

Hi! I LOVE that you are looking into this field, it truly is the best! I think that's wonderful that you started out on med surg as it will be a great foundation to continue building on in the ICU! I wouldn't necessarily look at the "title" of ICU that you are going into (I.e. MICU, SICU, CCU, etc.) but I would rather look at the acuity of the patients each of the ICUs is taking and then pick the one that is taking the sickest patients. How do they measure high acuity? How often are patients on ventilators in the unit, are they on pressors, sedation, anti-hypertensives, etc.? If you don't know the answers to these questions then just ask the unit you are thinking about applying to! I know it can all feel overwhelming at first but it is so, so worth it. Just keep doing the small things like this and ultimately it will lead you there. There are so many mother's that are absolutely CRUSHING these programs so you can too! Another tip, many of the "front-loaded" programs (rather than integrated) have the first 2-3 semesters online before switching to in-person requirements so you can usually still work during this time which might be helpful. Please reach out if you need anything else!

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what supplies do you recommend purchasing before school? For example, iPAD

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Specializes in CVOR, CVICU/CTICU, CCRN.
Nurseerc said:

what supplies do you recommend purchasing before school? For example, iPAD

You may find that some clinical sites use mobile charting platforms on tablets (I work for an anesthesiology firm that exclusively uses iPads). Spare tablets are usually reserved for CRNAs/docs working for the group so you may be left without if you don't have your own! One of our client hospitals requires clear plastic bags/backpacks so be prepared for that possibility!

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How to answer if asked about bouncing around on my resume? I started off in Level 1 SICU, thought about CRNA then but didn't feel confident enough as a baby nurse..moved onto Endoscopy, then MSN Admin/MBA, then a coordinator and finally a short term director role before quitting it to start and raise a family for 2 years. (Total of 10 years since graduating nursing school) 
 

starting from ground zero again this year in the ICU to apply to CRNA. I know it's a long road but nervous about interviewers digging into the several jobs and them not feeling confident in me that I'll stick with the program. 
 

any tips on how to answer to this? 

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Specializes in RN CCRN.

I need advice for interviews. Also, if you have a link on finding political issues of CRNA. I couldn't find it on AANA website 

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Specializes in ICU.

Hello ! Thanks for offering help so awesome. I got accepted yay ! I am wanting to prepare for school don't want to spend a ton of money on classes to take what do you feel is important to study/ review before the start of school ? YouTube? Any podcasts you recommend ? 

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Specializes in RN CCRN.
SRNA Mentor said:

Hi all! There were so many people who helped me on my journey into CRNA school so, as an SRNA/RRNA, I want to pay it forward and help anyone who has questions or needs advice on stats, interviews, school, etc. It can be a very competitive and sometimes discouraging process but BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! You will get here when it's your time and you won't look back. ? Hang in there!

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 need advice for interviews. Also, if you have a link on finding political issues of CRNA. I couldn't find it on AANA website 

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