CaslaRN

my questions were all personal. 1. why do you want to become a crna? 2. tell us about what preparations you and your family has done to prepare for the rigors of crna school? 3. why should we select you over all the other candidates? 4. tell us about your strengths and weaknesses? (i had a lot to talk about when it came to strengths - i totally forgot to mention any weaknesses, remembered on my way home). 5. how long have you been in the icu? (i had only been there about 7 months at the time of my interview). i told them 6 - kinda got nervous and short my self 1 month. but then i went into my vast experience in the or setting as a staff nurse then educator and how i felt that would give me a huge advantage in that setting. so i neutralize the lack of icu experience and made it work for me. you have to be able to sell yourself and give them a reason to pick you! the last question was something like this: 6. you seem so confident, how prepared are you to be a novice again? how well do you handle criticism? then i was asked if i had any questions for them. i said yes ---- when do i start? they all laughed then i proceeded to ask about the aana recommendation of a dnp for advanced practice nurse and what steps the school was taking now to meet that requirement in the future. that was it, it lasted about 15 minutes, i even said, is that it? they said yes. i thanked them, got in my car and drove home thinking about all the better-prepared answers i had but didn't say. i spoke from my heart and not from memorizing a line. however, i was prepared for clinical questions, i have about 8 binders full of icu facts etc (most i got from icu faqs, you can get it at www.icufaqs.org, others from another anesthesia website i can't mention due to tos ,someone from the army on that site had posted the army's basic review of icu need to know stuff and i also reviewed stuff i received from a member on here who had made up a crna review book and was nice enough to share it with a total stranger, thanks chase!). i also bought 2 icu books and a ccrn review book and i studied for about 6 months. in fact i started studying for this interview before i even applied. so i felt ready for clinical questions but was happy to have gotten out of there with a behavioral interview because i rock with those! that's all

It really depends on when your school interviews. I have heard of others who apply with only 4 - 5 months experience. By the time they interview in January that would be about 6 - 8 months and by the time school start in August you would have the minimum of 1 year. Do what you think is best for you.

no one was born a nurse. we all were new at one point. i will tell you that even though i am fairly new to the icu, i feel i have acquired a lot more knowledge than some of the nurses that have been there for years. one cannot easily dismiss determination and the inner drive to be your best and do your best. i read up on anything new that i come across on a daily basis. i ask questions of the pharmacist, the dietitians, mdas, nps etc. i have about 6 binders that list "things to know". i am willing to bet that in the short time that i have spent in our icu, i know more than 1/2 of the nurses there. don't get me wrong; there is a lot i don't know ..... but there is a saying :::::::::::he who knows not and knows he knows not, he is a child teach him::::::::::::: that's why we all start off in the same class when we attend crna school. we are there to be taught. lighten up on the inexperience-bashing folks. no wonder we are accused of eating our young. try to remember that there are some nurses who fall outside the typical learning curve.

There are many in Fl and GA!!!

See my previous post in this thread!

I have to disagree with the above quote. You are applying for a CRNA program not an MD one. I think references from RNs/CRNAs way heavier than from an MD. However, in the end it really matters what the person writes about you. Get the person who knows you the best and can effectively articulate that knowledge on paper in the best light possible. FYI - The school I applied to suggested a reference from a current/former supervisor, a professor and a CRNA. I had just transferred to my current job and didn't feel comfortable getting a reference from my boss of 2 months, I have been out of school for some time so a professor who knew me well enough was out so............. I got references from 2 CRNAs and a former charge nurse and I got accepted. I felt the 2 CRNA's references weighed heavily. Good luck!

I never lost my nursing skills by going to the OR. I do believe if you go straight out of school into the OR, it would be a disadvantage later on if you decide to go back to the bedside. In fact I was a better OR nurse because of my prior experience on the floor. Nurse to patient ratio 1:1 ---------- you can't beat that. I respectfully diasgree with you Army.

as a nurse who has worked in med-surg, or and icu, i feel i can speak to this topic. first....... or nurses are not go fors............. that is insulting to a specialty that is legitimately known for being a catalyst for numerous changes that affect patient outcomes/safety. by merely observing an or nurse, one might come away with that impression but spend a day in their shoes with the responsibilities they have and you will have a different opinion. or nurses' responsibilities include: a) ensuring that the patients' rights and responsibilities are followed/carried out. a patient is at their most vulnerable when they are in the surgical setting - there is no family to 'look out" for that patient. the or nurse is that person's eyes, ears and voice. they are advocates for their patient every single minute that the patient is in the or. what you may see as go fors, i see as someone ensuring that everything is available and functioning in order for the case to go smoothly and finish so that the patient can move on to the recovery phase. b) or nurses are responsible for ensuring that the standards of care are followed. who do you think ensure that you or your family member has an infection free or less of a chance of getting an infection? who do you think remind the surgeon or anesthesia about preoperatively prophylactic administration of antibiotics? traffic control? skin prep? say an orderly doesn't clean the room well in between a case. whose job is it to make sure everyone does their job????? the or nurse! as an or nurse you have to watch what everyone is that room is doing and call them on it when they are not doing it right! c) prevention of injury to the nerves, skin, bones etc is the primary responsibility of the or nurse. positioning is a major component in prevention of injury and it is the or nurses job to ensure that all providers (surgeon and anesthesia personnel) take care to not cause an injury. d) who do you think knows how to operate all equipment (except for the anesthesia machine to some extent) in the or room????? if you have a nurse in a room who does not know how to trouble shoot an equipment that is being used and sh*t hits the fan, do you think a go for is the one you want at that time.......... you want a competent or nurse ...... not a go for! e) would you want a go for documenting what occurred in that case? some may frown on documentation but remember that you or your family member is under the influence of medications. you want someone who will put down on paper everything that occurred on your behalf. anesthesia will document their part; the surgeon will document their part ......... the or nurse documents it all. d) please go to the aorn's website and read and educate yourself on the role of the perioperative nurse. "you want one on your team........ you need one on your team". ! could go on forever but i will stop. to answer the ops question. go to an icu first if your goal is to become a crna. skip med-surg. while i learn to thoroughly assess my patients and could spot an abnormality within a few seconds or minutes of being in that room without the aide of a machine working on a busy med-surg floor, it will only delay your time before you can apply to crna school. i have worked in the or and was an educator in this setting for 6 years or so but when i decided to go to crna school, i had to suck it up and leave an area that i absolutely love and go to critical care. i had a hard time finding a manager that was not suspicious of my intentions. they felt that a nurse doesn't usually leave the or setting to come back to the bedside unless they were planning to go to the cath lab or crna school (i was told that to my face). it was challenging but nonetheless, i persevered and will be starting crnaschool in august. in the end i only had to do 1 year in an icu. i applied to 2 schools, interviewed at 1 and was accepted. during my interview, i told them that my or experience has prepared me to work in an environment in which if one is not use to such an environment it can be quite difficult to adapt to, especially as a student. i told them that my focus will be on learning anesthesia because i have seen it all and done in all so i would not be in awe of what's going on with the surgery etc etc etc..........it must have made a difference... i am in!!!! good luck op. again go to critical care if you truly want to become a crna, not because icu nursing is better than or nursing (that would be comparing apples with oranges) but because it will help you as an applicant. my

The 790 is impressive! Verbal usually needs to be over 500 but that is sooooooo close. How much did you get on the writing portion? Not sure I would take it over.

Congrats:balloons:

I can finally post it here .......... I am in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Medical College of Georgia - Class of 2010.:w00t:

Are you willing to move? If so apply to Barry as well. Mercer is hard to get into but worth a try. Also apply to MCG. The key is to have great LORs, GRE >1000 and be outstanding in the interview. Being black has nothing to do with it in my opinion. If you shine all around, you will be judge by what you bring to the table and not the color of your skin. Besides, it may be an advantage (depends on how you look at it). I have YET in 36 years to not succeed in anything that I have set as a goal. I have gotten jobs that some say I couldn't, gone places that some say "you may not belong or be welcomed" and have been fine. It is all in your mental attitude. Bob Marley says "Imanicipate yourself from mental slavery, none but yourself can free your mind".......... that attitude along with hard work and a constant drive to always do my best and to carry myself in such a manner that I break down barriers or stereotypes have worked well for me. Good luck ............ and apply next year. PM if you have any further questions. I am also in the "Atlanta" area.

Stop worrying ............ your stats are good. I would not retake the GRE. I have seen MANY get into Barry with less stellar stats.

:balloons:Congrats Nuerogeek I told you I had a feeling you would get in. (even though I don't "know" you. I just knew you would).