UAMS DNP-CRNA 2021

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Specializes in SRNA.

Hello everyone,

I am a current SRNA student in the UAMS DNP-CRNA program, there's not sufficient information about this program because it is new. We are the first cohort and it might sound scary, unprepared, not-tested, and etc. Those were the exactly same thoughts I had when I applied. I applied to other schools and got accepted to a total of 5 CRNA programs (search through the forums, as I won't name the schools) and they were all great and competitive, all of them accept less than 20 students, one even 6-7 students. So what made me choose UAMS, to be exactly they care about my background and who was I, not just grades or if I can answer clinical questions. Our program is so diverse, everyone has a different story but we work well as a team. Our director (Dr. Gonzalez) and assistant director (Dr. Dunavan) are literally the best. Some feel like they are our 2nd parents of how much they care about us and want us to succeed. It makes you work that much harder to better yourself and not let them, your team, and lastly yourself down. It's a great school and I do not have any regrets.

 

I will update this as I gather new/updated information.

If anyone has any questions please ask them below, I will not answer interview questions or what they asked.

--Below some information about the UAMS DNP-CRNA Program--

 

Applications open: October 15, 2020

Application deadline: January 15, 2021

 

Interview Process: 15 - 25 minutes, mainly behavioral

Class size: 16 - 20 students (2020 class: 18 students)

Certifications: PALS, BLS, ACLS, CCRN (recommended)

GPA: minimum of 3.00 (last cumulative 60 hours)

GRE: not needed

Courses Required: Basic Statistics

References: Two Letters

 

Cost:

**In state: $66,000

**Out-state: $99,000*

*Students are able to get in-state tuition after meeting certain residency requirements

**Doesn't include additional misc costs (e.g. books, NBCRNA preparation tools, and etc)

 

Clinical Sites: 13 current (and expanding)

Locations: Arkansas (Little Rock, Conway, Pine Bluff, Fayetteville, Fort Smith and etc)

*No out-of-state clinicals, all within Arkansas

 

Website:

https://nursing.uams.edu/future-students/academics-and-admissions/DNP/doctor-nursing-practice-nurse-anesthesia/

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Specializes in MICU.

Is there a way to message you privately?

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Specializes in ICU, CCRN..

Hello, Thank you for posting this! I have a bunch of questions I am hoping you could help with. Thank you for your patience ! Do you know what are clinical site hospitals? I know it is hard to predict, but do they have an estimate of how many cases they predict students can get before graduation?  Do you know how many students apply and how many get interview invites? Do you know the general year of ICU experiences and general GPA your cohort have ? Thank you so much!

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@CHF24 On the application page, it mentions getting a notarized paper from your employer but that step isn't included on NursingCAS. Is that something we just have to send to the grad department? 

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Specializes in SRNA.
12 minutes ago, cardiacnoobie said:

@CHF24 On the application page, it mentions getting a notarized paper from your employer but that step isn't included on NursingCAS. Is that something we just have to send to the grad department? 

Last year everything was sent directly to the NA department at UAMS. We did not have to do that, may you screenshot it. Thanks. 

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Specializes in SRNA.
On 11/12/2020 at 7:56 AM, Bearree said:

Hello, Thank you for posting this! I have a bunch of questions I am hoping you could help with. Thank you for your patience ! Do you know what are clinical site hospitals? I know it is hard to predict, but do they have an estimate of how many cases they predict students can get before graduation?  Do you know how many students apply and how many get interview invites? Do you know the general year of ICU experiences and general GPA your cohort have ? Thank you so much!

Clinical Sites: 

UAMS, Baptist, St. Vincent, and etc. Students will be rotating through hospitals to get maximum experience. 

Cases/OR hours:

Cases, will vary but UAMS is set for a minimum of 2300 OR hours, that exceeds the minimum OR hours that is set by the AANA. So having those many hours, can be correlated with a greater amount of cases. 

Anesthesia Practicum I - 405 hrs

Anesthesia Practicum II - 360 hrs

.... III - 540 hrs; IV-630 hrs; V-360 hrs

Interview:

There was over 100 applications last year, with like 40-50 interviews and only accepted 18 students. 

Experience:

The group of students varies. Some apply with 1.5 years, so when the program started, they met the 2-year mark, the recommended experience. Others have 6+ years of experience. But it doesn't matter, meet the minimum of 1 year and apply to CRNA school. Anesthesia is a new concept for everyone, but the experience can only get you so far. Accumulating knowledge will, by far, surpass experience. Patricia Benner: Novice to Expert Theory is a great example. 

GPA:

I am not sure if I can say the exact GPA, but I would like to say keep it as high as possible; keep it above a 3.5 GPA

 

 

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Specializes in SRNA.
10 minutes ago, cardiacnoobie said:

9A70B96A-262C-4EB0-8146-5DD09C884481.jpeg

I recall last year, that form was only to be filled out if the applicant was accepted to the CRNA program. I will ask and get back to you. 

Form can be found here:

https://nursing.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/06/2000Hours.pdf

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Specializes in ICU.

Does anybody know when the emails for interview sent out last year?

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Specializes in SRNA.
17 minutes ago, PUP7 said:

Does anybody know when the emails for interview sent out last year?

Email invitations: Feb 14 - Feb 20 

Interview dates: March 4th & 5th

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Specializes in Medical/neuro ICU.

Is anyone else having issues with NursingCAS you your transcripts? All of mine have been sent and received except one and I requested them the same day. 

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Specializes in ICU, CCRN..
14 hours ago, ICU.nurse.2017 said:

Is anyone else having issues with NursingCAS you your transcripts? All of mine have been sent and received except one and I requested them the same day. 

How did you send your transcripts? I was confused about this NuringCas transcripts thing. Do we just upload a copy of official transcripts from ourselves? Can I get it sent school to school? 

On 11/22/2020 at 7:58 PM, CHF24 said:

Clinical Sites: 

UAMS, Baptist, St. Vincent, and etc. Students will be rotating through hospitals to get maximum experience. 

Cases/OR hours:

Cases, will vary but UAMS is set for a minimum of 2300 OR hours, that exceeds the minimum OR hours that is set by the AANA. So having those many hours, can be correlated with a greater amount of cases. 

Anesthesia Practicum I - 405 hrs

Anesthesia Practicum II - 360 hrs

.... III - 540 hrs; IV-630 hrs; V-360 hrs

Interview:

There was over 100 applications last year, with like 40-50 interviews and only accepted 18 students. 

Experience:

The group of students varies. Some apply with 1.5 years, so when the program started, they met the 2-year mark, the recommended experience. Others have 6+ years of experience. But it doesn't matter, meet the minimum of 1 year and apply to CRNA school. Anesthesia is a new concept for everyone, but the experience can only get you so far. Accumulating knowledge will, by far, surpass experience. Patricia Benner: Novice to Expert Theory is a great example. 

GPA:

I am not sure if I can say the exact GPA, but I would like to say keep it as high as possible; keep it above a 3.5 GPA

 

 

Thank you so much for so detailed reply ! I did not know you replied me until now.  How did you send your transcripts? 

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Specializes in Critical Care.

For official transcripts, this is what I found on the UAMS website:

Before You E-Submit Your Application

Use the Transcript Request Form to have all official transcripts sent to NursingCAS.

Print your application for your records.

Make sure all information is accurate. Refunds cannot be made once processing has begun.

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