Guest908919

Thank you! And congratulations on your acceptance at UM! Most people would probably advise you to enjoy your time off before you start - you'll learn everything you need to know while in the program and in clinicals (although we never really stop learning!) If you want to, you could brush up on physiology (mainly cardiac, respiratory, autonomic nervous system) and pharmacology (vasoactive meds - what receptors they hit, MOA, etc.) In school, I really liked the "Core Anesthesia" and "From the Head of the Bed" - aka "Anesthesia Guidebook" podcasts. Not sure how applicable they are before starting school, though! Good luck!

They may be referring to physician supervision requirements. Try looking into "opt out states" (Delaware is the most recent one) - these states allow CRNAs to practice autonomously/to the fullest extent of their training. https://www.aana.com/news/delaware-opts-out-of-physician-supervision-of-crnas/ For interviews, make sure you can speak on your patient population (pediatrics, cardiac, neuro, etc.), common drips and meds you use/titrate, basic and invasive monitoring (a-lines, CVP, etc.), preload, after load, SVR as applicable. I would also recommend looking into what makes different programs unique, so that if they ask you "why us" you have a good answer! Good luck!

I'm honestly not sure, but I would say as long as you gain a strong enough foundation to enter/succeed in critical care nursing, then it should be fine for CRNA school. A lot of what you learn for ICU nursing is from on-the-job orientation training, etc. (building on fundamental topics from school).

I would say do some studying/review on major ICU meds (I.e. vasoactive, pressors, etc), topics such as CVP, preload, afterload, etc., and be able to speak on the patient population you treated in your unit (pediatrics, cardiac, etc.) Show genuine enthusiasm and make sure you look into the program (whichever school it is you are interviewing at), so if they ask you "why us" you actually have an answer.

I think most people were willing to commute to sites <2 hours away. Some of the more distant sites people either did airbnb or used some connection through word of mouth to stay in a room rented out by a nurse, etc.

It varies from semester to semester, but if you go into it with the mindset that anesthesia school is your priority, you should be fine. I think the most challenging part is learning how to manage your time once you enter clinical, because then you are balancing lecture time, clinical hours, studying for exams, and preparation for the next day's clinical assignment.

Sure! I didn't know too much about the program prior to starting and I wish I had known the amount of travel that was required for the program before starting. I knew that there WERE distant travel sites, but I thought somehow I would be able to remain mostly in the New Orleans area. However, due to the class size and the fact that we often needed to go to more rural areas to obtain our required numbers (central lines, epidural placement, etc.), I did have to travel (anywhere from 1.5 hrs to 5.5 hrs) for numerous rotations. However, in hindsight, these were some of my favorite sites and I really was able to be very autonomous and learn a lot at pretty much every site I went to. I don't think there was a "bad" clinical rotation, which speaks volumes about the CRNA community and their willingness to teach students! We changed clinical rotations every 2 months, which has its pros and cons - pros being that you come out very prepared for setting up/going with the flow when you graduate (because you are so used to being thrown into new hospital layouts, new equipment, new OR set-ups, new anesthesia machines, etc.), but the con being that once the staff really get to know and trust you, you leave. I really liked the set up of the program as well - the first year is totally classroom-based, then it changes to 1 day in the classroom per week and 4 days in the OR/clinical sites. This was really great to reinforce what we were learning, while also not taking a long time off from board-prep info! I felt like the program prepared us VERY well for the NCE, as well. Let me know if you have any specific questions about the program! I have nothing but great things to say about it, overall!

I don't know specifics, but you can check out their program statistics. https://nursing.lsuhsc.edu/nap/statistics.aspx Average incoming GPA is roughly 3.40. I think having CCRN is important for CRNA applications as well. I would say having somewhere around the average would be a good ball park to aim for! LSU (and I'm assuming most CRNA programs) require you to pass all courses with a B or higher, so being a good test taker / having good study habits is important in achieving success.

Sure! I did a pretty direct route to nurse anesthesia - 4 years of undergrad, 3 years of ICU (peds and adult), and then was accepted at LSU for my BSN-DNP. It was the only school I applied to, for personal reasons/distance, but I tried to ensure my app was as strong as possible before applying. Plenty of people I know of had to reapply at least once to get in, but in the end everyone gets the same degree! In undergrad I had at 3.95 GPA, history of volunteer work, and all the credentialing exams I could find (CCRN, CPN, TNCC, NRP, ACLS, etc.) I can't speak too much on the interview experiences of other programs, but at LSU they want to know that you have a good foundational understanding of drips, managing critically ill patients, etc. and that you are motivated enough to see through the course. It's definitely a challenging 3 years - and unique to LSU is that we travel to a different clinical site every 2 months (which can be nerve-wracking in terms of new equipment, new hospital layouts, new staff, etc.) but it sets you up great for practice. We do have sites outside of Louisiana, as well, so travel can be tiring sometimes too. LSU's program has a year of 100% classroom based learning, prior to entering clinical. Then we have clinical 4 days a week + class 1 day a week for the rest of the program. I really liked this setup because it keeps the information you learn fresh in your brain, while also building on it in the clinical environment.

Hi all - I recently graduated and passed boards! If anyone has any questions on anything related to CRNA school or nurse anesthesia , feel free to ask. Good luck to everyone on their applications and journeys towards becoming a nurse anesthetist! It's hard work, but definitely worth it.

I recently graduated from this program, so if anyone has any questions I'm happy to help.