Calling All Candidates
By
This past week I had the privilege to participate in candidate interviews for our Nurse Anesthesia Program here at the University of Southern California housed in the Keck School of Medicine program. Beginning this process started with reading through long dossiers from each of the candidates including transcript records and personal statements. After reading 35 or so of these collections, the process of evaluating each of them individually began. This whole process was inconsequential without meeting these wonderful people and putting a face and personality to the paper facade that I had been poring over for so long. Now for the hard part that has been put before us, the personal interviews.
What amazed me the most about the interviews were the surprises that I found in the potential students that were interviewed this past week. Some of people that looked great on paper were marginal face-to-face or just plan incongruous with their written profile. Other candidates that looked to have just an acceptable ICU experience on paper were absolutely fabulous in person with knowledge presence and charisma. As one of the seasoned faculty members reasoned with me, “You will find clear examples of candidates that will fit with our program perfectly and others that do not fit at all. The trouble comes in the middle and that’s where the debates will come among the faculty members each championing their personal favorites for those last remaining few spots.” Hmmmmm, I am thinking now that there is more than enough truth in this. We will all decide together which candidates will be best for our program in the class starting in this fall. There are several more interviewing days and many more candidates to see so its back to work reading and thinking about what it is that makes a candidate for a Nurse Anesthesia Program shine.
In these past few days I have been pondering this question. What makes a candidate perfect for Nurse Anesthesia? This kismet for the candidates has been occupying my mind for more than this past week. Personally I have spent years positioning myself to do well in preparation for anesthesia practice and now as a faculty member in a great teaching institution I am challenged to keep growing and setting the standard for the students and potential students to rise to. That is why I write now dear reader to tell you what it takes to prepare for Nurse Anesthesia School and eventual Nurse Anesthesia practice. This is no small undertaking. If you will allow me to share with you both personal and professional opinions about “getting in and doing well” in the profession of Nurse Anesthesia practice you will note that these are my opinions and do not represent any official word from any program. Also, please take into consideration that what I have to share with you may apply to your personal situation or it may not. Finally, take these suggestions a grain of humor in the middle of your struggles to rise to something new in your nursing practice.
First, you must know that I am on your side and want all of you to succeed and shine in your chosen field of Nurse Anesthesia Practice. Knowing that, you have to understand that not all will reach these goals. This is painful for many I know. It has taken me a long time to attain my own personal goals so I am very sympathetic with those that have a vision of what they want to do and become, a vision that at times seams so far away and unreachable.
First, you must have a “Fire In the Belly” to come to nurse anesthesia practice. Simply put, you must have an overwhelming desire to do this or you will not have the energy or stamina to complete the journey. This is a personal characteristic that I have seen in all successful candidates that enter into anesthesia study as a nurse. The competition is huge on all sides and the determination to prevail is required. So right now ask yourself, “Am I up to this. Do I have enough inner drive to
get me over all of the hurtles that will be in the path?” If you just take a self-check now and measure your pulse you will know. Are you getting excited yet? If not then maybe you should just settle for another area of practice. Nurse Anesthesia is not for everyone and as you will see the road does get narrow. So motivation is the first requirement. Desire to put this goal first are really important. Motivation is one of the things that we look for in potential candidates for our program; so ask yourself, “Do you have enough”? This is a personal characteristic you can do something about. Motivation comes from inside of you and does not depend on how old you are, how young, what color, ethic background, religion you follow or any of that stuff. None of those external trappings matter. What matters comes from inside; its what will drive you to excel and shine as a nurse anesthetist.
My second suggestion is reasonable as well. Do you have the required clinical background that will ensure your success in a nurse anesthesia program and are you willing to change jobs, move or do what ever necessary to get the best experience before entering graduate education in a nurse anesthesia program? This links the motivation to where you are now. Maybe you are in a very comfortable community hospital ICU that has sick patients but most of them are of the garden variety. Are you getting the experience in your present work place that is needed for you to be successful in Nurse Anesthesia School? Additionally, how long have you been working in an intensive care setting? The minimum requirement set by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) is 1 year of ICU experience. Often I find that this is simply not enough for the average candidate coming in to our program. We encourage more than the minimum and based on the individual often this will require more than two years. This is not always the case and occasionally there are those that through extreme effort and desire will get the experience and knowledge in one and a half years or so before coming into anesthesia training. During the interviews this past week there was one such individual that really shined with a year and a half in the ICU but for most candidates it requires more time. So question number two asks you if you have a good enough experience before planning a career in anesthesia. If you do not think your experience is very strong, trust me your interviews will not think so. I encourage you to look for an academic Teaching Hospital where you can really ramp up your skills. For those candidates that come to us with all of the right stuff but lack enough clinical experience we set goals together and require the CCRN certificate before they reapply for the following year.
Academic preparation is always required. Our program requires coursework that other programs may not require. We require a college physics course as well as the Graduate Entrance Exam which other programs may not ask for. Based on the program that you plan on attending it makes sense to contact them directly and find out what the individual requirements are for the school that you want to attend. Planning and preparation are really important. Get all of “your ducks in a row” as they say! Find out what your program requires in the way of course work and finish it all up. One way you can do this is to go to the AANA web site and look up the programs in your area or where you want to go to school for their individual requirements. All of the top programs have web sites that you can peruse. You can examine their prerequisites and evaluate their programs to see if they are a fit for you. These are tangible things you can do to minimize your stress. Find out exactly what you have to do and your chances of success will go up. This makes sense.
Perhaps you took organic chemistry a few years ago and were preoccupied with working and personal relationships and you did not do well in the course. You can take it again and improve your grades. Often we find that students did not do well in their undergraduate studies for any number of reasons. Now a couple of years later you have new goals and are motivated to get into graduate study. You can now go back and take a couple of science courses, do well and demonstrate that you are focused and ready for the academic rigor of anesthesia didactic. These are things that you can do to improve your chances of getting in and improve your ability to do well once you are studying more advance topics that require a strong basic science base. I will refer you back to requirement number one, “Do you have the Fire” to do what you have to do?
There are several other things you can do to improve your chances of getting in to your program of choice. Most of these are personal interview and follow through skills that we can comment on in other editions of the Nurse Anesthetist Blog. For now I wish all of you great success and the strength of perseverance to reach your goals. If there is any thing that I can do for any one of you just drop me a note in the contact section.
I have been looking at Nurse Anesthetist websites for years and have not found a more appropriate description of how bad I want to become a CRNA. I have recently graduated from nursing school with my ADN/RN. I am enrolled in Grand Canyon University’s BSN program and working in the PICU currently. I have 4.0 GPA and am working SO hard to become a CRNA. I have the “fire in by belly”, at minimum! I have one concern…I have been told that in Arizona (where I currently live) that I will not be able to find a job as a CRNA because they are not widely recognized here. This is confusing to me because they have a wonderful CRNA program here at Midwestern. Have you heard of this situation before? If, so…any suggestions?
Thanks a lot for your info. I will be applying by December, 2008 to USC. I currently work in a teaching hospital in Los Angeles. My GPA is 3.5 My biggest problem is the GRE. I am so scared of the GRE. I have registered for the princeton review and it had shown how difficult the GRE can be especially the vocabulary.
But I have to do it, this is what I want to be in the future and I have to face the challenges.
The GRE is a bear of a test. I did not do well on my first attempt, and yes i also took the Princeton Review. After my first try i swore that i would never repeat the test. Then, after i became rational, i went to the bookstore and looked for another book to study for review. I ended up using the Idiot Proof Guide to the GRE. I increased my score by 130 points and i have my interview in one month. The test is still a terrible test and does not measure how well a person will do in any program…this is a studied and proven fact! One of those evidence based practice issues, but still all of the programs that i am aware of still need something to judge their candidates by…so the GRE it is. Good luck!
Kimik, I am so happy that you will be interviewing for a program soon after your hard work at the GRE. Here at USC the GRE is a requirement of the graduate school not the program of nurse anesthesia. This is true of many programs. All graduate school candidates must demonstrate a minimum on the GRE in order to be considered for admission and may or may not be used to rank candidates.
I can tell you as one of the persons involved in candidate selection, that the GRE in not a major criteria. When evaluating potential SRNA’s the whole package is looked at.; experience, grades, attitude as well as how the candidate interviews. The GRE is considered but not heavily. What we want and I am sure what every program wants are students that will be successful as SRNA’s and anesthesia providers. That does not always mean the person with the highest grades or GRE scores.
So just forget the GRE now and concentrate on doing your best in the interview. Good luck and hopefully we will talk soon.
Hello David,
You are the best; you are very informative. My question is: what ICU clinical area should one practice in to be prepared for Nurse Anesthesia training?
Thanks,
Tracey
Tracey,
Thanks for sending a little message to me.
To answer your question about the best ICU experience prior to nurse anesthesia practice I would say that in my opinion a surgical ICU in a teaching hospital is best. The absolute best is a cardio-thoracic ICU where they have multiple drips and all kinds of crazy things going on.
The teaching hospital experience is different than a community hospital. What you see at a medical school teaching hospital level one trauma center in one month will not be seen in ten years at a community hospital. Keep that in mind.
More later.
David
David,
I am very interested in pursuing CRNA school in the future. I currently work in the PICU at Hopkins…I heard that it is difficult for PICU nurses to get into CRNA school and that directors of the programs would rather have candidates that have worked in adult ICUs. Is that true? Also, what kinds of questions are asked during the interview? I have heard from multiple people that the interview is the most difficult part to getting accepted into CRNA programs.
Thanks for your time.
Danielle,
I just received your comment and question about the PICU experience. Personally I think that PICU experience is a PLUS. All of the drug dosing is mcg / kg which is what we do in anesthesia and you get a range of patient ages and disease processes.
In general all of the PICU nurses we have excepted into our USC program have done exceptionally well. I definitely know that we do not discriminate against PICU nurses for our program and there is a general feeling that all of the other qualities and attributes are what is important when choosing a candidate for our program. So, bottom line, do not let any one discourage you. Its more important to excel in your practice, get plenty of good experience both medical and surgical, sit for the AACN pediatric critical care certification. These are the points that will set you apart and make a good CRNA.
Good luck and contact me any time.
My daughter is interested in a nurse anaesthesia course
We live in the uk
Can international students also apply?
Regards
Helen ameen
Good day Sir David,
I am Gibson Gallo, a registered nurse from the Philippines. I am very much interested in becoming a candidate for the nurse anesthesia program. I have read that a minimum of 1 year experience in the critical care (ICU) is needed (such as the ICU). Presently, I am studying for the NCLEX-RN while working on the med-surg wards here in the Philippines at the same time.
I am planning to shift my concentration from the ward to the ICU here in the Philippines. Is an ICU nurse experience in the Philippines valid? or do I really have to render duty as an ICU nurse there in the States?
Your reply will be the basis of my decision whether I’ll stay with the med surg ward or shift to the ICU.
Thank you so much Sir!
Hello David,
I am an ICU nurse in the Philippines. Is an ICU experience outside US okay if you would like to apply as a CRNA student?
Thank you
Gibson Gallo Jr.
David,
Do you have any advice for the interview? I have one at Northeastern University on the 20th and I am very excited but also nervous. I have a decent GPA, satisfactory GRE score, just received my CCRN last month and have over 2 years experience in a stroke ICU in a level 1 trauma center teaching hospital. I have heard they really drill candidates with clinical questions. I am going to review and be as prepared as I can but any advice would be welcome!
Kelly
Kelly,
It sounds like you have all your “ducks in a row”. Don’t worry about the interview, you have prepared with the CCRN. Just be yourself and positive. Good luck.
David
David,
I am finishing up my application for USC and am VERY interested in going to that school. I have heard nothing but good things, not only about the anesthesia program, but also about the University in general (my uncle is attending there right now and my aunt teaches online classes there). My ICU experience is all NICU. I know you said that PICU is good, but what about NICU? I have also worked at USC Outpatient Surgery and have my MSN in Nursing Education…does those have any pull as far as helping me get an interview? As far as the clinical questions in the interview, are they tailored to fit your area of expertise or would I be required to answer adult ICU type questions? Also, is there such a thing as too many letters of recommendation? Thanks for all of your help! I just found this blog and am having so much fun reading your posts.
Thanks,
Janiece
Janiece
Thank you for your comment or really questions. Janiece, don’t worry about the NICU experience or the interview. The only clinical questions that should be asked relate to your actual experience. We have had many very successful SRNA’s that come from with NICU experience. Actually, there is some things that you could use to your advantage, mainly weight based dosing. In adult ICU’s usually but not always, the medication dosing is mcg/min or some such thing while in pediatrics it always mcg/kg.
Just be yourself and have the confidence in yourself that should be born of experience. Nothing else will help.
David,
David,
I just thought I would give you an update. I had my interview at Northeastern University on 1/20. It was a tough crowd. I was so nervous I could barely speak at first! I had to stop myself and tell them how nervous I was. It got better after that, and I even saw some personality come out in the interviewers (I believe they were even laughing at one point). They did ask some very specific clinical questions related to a patient I told them about, but I was prepared and able to answer their questions, although for one question I had to stop and think about it and I told them this. They all nodded when I answered anyway, so I assume I did okay. Something weird I have to ask about though is they seemed to act as if they didn’t read my resume. They asked if I had applied to any other programs and I answered no because I wanted to have my CCRN before applying. Their reaction threw me off a little because one of them said “oh you have your CCRN?” like they had no idea. Was this a test to see how I would react? I can’t imagine them not reading my resume before the interview. This left me feeling like I should have told them a lot more that was included in my resume. A friend of mine interviewed there and was told he needed more experience, they didn’t say anything negative during my interview but I still have no idea how to feel about it. Now I have to wait until March to find out about acceptance. I sent them all thank you emails. This school is my first choice and it would be a dream come true to be accepted there. Any thoughts?
Kelly
Hello David, I absolutely enjoyed reading your article. I do have future plans to become a CRNA, however I am still in the cycle of obtaining my BSN. My question to you is, where are the most beneficial teaching hospitals located? Are there any specific websites that give out that information? I love how you shared that it took you a long time to attain your personal goals because I can totally relate. I am 30 now and I feel like that fire that you speak of is getting much more hot now! Thank you for your attention to my post! Summer Nimmons
Kelly,
First off, relax and try not to second guess those who interview you. Just be yourself and trust that what you bring is just what they are looking for. If they are looking for something else you belong somewhere else.
In our program we absolutely read the cover letters and resume of those we interview. I can not speak to what others do.
Having the CCRN is a terrific asset and goes a long way for you getting to where you want to be. We have a requirement that any who interview and are not selected for what ever reason are required to have the CCRN the next time they apply. If not, well why bother because we told you that was going to be what we look for in that applicant next time. I have seen a couple of candidates that come back for interviews. The ones that are successful are the ones that follow directions and do what we ask like sit for the CCRNA exam. Those that do not bother are not our students.
Again Kelly, there is a school for you and I trust that you will be successful. Having the desire and willingness to really go all out is most important part of what it takes to do the hard work. One more thing, don’t judge your interviewers too harshly, they may have hundreds of candidates applying and you mentioning your having the CCRN just reminded them that they need to be more attentive to their part.
Good luck and keep the goal in view. Do something today, every day, that gets you one step closer to that goal.
David
David,
Thanks for such an inspiring message for those aspiring to become a Nurse Anesthetist. I just promoted to become an Anesthesia Unit Nurse (AU Nurse) here in Singapore. Before I worked in a financing company after I graduated in my Economics degree but things change after 2 years of facing my computer monitor and making my boss wealthier. So I resigned and went for a “finding-myself-road-trip” in an island. So after some drama and realizations, I ended to take up nursing degree. One thing that I discovered while I was a nursing student that time that I wasn’t felt working in an office was FULFILLMENT. I enjoy my nursing class, my clinical training and taking care of people. To make the story short, I was offered a job as an OR Assistant in Singapore after 2 years of failure looking for a nursing job in my home country, Philippines. My colleagues always asking me why I took the job offer to be an OR Assistant even though I was over qualified for the position. My simple answer to them, I need an experience and it would be better if I started from the lowest. But kidding aside, its already my desperate move to be in a nursing career. I can still remember when I was a nursing student and we have our attachment program in the hospital and every time I saw nurses with extraordinary skill and knowledge in the nursing field, I told myself and prayed that someday I want to be like them. Thats why, I was very blessed when I was assigned in OR that of all the hospital departments, working inside OR is the most challenging, tough and envious(some of my classmates) job. For 2 years of working as an OR Assistant, our Assistant of Director of Nursing promoted me to be an Anesthesia Unit Nurse and was very happy to be part of the surgical team. I am not sure if AU Nurse and Nurse Anesthetist are the same work description but one thing that they have in common is they deal in Anesthesia. I know working in Anesthesia needs to have a good knowledge in basics and concepts of anesthesia. Thats what Im working it out right now, since my hospital is just a 100 bed hospital, we dont have much enough background in terms of Anesthesia. As much as possible I can collect some informations, books and references that I can equip myself to have a full knowledge about Anesthesia, Anesthesia Machine, Drugs, etc. I know I still have a long road to take. And all of this happens for a purpose and lots of prayers. My God is very kind enough to give me an opportunity to experience this. Thanks David, for reading this message. I want also to become an inspiration to others. It would be a great help in my part if you can share also your personal and professional experiences on how to become an Anesthesia guy. As a neophyte, I appreciate it. Ill wait for any postings here.
Trevor
Mr. David,
First, thank you for taking time to create this website. It is my home page. Fantastic!
It’s early in the game for me, but I want to make sure I am on the right track. I’m applying to nursing school soon. In addition to the pre-nursing requirements (i.e. A&P I & II, Microbiology, Nursing Chemistry I & II), I’ve taken Gen Chem I & II, Orgo I & II, Physics I, Zoology, & Mammalian Anatomy & Physiology (year-long course sequence – taught by a former OBGYN – with a focus on the human body systems). I have a 4.0 in these courses. (I’ve never wanted to go to medical school. I just thought these courses would be useful for CRNA school).
I currently work as a night shift PCT at a large Children’s Hospital, and I volunteered as an EMT for 3 years. Hopefully, I will get into the Honors Nursing program here in my home state (which is a 2-year BSN degree). I’ve been job shadowing a CRNA, and I LOVE IT. I bring journal articles, and we discuss them over lunch (when I am not watching him at work in the OR). Side note: I have a previous degree (in History), so I am a bit older (25 years old).
My question: How can I prepare myself further to be a stronger candidate for CRNA school? Theoretically, I hope to achieve the following by the time of my application:
- Nursing school: Honors (Complete a Research Project), High GPA. Possibly start a student nursing journal club. Continue to job shadow CRNAs. Work as PCT.
- Experience: Get into an ICU position as soon as possible (though I realize that I might have to work in Med-Surg first); Work for 2-4 years; While working, I hope to take Biochemistry I & Analytical Chemistry I as the local university in my home state (if it fits into my schedule). Get PALS, ACLS, BLS, CCRN certified. Continue to job shadow CRNAs. Take GRE.
Finally, apply! (I’ll be about 31-32 by this time – not that age matters too much! I read somewhere that CRNAs are generally around this age, and/or I won’t be the oldest in a matriculating class).
There seem to be a lot of steps to getting into CRNA school, and I want to make sure I running in the right direction. Character is a bit hard to convey in stats, but I try to gain wisdom in addition to stats. (And – as Socrates said – I know what I do not know – which is much! I’m working on it though!) I do know that it would be an honor to matriculate into a CRNA program!
Thank you again for your time and expertise!
Sincerely,
Brit