Newman University DNAP CRNA 2024

[CamillusRN, BSN]

Good luck to everyone applying to Newman University's DNAP 2024 cohort! In the words of CRNA Jon Lowrance (Anesthesia Guidebook podcast), competition among applicants ends once CRNA school begins. To help cultivate this mindset, this forum is for applicants to share tips and pearls they've found along the way for preparing for the highly anticipated interview!

I'm reading "Thinking, Fast and Slow," "Make it Stick, the Science of Successful Learning," and "Costanzo's Physiology" to prep! Podcasts like "Anesthesia Guidebook," "Core Anesthesia," and "ACCRAC" have been helpful in giving me an idea of what to expect for both the interview and understanding the stress of CRNA school!

What have you found helpful? What pitfalls do you anticipate? What did you most enjoy from your shadowing experience?

[CamillusRN, BSN]

Interview tip from Jenny Finnell's "CRNA School Prep Academy podcast: know your science (specifically, anything covered in the CCRN exam is fair game), but also know yourself. Emotional intelligence will likely one of the interview topics.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/CRNA-school-prep-academy-podcast/id1555772611?I=1000615979312

What do your coworkers think of you?

How have you handled conflict with physicians and colleagues? 

What are some of your weaknesses? (Bonus points if you can also specifically talk about ways you are addressing those weaknesses!)

[CamillusRN, BSN]

Based on several CRNA prep podcasts, one of the best ways to prepare for an interview is to ask yourself whether you know the science behind what we do in the ICU, or if dogma is driving practice. This podcast in particular has helped me understand my own biases in critical care. What do I believe about a certain practice? What level of evidence supports my belief?

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/depth-of-anesthesia/id1461664155?I=1000453080338

[CamillusRN, BSN]

One of my CRNA mentors posed this question a while back:

Imagine you are in the middle of nowhere and your patient desperately needs a balloon pump, which your hospital does not have. Based on the mechanism of action, indications, and physiology of IABP's, how can you mimic the effect of a balloon pump pharmacologically to temporize the patient?

[CamillusRN, BSN]

Just finished this book on the physiology and mechanics of mechanical ventilation - great for me in my hunt to better understand vents and vent settings while working in the ICU and wanting more than a basic understanding of mechanical ventilation. It was recommended in an episode of the PulmPEEPs podcast.

What have you been reading lately that's been helpful in getting a deeper understanding of practicing as a critical care nurse and preparing a foundation for CRNA school?

Mechanical Ventilation: For Fun and Benefit https://a.co/d/bs43XJN

[CamillusRN, BSN]

Super high-yield discussion on the coagulation cascade!

What other resources have you found to ramp up your critical care knowledge for a CRNA interview?

[CamillusRN, BSN]

Interview-type question from one of the now-retired CRNAs I used to work with occasionally: "your patient has an O2 sat of 80 on the monitor. Aaaaand go …”

Where does your brain go first? How do you prioritize your differentials? How many scenarios can you run through (intubated vs not intubated, sedated vs awake, well vs unwell, etc)? Are you considering resources around you (people, things, etc)? What are your temporizing measures? What are your long term management plans?

[CamillusRN, BSN]

Topic of discussion on another CRNA-hopeful platform forum: what is your mindset going into an interview for CRNA school? Are you a high-performer in the ICU with a wealth of pearls and shortcuts? Are you willing to unlearn some of these pearls and shortcuts as you participate in CRNA training? Are you willing to accept that nurse anesthesia isn't simply "ICU 2.0" and that some of the tactics that helped you in the ICU may hold you back in CRNA school? Are you pursuing a growth mindset and receptive to changing your thought processes if they conflict with a new paradigm?

[CamillusRN, BSN]

Podcast on smart moving if Newman isn't your most local school! Something to consider for clinical rotations: based on my discussion with Newman's former director earlier this year, Newman has contracts for housing with away clinical sites and includes the cost in program fees (this may change since leadership has changed hands).

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/confident-care-academy/id1632831017?I=1000617832081

[CamillusRN, BSN]

Look for resources that will give you the highest return when prepping for an interview! These apps are used daily by several of the practicing anesthesiologists and CRNAs I've had the opportunity to work with, and I've used them for both studying for interviews and for bedside ICU care! The best resources are the ones that you'll continue to use even after you pass CRNA boards!
 

Vargo Anesthesia - buy it once and there's no annual fee. Goes into detail on meds and even has tips and pearls for students and practicing professionals!

AnSo: free nerve block sonography app! I've shared it with several SRNAs that do clinicals with the anesthesiology firm I work at PRN - the consensus is it's just as good or better than the paid platform BlockBuddy.

SafeLocal: tips and pearls for dosing local anesthetics for nerve blocks along with max doses and adjuncts.

Core Anesthesia: a podcast for SRNAs and CRNAs that is now available as an organized app! Student discount is available. Includes tips and pearls for students and CRNA hopefuls!

A couple of personal favorites:

Picmonic: helpful for me in studying meds and their action at various receptors! A little pricey for the paid version, but high yield and pertinent for CRNA school too!

Life in the Fast Line: free open content with practice pearls for the ICU for providers but relevant for nurses working to master critical care (wouldn't recommend using this to supplement CRNA school - useful as a foundation for critical care and studying for a CRNA school interview but may not translate well for school).

What have you found to be useful in prepping for an interview? How do you best study?

[CamillusRN, BSN]

Pearl from a couple of CRNAs and anesthesiologists I had been hounding for study tips: be efficient with your time and know what and why you're studying.

Basically, if you're trying to teach yourself anesthesia before the program starts, you may have to unlearn what you've taught yourself in order to learn anesthesia correctly. Focus on mastering critical care knowledge (pharmacology/drips, pathology, physiology) as a foundation for learning anesthesiology; don't try to get ahead of yourself unless you're willing to invest extra time relearning anesthesia. In the words of one of the anesthesiologists, "do it right or do it twice.”

[CamillusRN, BSN]

A brief history of the political history of nurse anesthesiology. You'll hear lots of opinions regarding the political landscape of CRNAs and physician anesthesiologists. I urge you to keep an open mind and focus on collaboration rather than competing. Especially as students, we are not expected to (nor should we) engage in the debate on either side until we are full-fledged CRNAs.

What have you found to be surprising about the history of the profession we're pursuing? How is your mindset going in and preparing to work with both CRNAs and physician anesthesiologists during clinicals? How will your emotional intelligence keep you out of the political trenches outside of the classroom?

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/anesthesia-deconstructed-science-politics-realities/id1480774056?I=1000456070484