Hey CRNA Club gang! 

Brice here with some “must haves” before starting CRNA school. A little bit about me – I'm a second semester SRNA. Our program starts clinical in our 3^rd semester – so I’ll have to update this list when that happens, but as for studying and preparation in general, I got you! I’m breaking this list down into two parts – mental and physical! Let’s dive in! 

Preparing for CRNA School

Okay fam, as you know, CRNA school is no joke. Even your first semester can be overwhelming if you don’t come in mentally prepared. Must have is your WHY. We always talk about how important it is to have resilience, grit, and determination when applying to school as well as during. This could not be truer. 3 years seems quick in the grand scheme of life, but it’s a good bit of time. There will be times throughout the program when you’re burned out, just exhausted, and you won’t want to continue. This is where that WHY comes into play. Superficial reasons why you want to become a CRNA won’t carry you through the rigor of school, so establish (even write down somewhere that you can see every day!) WHY you want to be a CRNA. Refer to this as often as you can to remind yourself why you wanted to do this when times get tough. 

Mental Must-Haves for SRNAs

Know Your 'Why' - Reflect on your personal motivations and write them down.

Physical Essentials for CRNA School

Materials wise, there are so many things but we’ll stick to the essentials! Maybe it goes without saying, but a good computer is #1 on the list. You’re going to be writing lots of papers (including the BIG one for your DNP/DNAP) so you need a good, reliable place to draft and work on assignments like that. For me personally, an iPad is also high on the list! Go ahead and get a smart pencil to pair with it 😉 I know, you’re like, “wow that’s a lot of expensive tech,” but trust me it’s worth it. The notability app for your iPad is a GAME changer. You can literally write notes on PowerPoints (there will be many) and review them as often as you wish. Even in my first semester, this was bread and butter for me. Another app you need on all of your devices is Anki (or quizlet, though I find Anki to be superior). Anki is a timed repetition app that assists with learning in flashcard style but the application itself determines how often a flashcard will appear based on performance and retention of the information. 

Conclusion: Embrace the Journey

Essentials and useful tools for CRNA schools are numerous and I could probably write all day about helpful items and tools to have on hand, but I’ll keep it to this brief list for now! Please reach out with any questions you have at nbduckworth@gmail.com! I’m always happy to discuss anything related to CRNA school 😊 

Till next time!

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