CRNA Interview Questions

If you make it to the final round of the CRNA School selection process, you will be invited to an interview at the CRNA school.  I applied to 10 CRNA schools and made it to the interview process at all 10 schools.  After each interview, I wrote down the all the CRNA interview questions that were asked.  I share them here to help all aspiring CRNA students prepare.  Interviewing is very difficult as a lot of things are at stake.  However, the great thing to know is practice makes perfect.  Every single person reading this can ace their CRNA interview!

How do I prepare for a CRNA interview?

The best way to prepare for a CRNA interview is to begin by writing down bullet points for all the CRNA interview questions of all the key themes you want to convey.   The themes should be similar to your CRNA personal statement.  Then, what I did was I practiced speaking in front of my mirror so I could work on my eye contact and flow.  You’ll be able to realize your mistakes.  For example, I have the bad habit of rolling my eyes when I am thinking of what I memorized.  I also said “umm…” a lot.  Finally, I practiced with friends by having them ask me the interview questions in a formal setting, like a meeting room at a coworking space or a library.

Your CRNA Story

Remember, the CRNA interview is the perfect time to tell a story about who you are as a person and your experiences.  In short, you should structure the answer to all personal CRNA interview questions like a story

1. First, you should talk about about the background to give the interviewer context
2. Second, go through the problem and issues that you faced.  This will lead you to the climax.
3. Finally, discuss how you resolved the original problem.

Work on each interview question as a short story.  Remember to work on your intonation – speak louder or faster at certain parts so you don’t sound like a robot.

For more advice, check out the YouTube video below and the MasterClass Storytelling Tips.  Remember – you want the interviewer to really identify and understand who you are, what led you to be in the room with him or her, and finally why you should be the top candidate for the CRNA school.

Actual CRNA Interview Questions

I’ve posted the real CRNA interview questions below which were asked by at least 8 of the 10 schools I interviewed at.  If you would like a list of more actual CRNA interview questions, let me know in the comments below.

Personal CRNA Questions

• Why do you want to be a CRNA?
• Tell me about yourself.
• Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.
• What do you think makes a successful CRNA?
• Tell me about your ICU experience
• Tell me about a time you had to work under pressure. How did you handle it?
• Tell me about a mistake you made. How did you handle it?  How did you resolve it?
• Give me an example you worked in a team and showed leadership.

CRNA General Knowledge

• Tell me what is a CRNA and what does a CRNA do?
• What issues are there surrounding CRNAs today politically? (Hint: Talk about the APRN Compact)
• Most of the interviews also asked me questions on Clinicals. It’s important that you prepare for this.

School Specific Questions

All CRNA schools you interview with will ask

• Why did you choose our CRNA program over others?
• What is your plan if you do not get accepted into our CRNA program?
• Why are you the best candidate over other candidates we are interviewing?

Other Questions

• If you saw one of your school classmates or fellow colleagues at work doing something illegal like drugs or DUI Nursing, what would you do?

Questions to ask your CRNA Interviewer

One of the best ways to stand out in the CRNA interview is to ask questions to ask good CRNA interview questions back at your interviewer at the end of the interview!

It’s important to not ask questions that can be found on the school website.  For example, bad questions to ask would be topics such as attrition rates, structure of the program, first pass rates.

Some examples of good questions you may want to ask are:

• Could you share the contact of a couple of current students so I could learn more about the culture of the program
• At the completion of the CRNA program, do you believe your students are better prepared to work in an independent, rural facility or a major hospital in a city work environment?
• If you personally needed to have surgery tomorrow, how would you feel about your 2^nd and 3^rd year CRNA students providing you anesthesia?
• Assuming I’m accepted into the CRNA program, what is the best way to prepare for school?
• How many of the CRNA school graduates take their first positions at the main clinical site? (Note: you will understand how the school’s SRNAs are treated with this question.  It will also provide you guidance in terms of the mentorship of the surgeons and how many people stay after graduation.)
• What issues and recommendations did the last graduating CRNA school class give to the program?
• How is the structure of didactic teaching in the CRNA school and has there been any impact on teaching since the COVID-19 pandemic?
• What student associations are there in the CRNA school? How is the school involved in local associations?

Top CRNA Schools

We spent hundreds of hours studying all CRNA schools and interviewing over 125 nurse anesthetists to create our exclusive list of Best CRNA Schools.  So now you know CRNA interview questions, your next research is to compare the Best CRNA programs with your CRNA school interview preparation to see which CRNA schools are the best fit and which programs you should apply to.

Nurse Anesthetist Salary

As you’re interested in CRNA interview questions, be sure to check out our CRNA Salary Guide and CRNA Starting Salary.  It’s good to know how much you should make while you are interviewing at CRNA jobs.  If you are still a student or if you’re wondering how much a fresh CRNA can make right out of nurse anesthesia school, this information will be especially helpful.  You might be surprised too!  We spent hundreds of hours researching salary information from the BLS, the AANA CRNA survey from over 5,000 actual nurse anesthetists as well as from my own CRNA job offers after I graduated.  In addition, different states have different demand and supply economics for nurse anesthetists, so our CRNA Salary by State Guide will help you see which States are the best fit for you.

Map of CRNA Schools by State

We provide the list of all CRNA schools in the United States by State for your reference as you prepare for your CRNA interview.

Notes:
The darker the blue color equivocates to more CRNA Schools in the State.
Tier 1 = 6 or more CRNA Schools
2nd Tier = 3 to 5 CRNA Schools
Tier 3 = 1 or 2 CRNA Schools
White means no CRNA schools in the State.
Data source: everythingCRNA

Conclusion

I hope this article on CRNA school interview questions was helpful.  How are you preparing for your CRNA interview?  Please share your experience below and help other members in our community.