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How do I know when I’m “ready” to apply to CRNA school?
Hey y’all! Annie here. I’m a first-year SRNA who applied to CRNA school with just one year of ICU experience. I worked in a CVICU for 19 months before starting school, and I know that it can be difficult and overwhelming to discern if you are “ready” to apply for CRNA school.
Most programs require a minimum of 1–2 years of ICU experience. HOWEVER…that range is just a baseline. Instead of focusing on how much time you have spent in the ICU, consider the quality of your ICU experience.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
(1) Am I consistently caring for high-acuity, critically ill patients?
(2) Can I quickly recognize signs of physiological decompensation and respond appropriately?
(3) Am I confident interpreting ABGs, hemodynamic values, and routine lab results independently?
(4) Can I titrate multiple vasoactive drips and manage mechanically ventilated patients?
You don’t need to know everything prior to applying—no one does! That’s what CRNA school is for! Your program will teach you everything you need to learn to become a competent, independent nurse anesthesiologist. Right now, you just need a solid foundation in the level of care you’re responsible for.
FUN FACT: At the 2024 Annual Congress, the former AANA president told me he only had one year of ICU experience prior to applying. So don’t get paralyzed by perfectionism or imposter syndrome! If you’re ready, apply! ????
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5 Replies
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This is great advice @Annie Hendrickson !!
When I first started to apply to CRNA school, I only had one year of ICU experience under my belt (with 4 years of ED before that!), but I KNEW that I wanted to go to CRNA school and nobody was going to change my mind about that! So I did everything I could to get myself ready for application season. Of course, things did not work out the way I envisioned after my first year of applying, but I continued to apply to CRNA school for the next 5 years after that. So yeah, consequently I had 6 years of ICU under my belt once I got in, but I knew I wanted to go to school after only 1 year of ICU. So I agree!! Just get after it (and dont give up)! IYKYK ????
Thanks for sharing!!
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Whoa, what a story!! I applaud your resilience!! You’re so right, though–when you know, you know. See you at the top, brutha!
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Hi Annie!
I appreciate your honesty. I am an ICU RN with 1 year of experience and am currently applying to a few programs to test the waters and get a feel of the application process to help identify my weaknesses and things I might be able to improve on. I am not getting my hopes up, however this does bring some hope (lol). It truly is daunting like people say!!
I work in a mixed level ll trauma ICU. Our unit is called “Neuro Shock Trauma ICU” but we really receive anything besides ecmo. I feel like the turnover isn’t very high so it has taken me some time to get the real sick patients as they usually get assigned to more seasoned nurses. I am super excited however because I was invited to train to take open hearts which usually doesn’t happen until you reach minimum 2 years. I am hoping this helps me get the level of acuity I need to be prepared!
Congrats on CRNA school!! Best of luck 🙂
-Cayden
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Hey, Cayden!! Taking fresh hearts?! Ahh! I’m so excited for you! Yes–that will definitely give you the acuity you need 🙂
The process is daunting, but you are MORE THAN capable!! Hope to see you on this side soon, bro
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I 100000% agree with Annie here!! To jump on what she and @JoJo mentioned, I also applied to CRNA school with just 1 year of ICU experience. My “first application cycle” was a little different, as I only applied to 1 program since they were switching from MSN to DNP. Similar to what @Cayden said, I wanted to test out the waters – I had no hopes of being accepted on my first go-around, but wanted to put myself out there so I could get the feedback I needed to become a stronger applicant. To my surprise, I was waitlisted on my first try! I was always told – a waitlist it not a “no”, it’s more that they just didn’t have enough room this time around. Later that same year, I applied to 3 other programs in addition to that program. I got interviews at all 3, offered admission 2 to, declined the interview at the other, and of course accepted my spot at my current program.
Use this time to learn everything you possibly can as you are caring for these sick patients. When you start to really understand the why behind the patho and the how behind the drug mechanism, you’re on your way to becoming a solid applicant and future SRNA!
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