USAGPAN 2019

Thanks. Ms. Johns confirmed that 3-4 slots per cohort are set aside for VA applicants.

Dylan, based on your experience, your grades, and having your CCRN, I would say that you are a competitive candidate. Don't stress about your grades too much. So long as you meet the standards, which it looks like you do, the Army will definitely consider you. During my interview, the Army wanted to know about my personal life, and experiences outside of academics. They want to know that you will be able to balance your personal life with a very demanding doctoral program. It is something that was actually very heavily stressed and evaluated during my interview. If you are married/have kids, they will want to see that you have a supportive environment at home, and that you and your family are aware of the necessary sacrifices ahead. They will want to know why you have chosen to pursue Anesthesia school. Again, it's not all about academics (from my experience). Your Phase 2 interviewers will examine your character, family life, and of course academics too. They want to have some level of confidence that you will persevere through the challenges, which are far greater than that of civilian CRNA school. A lot of it is about aptitude and fortitude. Your GPA, GRE scores, LOR's and CCRN prove your aptitude, while your life experiences, character, flexibility, honest self awareness, and never surrender attitude will demonstrate fortitude.

Regarding your question about GPA and GRE scores, I will tell you that I dug a deep hole for myself during my first undergrad degree. However, I got a 4.0 in my nursing school prerequisites, and 3.9 in nursing school. Though I didn't apply myself during my first undergraduate degree, the Army valued the fact that I was/am super invested in my success thereafter. Your GRE scores can really make or break your chances of getting to the interview and into the program. As mentioned earlier, a score of 300 or greater cumulative (ideally 150 or above in both the verbal and math sections), with at least a 3.5 on the written section is necessary, though this appears not to be listed on the Baylor website. My GRE scores were just above the requirements.

I hope this helps!

Got my CCRN today! And just submitted my application to Baylor. Now it's a long summer of waiting, hopefully getting through MEPS and getting a phase 2 interview!

Hey there! I'm expecting to attend USAGPAN as a VA candidate for FY2018. For our class they only accepted three. Funding for the program has been put in jeopardy secondary to changes at the national level of the agency. (MODERATOR EDIT OF NAME) is your best point of contact. I started my search for info about the VA side of the program here:

Nurse Anesthetist Education Program - Patient Care Services

Hope that helps! Feel free to contact me with any other questions!

Hi BK_VA_RN. Thanks for the info! I'm not able to send pm's on here. I've tried emailing the VA Nurse Anesthesia Education Program coordinator, but I haven't heard back from her in a while. She responded to me at the first of the year and mentioned the funding issue. At that time she said the program funding should be settled by the end of February 2018. I've emailed her since then to find out more about the program's status but haven't gotten a reply. From what you've said it sounds like things are still up in the air.

Congratulations on getting accepted! That's awesome! I'm interested to hear how things go once you get started in the program.

Just saw this today, it was recently posted on the Baylor admissions website! It contains helpful information on guidelines for civilian and reservist applicants.

https://www.baylor.edu/nursing/armydnp/doc.php/312625.pdf

Update; MEPS in a couple of weeks and an interview after that.

Hi BK_VA_RN. Thanks for the info! I'm not able to send pm's on here. I've tried emailing the VA Nurse Anesthesia Education Program coordinator, but I haven't heard back from her in a while. She responded to me at the first of the year and mentioned the funding issue. At that time she said the program funding should be settled by the end of February 2018. I've emailed her since then to find out more about the program's status but haven't gotten a reply. From what you've said it sounds like things are still up in the air.

Hey, another future VA applicant here. I checked the VA intranet site and as of this morning they are not accepting applications d/t funding issues.

Have you found your facility helpful in applying/attempting to apply? It's been a while since someone applied here and they aren't familiar with it. As for the program coordinator, I've had issues reaching her as well, no responses to emails or phone calls.

Congrats on getting the interview Crj8999! Let us know how it goes.

Hi capitalNY. I received an email from the VA coordinator for the CRNA program earlier this week. She told me about the lack of funding and halting the program for VA applicants. She provided this web link https://vaww.va.gov/ANESTHESIA/Nurse_Anesthetist_Education.asp and said to check again after the end of the fiscal year. It's disappointing for sure.

My facility hasn't been especially helpful, but they haven't deterred me either. We had a nurse get accepted to the program two years ago, and I remember she had some setbacks with the getting application assistance locally. I'll keep rechecking the site for any updates, but in the meantime I'll apply to other programs and go wherever I can get accepted. I was really hoping to avoid student loans.

Good luck to you!

Hey everyone, just thought I would give an update. I have completed my phase 2 interview at CRDAMC, and I am happy to say that they gave me a positive letter of recommendation! It was a great shadowing experience! I still need to complete MEPS, and after that it is a long wait to find out whether I will get into the program. I have to confirm with my recruiter, but my interviewers told me the next Army Board will not convene until October/November. Here's to hoping these next few months fly by!

Hey everyone:

This thread has been most helpful to me and I thank you all for your information and insight on the program. I have just completed my Baylor application (civilian) and am waiting on my recommendation letters to be sent. The Baylor program coordinator emailed me today saying the Army is eager to look at potential candidates for an interview as soon as possible, so I was encouraged by that. I feel confident about about my application given some of the insight on here about others who have been told their credentials are competitive (though I'm sure every cohort sees different deviations in credentials, and commensurately askew are the criteria for what is competitive). I have been a nurse for 5 years, the last 3 in a general Medical/Surgical/Trauma ICU in Philly. I'm CCRN certified, have 316 V+A GRE/3.5 AW, taken two semesters of Orgo in college, but am sadly handicapped by a 3.27 GPA (lot of **** going on for me personally in college). Regardless, I look forward to the application process and the growth I'll experience win/lose/draw.

I just read the message from Crj8999 about going to MEPS and then interviewing afterwards. Quick question: if a person applies and is offered an interview, and MEPS apparently takes place before that, aren't you pledging in to the Army prior to knowing whether or not you're accepted to USAGPAN? What does the timeline look like after the August 15th deadline for competitive candidates?

Thanks for all info and best of luck to all of you!