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Nursing Students SRNA

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Specializes in CRNA.

I remember around this time 3 years ago, I had just finished my first week of CRNA school. Time has FLOWN by!  I really wanted to make a post for anyone applying for CRNA school or preparing for SEE/boards, and answer any questions. Firstly, for anyone applying, I failed nursing school the first time around making a D in pharmacology, C in health assessment, and C in Pathophysiology. Flash forward to a year later, retook pharm and got an A and moving forward I made A's and B's and ended up with a nursing GPA of 3.2 and overall 3.5. Worked my butt off for the next few years to get certifications and experience and applied to CRNA school 2.5 years later and got accepted.  It may be harder getting accepted with the low grades that I had, but it also showed that failure doesn't stop me.  And just wanted to say that it is possible to get accepted with a lower GPA, but it is definitely more difficult.

I had a hard time with the didactic portion of CRNA school, but with good study habits and determination it was enough. Never once failed a class. The program I was in required a benchmark of a 440 on the SEE exam to graduate. I ended up having to take the SEE exam 4 times to make that benchmark. It is said that the more you have to take that exam, the less likely you are to pass boards on the first attempt. But I went in to my board exam knowing I did everything I could to prepare and I did pass on my first attempt. Something about the NCE that I feel like could've influenced me not passing, is losing confidence after 100 questions.  If your exam keeps going after 100, that means you're still in the game to pass.  Don't let that get into your head!

If anyone has any questions on how to prepare for SEE/NCE, don't hesitate to ask! I had to put in some WORK, but it just goes to show that hard work does pay off. Whether you're just applying, going through didactic, or studying for SEE/NCE, YOU GOT THIS!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Thanks for sharing your experience! How did you pad your application to get accepted into the CRNA Program with a low GPA? Which school did you go to and what state?

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Specializes in CRNA.
HeartGoddess said:

Thanks for sharing your experience! How did you pad your application to get accepted into the CRNA Program with a low GPA? Which school did you go to and what state?

You're welcome! I got a few different certifications and joined committees on my unit to do that. I got my CCRN, TCRN, took TNCC, and also worked a little longer than the normal requirement (2 and a half years in ICU).  I got accepted into MTSA in Tennessee. I was originally an alternate and got called off the waitlist shortly after. 

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Specializes in Critical Care.

How cool! Do you feel like you are really learning from your professors? Or do you have to learn solely on your own cause you don't get any substantial learning from your professors?

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Specializes in CRNA.
HeartGoddess said:

How cool! Do you feel like you are really learning from your professors? Or do you have to learn solely on your own cause you don't get any substantial learning from your professors?

I felt like in my program I did a lot of self-teaching. But that isn't because the professors couldn't teach, it is because I just have a different learning style and it's super important to figure out how you learn best early on. If I was not doing well in a class, I would reach out to my professors and they always were willing and did help me if I needed it!

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Hi! Thank you for sharing your experience. A few questions:

1.) Was TCRN worth it? How is it compared to the CCRN? I have my CCRN, but I was wondering if I should take the TCRN to beef up my application. I am still studying for the GRE currently, so I'm not sure if I have enough time to study for TCRN and test. 

2.) What are your interview tips for applicants?

3.) How to best answer, "Tell me about your most challenging patient"?

4.) Did you utilize any CRNA Prep organizations? If yes, which one? If no, why?

Thank you!

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Specializes in CRNA.
jtujtu said:

Hi! Thank you for sharing your experience. A few questions:

1.) Was TCRN worth it? How is it compared to the CCRN? I have my CCRN, but I was wondering if I should take the TCRN to beef up my application. I am still studying for the GRE currently, so I'm not sure if I have enough time to study for TCRN and test. 

2.) What are your interview tips for applicants?

3.) How to best answer, "Tell me about your most challenging patient"?

4.) Did you utilize any CRNA Prep organizations? If yes, which one? If no, why?

Thank you!

I think any certification that can buffer your application is worth it!  I definitely needed it because I was weak in other areas. I had a lower GPA so anything to buffer my application was beneficial! LOL

 

Interview tips: I'd say research the type of interview style the particular school has. I feel like I have heard many different interview styles so just make sure you know how they interview at the school youre applying to. There is no way you can know what they will ask you, but I would still study for the interview. Id make sure I knew all medications that you use on a regular basis down to cellular level. That is what I did at least. I created a study guide, and got really in depth on like IV drips such as prop, fent, vasopressors, etc. Whatever kind of unit you work on, make sure you know answers to questions about patients you take care of. Be careful what you say in the interview because they usually guide the interview according to what youre telling them. For example, if they asked what sedation you use on your unit and you say precedex, the next question could be "what is the mechanism of action of precedex?” 

And the best way to answer your most challenging patient is to answer that honestly.  Whatever you think the most challenging patient you have had, make sure you know backwards and forwards anything that you mention about the patient and the disease process and medications. 

I didn't use any prep organizations. I mainly asked people that I knew who had been in CRNA school what I needed to do. And then I studied like heck for the interview!! 

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Would you be willing to share your medication study guide that you used to prepare for interviews? I'm currently making one, but any additional resources would be amazing.

What do you think helped you stand out the most in your application? 

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Specializes in CRNA.
jtujtu said:

Would you be willing to share your medication study guide that you used to prepare for interviews? I'm currently making one, but any additional resources would be amazing.

What do you think helped you stand out the most in your application? 

If I still had it, I SO would!  But it was years ago. What I did was researched some good pharmacology books and bought a few and put together a guide that way. Basically I studied like mechanism of action down to the cellular level and looked up specific receptors the medications worked on. 

And I think what helped my application is I had 3 years of ICU experience. I know it doesnt sound like a lot but compared to a lot of applications, it is on the higher side. Most schools require 1-2 years ICU so I just stayed in the ICU longer than that minimum time to just give my application a little boost. I also think having my CCRN, TCRN, and TNCC helped buffer it a little too. 

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Specializes in 1000 years of Hard Knocks.

Did you take the Physiology course with MTSA prior to your interview?  Also, can you tell me about your clinicals?  I live south of Nashville and I'm wondering how doable the clinicals are throughout the program.  How many days of the week/hours/etc.  What's the farthest you travel for them?

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Specializes in CRNA.
airy said:

Did you take the Physiology course with MTSA prior to your interview?  Also, can you tell me about your clinicals?  I live south of Nashville and I'm wondering how doable the clinicals are throughout the program.  How many days of the week/hours/etc.  What's the farthest you travel for them?

I actually didn't take that class, but I HIGHLY recommend it. So helpful for when you start the program, it helped people so much. Clinical days were different for us compared to the newer classes. I know that on 2 days a week now they go for full day clinical. Before, we had clinical and class in the same day and it was very hard so the school actually changed that to make it more manageable. Most clinical sites are within the Nashville area. I think the furthest site might be Bowling Green? If you go onto the MTSA website they list all of the clinical sites on the website!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hi Shanneliz,

I got accepted into one of the SRNA programs starting June 2023. I feel like a freshman all over again. I worry about getting PIMP'd and not being prepared to answer the shotgun questioning in clinical. I worry about being really bored with Health Informatics or Statistics and failing these courses. And I worry about severe senioritis...which I had a bad case of in my undergrad years.....

1. How do you study for a topic that you aren't good at and dislike strongly? 2. What anesthesia concepts can I familiarize myself with?

3. What is expected of a graduate student in nurse anesthesia? Different from undergraduate? I'm out of touch in the academic world (I feel like I am)

4. Should I be expecting the worst out of the surgeons and hope for the best?

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