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What are CRNA Interviews like in 2024 and beyond? Learn what’s new in CRNA school interviews so you can interview with confidence! We’ll cover everything from Emotional Intelligence (EI) and personality tests to what it’s like having your interview stretched over several days. Plus, get tips on how to nail both virtual and face-to-face interviews.
Whether you’re planning to apply soon or have already landed your interview invite, this episode has all the advice you need to prepare to impress the admissions committee and gain that “Yes!” acceptance. Make sure to read all the way through for a special FREE CRNA clinical interview study guide and a helpful list of common CRNA interview questions—perfect for anyone aiming to become a Nurse Anesthetist. If you’re wondering how to prepare for a CRNA school interview, this is the episode for you!
Join the Free CSPA Community! Connect with a network of Aspiring CRNAs, Nurse Anesthesia Residents, practicing CRNAs and CRNA Program Faculty Mentors here: https://www.cspaedu.com/community
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Get access to application & interview preparation resources plus ICU Educational Workshops that have helped 1,000s of nurses accelerate their CRNA success. Become a member of CRNA School Prep Academy: https://cspaedu.com/join
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CRNA Interview Trends for 2024 and Beyond
Welcome back to the show. Today we’re going to reveal what are some trends in 2024 in regards to the CRNA interview. So what are some things that I’m commonly seeing come up as far as style of interview? And if you stay until the end, I’m going to uncover 10 common CRNA interview questions and I’m going to give you a special offer to get a free CRNA interview study guide you can download, but you have to stay all the way to the end, so be sure to tune in. Now. Let’s get into the show.
Hi, future CRNA. Welcome back to CSPA podcast!
Emotional Intelligence and Personality Tests
So I wanted to have this episode to kind of discuss some of the common trends that I am seeing in the CRNA interview style process through 2024 and as we head into the new year. I will lead with the one thing that I’m seeing as a common trend is some type of personality testing or emotional intelligence testing. Two of the more common ways that they do this are through platforms such as Casper, which is with a “C”, C-A-S-P-E-R, Casper, and then the Kira, I think it’s K-I-R-A exam. Both of these are emotional intelligence style tests that you have to take. It’s not actually on your interview day. It’s usually something you have to do when you’re selected to interview. And some schools use this almost as a pre-screening tool to even get an in-person interview. So that is definitely a trend that I’m seeing.
I also know schools that are not using these outsourced, company-based EI tests or platforms sometimes will make their own- meaning they have their own EI exam, they administer either during the interview or before the interview. So again, something that definitely is a common trend. Be sure to be brushing up on your Emotional Intelligence prep for your CRNA interview.
Even programs who historically have clinically based interviews- I have again seen the trend going towards doing some type of EI evaluation. So in order to be sure that you’re prepared, it’s always best to make sure you are investing in yourself to grow in your own Emotional Intelligence. Be sure to talk to current students who have recently interviewed, but also keep in mind that in any given year they can change up the interview style.
That is very important to understand because I think it’s a false sense of comfort to rely on historically what the interview style is like. Although that definitely something I encourage you to find out because there’s also a good chance that you could be better prepared for that very reason. But I guess the point is, don’t allow yourself NOT to expand- instead be ready for anything because again, they could widen their horizons this year where maybe the student who just interviewed last year said, “This is the style.” And then you go in there and you’re like, “Well, that was not expected.” So it’s always best to prepare for both EI and clinical based type of interview when going into the CRNA interview season.
I will also give you a pro tip to make sure you start the interview preparation at least, and I’m serious, at least six months prior to your anticipated interview, not your actual interview, since you may not know when you’re interviewing. I often see candidates make this giant mistake and they don’t start preparing for the interview until after they submit their application or gosh forbid, after they get the invite to come interview, then they’re panicking and freaking out because sometimes you don’t have much of a notice. I’ve known students who have less than a 24 hour notice to interview. So don’t let that happen to you!
Multi-Day CRNA Interviews
All right, moving on. The next trend that I’m noticing is a multi-day interview. I’ve seen CRNA schools kind of break up the interview process into multiple days, a couple days- potentially on a Saturday & Sunday, or on a Friday, Saturday or yes, even mid-week. It just depends on the program. But I’ve seen some break it up into more than one day.
Now sometimes some of those days may include meeting with current students, which is also kind of a trend I’m seeing where maybe one of the days is an information session, meet the current students that are going to the school. And it’s really designed to help inform you of the decision you’re getting ready to make as far as picking the school and helps answers any questions you may not even know you have about the program.
CRNA Interview: A mix-and-mingle gives you a chance to talk to current students and understand a little bit more about that particular CRNA school.
But it also gives you a chance to talk to current students and understand a little bit more about that particular CRNA school. That’s way it may be a little more personalized, however it also is a way for them to have their current students kind of give them any heads up or red flags.
Not to make you paranoid, but they do talk to the current students after the mix and mingle and ask for their feedback. And it’s not like the students are the decision makers, but if they saw any major red flags or had any conversations that kind of were like, “Ooh, that’s not good”, they may tip the faculty on that- it may come up in your interview or it may just be documented.
So I guess I just want to make sure that you’re aware that that is part of the interview process. And I think you also don’t want to be so shy and quiet that you’re not saying a peep because it is a great opportunity to vocalize your interest in pursuing this career path and why. And so I think it’s just an opportunity to be friendly and show why you’d be a great team player and a really great cohort member for the upcoming class.
So keep that in mind when you have a mix and mingle session with current students. And also for the information day, be sure you bring a notepad on paper and take a lot of notes because the last thing you want to do at the end of your actual interview when they say, “Do you have any questions for us” is to ask a question they know for a fact that they just told you the day before.
Do what you can to make sure you’re remembering everything. I mean, they even have little pocket recorders that you could bring with you if you’re fearful that you won’t remember everything they shared with you. But this is also why it’s really helpful to attend multiple open houses prior to applying because you should have a very good handle on the information they will share with you prior to your interview day so you don’t end up asking a question that was clearly stated prior to your interview.
Virtual Versus In-Person Interviews
Alright, next is virtual and in person or one or the other. Some schools since the glory days- or the dark days, I don’t know if they’re glory days, they were dark. Let’s just put it that way, the “C” word. Since COVID occurred, some schools have maintained the optionality to have virtual interviews. And I think this is great because a lot of students who are applying out of state, it can be very expensive just to go in for an interview. So it definitely has opened the doors to allow the interview process to be a lot more cost effective and time sensitive if you don’t have time off work to take a two day trip to go interview. I do think that’s a great thing that came out of it.
But I will say if you have to pick between a virtual and in-person interview, and if you can do the in-person interview, I really think that’s the way you need to go. I have heard multiple times from people that the virtual interview sometimes just misses the mark, meaning you don’t really get a chance to display as much as you can personally as you could in an in-person experience. It can even be a struggle to make eye contact on camera because you don’t know where to look. I mean, I’ve been podcasting for a long time and I still struggle with where should I look at the camera? And it’s hard to do.
So I do encourage you to, if you have the option to pick an in-person CRNA interview, that that is what you choose. But if it’s not an option for you, don’t be fearful! Do the virtual, just make sure you’re prepared for a virtual interview. Check your audio, check your lighting, make sure your background is relatively discreet and plain and simple, you may be asked about it.
Make sure you're prepared for a virtual interview. Check your audio, your lighting, make sure your background is relatively discreet & simple, you may be asked about it. Share on X
For example, I have a “propofol, sevo, roc” sign in my background. They probably quizzed me on those drugs because it’s in my background. I also just moved offices and I don’t have a door. So it’s very noisy. Our kids are home. I would not do this if this was a CRNA school interview. I’m sorry you guys get it now in the podcast, but I got to record a podcast and I got to move on. The kids are home and they’re sick and it is what it is. But that being said, I would make sure that, again, if you have dogs or if a mailman may come knock on your door, that you figure out a way to make sure you’re in a quiet environment so there’s no distractions and things of that nature.
I know I’ve shared this before and I’ll share it again. It just still makes me kind of laugh a little bit. But back in the day, I did a mock interview several years ago now, and this person had a dog and they started barking. Instinctively they let out a curse word because it was just a natural knee jerk reaction. And I’m like, oh my gosh. If that happened in an actual CRNA school interview, that’d be really hard to recover from. So if you have a dog, if you have a cat that may jump in front of the camera, just put ’em in a different room, make sure they’re not going to be interfering with your big day.
The downside of a virtual interview is you don’t have as much control over things like that versus going in person. But yeah, I think a mistake I see people often make is when they have the choice, they pick virtual because it’s more convenient. But I don’t really know if that’s really the best option for most. I think it’s an option for those who don’t really have a choice otherwise or who feel very confident in the fact that they feel good about a virtual interview. But I still think being able to shake hands and meet someone in person is just the way to go. We are humans. We like physical connection. And so I think that that should be what you aim to do if possible.
Some schools will have both automatically, or by default, though. Some will just say that we do our first interview virtual, and then the second interview, if you pass the first CRNA interview, come in person. Or they might just have both, period. So it may not be a choice, it may just be “this is how we do it”. But I wanted to give you the heads up that if you had a choice.
CRNA Interview: I think being able to shake hands and meet someone in person is just the way to go. We are humans. We like physical connection.
Also, if you have a choice, pick first thing in the morning or first thing in the day. Don’t be the last interviewer that day if you can, because they’re fatigued. They’re humans. They’re not AI bots just yet, but they might be someday. So if you have a preference on the first day, if they’re doing interviews for a whole solid week, for example, go in as soon as you can. Don’t wait till the very last day, the very last time slot, because they might be fatigued and tired, plus they’ve already just seen a slew of other candidates that they’re now comparing you to. So be one of the first if you have the choice.
Multi-Room Interviews
The next trend that I’m seeing is schools like I kind of spoke to this earlier, who historically did clinical interviews are now blending both EI and clinical. And they may do this by having separate rooms set up maybe. Maybe they have three rooms, for example, set up and maybe one room is EI, one room is clinical. Another one is just kind of a blend of both or get to know you kind of questions. So I have seen this become more common.
Schools that maybe historically did clinical, now instead of doing just clinical, they maybe do most of the EI questions and give you a CCRN-style test to take to test your clinical knowledge. That is also something I’m seeing too, that maybe they don’t ask clinical questions anymore, but they do still test you on your clinical knowledge with a written exam.
I’ve also seen schools do on the spot essays, or if they’re not on the spot, I’ve seen ’em have them ask you to write an essay to submit for your interview day. They might give you a prompt and give you a page requirement and then just say “You have two days to do it. There you go”. And then you submit it. So that is something that I’m also seeing. I think it’s because with AI, it’s really hard for these schools to know your writing ability for your essays. I mean, they don’t want to see you struggle in school. With the amount of resources that are now available to have you critique your essay and use AI to write your essay- which I don’t recommend, I recommend you using it for brainstorming and if you have anything major to get some ideas, but I still think you should write your own essay.
It is pretty easy now to have AI detecting tools that can detect whether AI was used. I don’t know the accuracy of these tools, but at the same time, sometimes it’s pretty obvious when AI was used because it doesn’t even sound like a human would write it. So be very, very careful with that. It’s a tool and it’s a tool that could help you if you’re having a mental freeze or a roadblock. But I still advise you at the end of the day to make sure that it’s in your own writing, that you don’t use AI to write your whole essay. That would be a huge mistake in my opinion, especially with the fact that they have AI detecting tools now to help educators decipher whether something has been written by AI.
You want to be really careful with that. But that’s also partially why sometimes these CRNA schools are having on the spot essays or they’re asking for some other type of written work other than your personal statement because they want to see if you can actually write; again, these CRNA programs don’t want you to struggle with all the writing you’re going to be doing once you’re in school.
And then last but not least, and I mentioned this earlier too, but that is the student mix-and-mingle. I’m seeing this become a more common experience where they ask certain students from their cohorts, maybe it’s one cohort, or even two cohorts, to come and have an information session with the interviewees or the applicants. Again, this is geared to be part of the actual CRNA School interview, so please don’t take it as just “Oh, cool, I get to ask all kinds of nitty gritty questions and pick their brain”. You can do that. But just be careful that you’re not too casual. Still treat it like it’s an interview process, still make it formal, still be very polite, very professional. You don’t want to go too overboard with it because again, they could be asking for feedback from these students, and I’d hate for you to say something that could jeopardize your success just because you were taking it too casually.
Practice CRNA Interview Questions
So yeah, so that is the sum of the new kind of styles that I have been seeing come up in different CRNA school interviews. And then of course, I did promise you some practice interview questions. Everyone loves practice CRNA School interview questions and I will make sure that you have a link to grab your free Clinical interview study guide in the show notes below. I made you a study guide for clinical CRNA interview questions that you can download for free.
If you’re a part of CSPA, I highly encourage you to take advantage of all that we offer inside the Academy, too, including an EI based interview study guide, which includes general guidance of how to respond, the 5 Day Interview Prep Challenge and more. Obviously you don’t want to take anything I say in the guide verbatim, but it’s just to help you kind of get the wheels in motion, to get you thinking about how you can answer EI questions based off your own experiences and situations.
We all have strengths, we all have weaknesses. Some people’s strengths are clinical, some of them maybe not so strong in the EI realm or thinking through those types of Emotional Intelligence questions. Others are very strong in EI and thinking through those types of questions, while others maybe are weaker at clinical knowledge. So again, being part of CSPA, we do help you through both of those and coach you on them. Our goal and our mission is to help you grow, help you advance your knowledge, help you learn. And so again, that is what we’re out to do. But I will go ahead and drop the link for the CRNA clinical interview study guide below.
It’s clinical based, and just to give you some ideas on what is in the study guide, a common trend that we’re seeing in CRNA school interviews is ACLS-based questions. For example, ventricular tachycardia, vtac, and management of a patient with a pulse, knowing the process you would follow to treat that. The next one would be a mechanism of action of norepinephrine and shock management. Why would you pick norepi over phenylephrine, for example, could be an interview question.
Cardiac is a big one. They do ask a lot of cardiac questions in clinical CRNA interviews, understanding SVR and the various types of shock, meaning cardiogenic shock, hypovolemic shock, septic shock, distributive shock. Knowing how SVR specifically is affected in those shock states. We’re also seeing a lot of pharmacology, knowing all your muscle relaxants like rocuronium, vecuronium, nimbex, and the breakdown as far as how they’re metabolized. What’s the difference between them, understanding the difference between pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics even, or drugs such as cardine or even neostigmine.
If you have on your resume that you use paralytic drips in the ICU, you need to be prepared not only for the actual drug, but train of four monitoring as well. Share on X
I’ve also known people being asked questions on train of four monitoring. So if you have on your resume that you use paralytic drips in the ICU, you need to be prepared not only for the actual drug, but train of four monitoring as well. Neuro wise: Asking questions about ICP for example, what is Cushing’s Triad and what is the significance of that? Asking things like how do you calculate ICP signs of increased intracranial pressure, some miscellaneous questions, things such as ventilator modalities.
We have two ventilator modality workshops inside of CSPA, which are really great, but knowing your ventilator modalities, I know you have rt, I get it, I had one too. But it doesn’t replace the fact that you should still understand what it means to be on SIMV, for example, and what PEEP is and how PEEP affects ventilation. So understanding that is really, really important. Oxygen consumption, understanding how your body breaks down oxygen, and for example, how do you calculate oxygen consumption in an adult, so the O2 per kilos per minute and what that is, and then dividing it by your body weight.
I’ll just tell you right now, it’s 250 mls of O2 a minute divided by 70. For example. 70 kilograms equals approximately 3.57 mls of O2 per kilos per minute. So again, having these formulas, I know it’s overwhelming to think, “Oh my gosh, I have to remember this.” But these are all things that, if you can figure out how to get it into your toolbox, you’re going to then utilize it in CRNA school. You’re going to be quizzed on it. You’re going to be expected to know it. So it’s something that’s going to serve you later. So you might as well just buckle down and learn it now because it’s going to play in your favor down the road. Our Critical Care Learning Library can help you with that!
When you’re in CRNA School, really, if you think about CRNA school interview preparation, even if you know your school’s mostly EI questions, any clinical preparation is going to serve you down the road because when you’re in CRNA school, you’re going to be learning a whole bunch of clinical knowledge. So the more you prepare now for what that’s going to be like, the better off you’re going to be once you actually start your program.
Other things that you could be tested on are such things as pulmonary wedge pressures and dichotic notch and what that signals, what that means, knowing and tracing the blood flow through the heart and lungs, and knowing that pathway and what that looks like on a step-by-step basis. Some programs ask med math, it could be like ratio problems, relatively basic med math. But again, if you’re not accustomed to converting mics to milligrams or percentages to milligrams, that could be very overwhelming on the spot. So just brushing up on that knowledge can really, really serve you well in this journey interview.
Alright, so I’m going to drop the study guide in the show notes, so make sure you grab that. And again, if you’re part of CSPA, we have ventilator workshops, we med math, we EI coaching, we have it all. We have over 25 educational workshops inside CSPA. Our goal, again, is to foster professional growth and really help you not only get into school, which yes, of course, it’s like our mission, yes, we’re going to do it. We’re going to get you to school, but I want to make sure you’re successful now as an ICU nurse and once you start your CRNA program.
I appreciate you tuning in today. I wish you luck in your CRNA school interview. Cheers to your future CRNA, and until next time, take care.
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Important Links & FREE Study Guide
FREE! Clinical CRNA Interview Study Guide: https://www.cspaedu.com/2qnt8c4c
Join the Free CSPA Community! Connect with a network of Aspiring CRNAs, Nurse Anesthesia Residents, practicing CRNAs and CRNA Program Faculty Mentors here: https://www.cspaedu.com/community
Get access to application & interview preparation resources plus ICU Educational Workshops that have helped 1,000s of nurses accelerate their CRNA success. Become a member of CRNA School Prep Academy: https://cspaedu.com/join
Get CRNA School insights sent straight to your inbox! Sign up for the CSPA email newsletter: https://www.cspaedu.com/podcast-email
Book a mock interview, resume or personal statement critique, transcript review and more: www.teachrn.com
