What I wish I had known before starting CRNA school 

Hey! My advice would be this: every day you go into the ICU, learn something. Look up the drugs, know the physiology behind everything you're doing. Always ask WHY when something is happening/or being done to your patient. That will help you more than anything.

@@DavidWarrenNP thank you so much David. i really do appreciate you and your content you out out. youre helping a lot of people :)

@@DavidWarrenNPthis is my plan I’m starting in CVICU soon and want to treat it like a residency

Thanks for watching Karen! Totally agree- VERY easy to burn out if you sprint it.

Haha thank you for watching!

Hey Veronica! Thank you for watching! I'm glad you have found the info helpful!

Thank you so much! I’m glad you found it useful and relatable!

Thanks for watching Nick! Appreciate it.

Thanks for watching! And totally agree. Figuring out study habits is huge. And the mental health part has a bigger role than I ever anticipated, too.

Hey! Thanks for watching! Appreciate the comment. Best of luck with your application! It is very much worth it. Keep at it!

Hey! That is an awesome idea. I actually just downloaded Notion to give it a try. I know a few of my classmates use it, but I haven't jumped on yet. We'll see how it works! I am currently just using word documents and Anki! Thanks again for watching!

Yes! That is super helpful! Good insight

Hey! Thanks so much for watching!

Congrats on nursing school! Stick with it- it will be worth it! Totally agree on the note taking- I also found myself "preparing" too much and not leaving enough time to actually study hah. Good luck in school!

Hey! Thanks for watching. My best advice would be to focus on the task at hand- making good grades in your ADN program, and then enrolling in a BSN bridge program as soon as you can. After that, get some good critical care experience. That will suit you well no matter what advanced degree you choose.

Hey Brett! Thanks for watching, and congrats on finishing! That is awesome. Good luck with boards! What are your prep strategies for boards?

So passed boards back in June. My class did well 100% first time pass rate. We all used Apex Anesthesia and it was fantastic for preparing for boards. I would highly recommend it. I also started doing the core concepts and open anesthesia questions of the day everyday.

Congratulations Brett I’m starting the same program in May fighting the urge to look at an anatomy book .Do you have any specific advice to the program?

I definitely agree! Thanks for watching and commenting :)

Thank you for watching! Appreciate it!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching! I would recommend taking a very long vacation (like 1-2 months) if at all possible. Or just take as much time off as you can before you start. There is nothing to soften the blow. CRNA school will teach you everything you need to know (and more) about anesthesia. Just focus on relaxing for the ax hits.

@@DavidWarrenNP Thank you, appreciate it!

Hey!! Congrats!! You can go anywhere with your CV experience. Just have a good answer as to why you’re switching from NP to anesthesia. So where I’m at- none of my courses transferred. That will be school dependent tho. Best of luck!!

I am actually working on a video about this. Stay tuned.

Hey Cardi, I think the people's advice about relaxing is great advice!!! I'm about halfway through my 2nd year and let me tell ya, CRNA school is taxing and at the point when you start clinicals, when it's time to study, it becomes EXTREMELY difficult to focus on studying. Especially if you are one of the few doing this without the aid of stimulants.... I personally wouldn't spend a ton of time trying to pre-learn stuff as I think you will just get gassed out earlier and you really need to be able to focus during the didactic year. Enjoy your life while you have some freedom!!

Also, I know you didnt necessarily ask for my advice.. But figured i could provide some insight for you since I am currently a junior in CRNA school.

Hey Cardi! Def agree with what CJ said. I 10000% recommend taking a 1-2 month vacation or time off before starting school. I did this, and I cannot imagine how I would have survived if I didn't. CRNA school will teach you everything (and more) you need to know about all things anesthesia. I would just focus on taking a break, and truly enjoying down time, because when its crunch time, you will get almost no time off at all. Enjoy it while you can!

Could not agree more @CJ

@@cjcobb6906 Wow CJ ! Thank you. I really appreciate the advice. Although ( to me anyway) it logically makes sense to get a study -head start before schools; am yet to find one person who thinks its a good idea...so I will put the books away for now and relax

Hey Annie, good question. I think it solely depends on what courses you are taking during the first few semesters. If they are doctoral classes/non anesthesia classes like research etc, it can be possible. If they are science or anesthesia courses, I don't think it would be possible or wise. Hope this makes sense!

No it is a brick and mortar program. You have to be on campus each week, usually 2-4 days.

That is including time spent on all school stuff- lectures, and outside studying etc. I am only in class like 3-4 days a week for about 2-4 hours at a time. The majority of time is spent outside of lecture studying.

How can I incorporate active recall? PS: Thank you, this was very helpful

It’s not calculus. It’s very basic math but you have to know the formula to change a dilution from a concentration. It’s more statistical math.

Definitely not calculus. It is a lot of multiplication, division, conversion factors, and some statistics!

Hi, honestly I'm not quite sure. I've never been to medical school, and I would venture to say no medical students have been to CRNA school. I think they are both extremely challenging in their own way, if that makes sense.

That is super interesting! Congrats on getting in! It sounds like you have a diverse background!

@@DavidWarrenNP The CRNA curriculum is definitely a whole different form of critical thinking, engineering is logic/critical thinking, CRNA school, lots of right brained non linear critical thinking. What will probably help long term as I would like to transition into medical research at some point is that I understand the synthesis reactions/ manufacturing process of the fluorinated anesthetic compounds, one thing I’d like to research is how to produce safer anesthetics. There’s so much untapped potential in the CRNA field.

@@Lemurai I have a degree in biochemistry and worked as a chemist for 5 years, and now I work as an engineer. I think it is interesting that you said that your engineering degree was the only reason you got in. May I ask for more clarification on that? Did admissions like that your degree was unique compared to other applicants? How did you use your degree to leverage why you would be a great candidate? I'm only asking because I am leaving behind what my previous careers were and going the nursing route. CRNA school will be 3 or 4 years from now and I wonder how my background might be perceived since it isn't typical either.

Small world… I also have an engineering background (worked 13 years before getting my BSN) and then went the CRNA path! I just got accepted into CRNA school and will start January 2024.

@@johngomez7118 That's awesome John, congratulations! I just started my MSN program last Monday, and hope to get into CRNA school in the next couple years. If I may ask, \ how long did you work in the ICU for and did you start out in the ICU initially as a new grad or worked your way into it? I imagine CRNA admissions were interested in your engineering background during the interview process!

Hey! Thanks for watching! So in my cohort, there is one person with children- 3 or 4 to be exact (children). He does very well. He doesn't come to all the social functions, but he does well in the program. As far as a partner, that is a tough one. I have a partner currently, and it has worked out well. But it has been SO SO challenging. Let me tell you, if your relationship or marriage is on the rocks going in to CRNA school, CRNA school will finish it off. Hands down. However, if you have a strong base going in, you can make it work. Knowing now what I know, I would never go through anesthesia school again with a partner. If I had any advice, I would say take a deep long dive mentally and determine whether or not you want to do anesthesia or have a partner right now- because chances are, one of them will have to give.

@@DavidWarrenNP thanks for the reply and thank you for sharing your journey and perspective. Best wishes to you along your way!!! Xx

All doctoral CRNA programs are 3 years or 36 months!

I'm an acute care and family NP

David , what made you go from NP to CRNA?

@davidwarrenNP I am a BSN right now, debating doing this exact pathway. Acute care NP to CRNA. Do you recommend doing that first or going right to CRNA?

Honestly, I would recommend doing CRNA first, if you want to do both. You will have a lot of explaining to do if you do NP first and then attempt to go to CRNA school. CRNA school admissions committees frown on NPs jumping ship to CRNA school for some reason. Save yourself some trouble.

@@DavidWarrenNP hey David, new viewer here. I have my first interview for CRNA school coming up and came across this comment, my question for you is, I’m currently admitted to the FNP program at the same university that I am interviewing for CRNA school at, haven’t taken any classes yet. My plan was to start the NP program so that if I apply/interview to CRNA school and am unable to get in first try, I will be taking advanced patho, pharm, and assessment through the NP program before I reapply for next cycle, and hopefully show that I’m able to take graduate classes and also have more knowledge for the CRNA program. Do you think it’s ok to mention being in the NP program and my rationale for it during the CRNA interview? Personally I think my intentions are reasonable, but the faculty panel may think otherwise, and I wanted to see your thoughts were. Thank you!

Hey Jenny! Thanks so much for watching! I would absolutely love to be a guest! Send me an email and we can get something coordinated. Travelnursepractitioner@gmail.com 😁