Questions to Ask CRNA Programs
Questions for nurse anesthesia program open days and interviews: accreditation, certification exam results, attrition, clinical placements and hours, the full cost, and the policies that apply if a student runs into difficulty.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Is the program accredited, and when is its next accreditation review?
Why ask it
Accreditation status is a matter of public record and you can verify it independently rather than taking a brochure's word for it. Ask about the review cycle and about any citations or conditions from the last visit, since a program under review may change while you are enrolled.
What were your first-time pass rates on the national certification examination for the last three cohorts?
Why ask it
Ask for first-time rates by cohort rather than an all-time or eventual figure, which can conceal repeat attempts. Three years of numbers also shows whether a good result was consistent or a single strong class.
Of the students who start, how many complete the program, and why do the others leave?
Why ask it
Attrition is the number that most affects you personally and is quoted least often. A program that names its reasons, academic failure, clinical performance, finances, health, has looked at its own data; one that says nobody ever leaves is worth a second question.
What critical care experience do you expect, and what counts toward it?
Why ask it
Programs differ on which units qualify and how much time in them they want, and some weigh acuity and independent decision-making more than months served. Ask what makes an applicant's ICU experience strong here specifically.
What degree is awarded, and how many months does the program run start to finish?
Why ask it
Entry to practice is now at the doctoral level, so ask for the exact credential, the total months including any summers, and whether the program runs continuously without breaks between terms.
How many clinical hours and cases will I complete, and how do you make sure the case mix is broad?
Why ask it
Volume alone does not build competence if the cases repeat. Ask how they track categories such as obstetric, pediatric, regional, cardiac, and trauma, and what happens if a student is short in one area near the end.
Which clinical sites do students rotate through, and how far will I have to travel or relocate?
Why ask it
Rotations at distant sites are common and the housing and travel are frequently the student's own cost. Ask for the list, the typical distances, the length of each rotation, and how placements are assigned.
Do students ever have to arrange their own clinical placements?
Why ask it
In a well-resourced program the answer is no. If students are ever expected to secure a site themselves, that is a significant risk to your completion date and you should ask how often it has happened.
Who supervises students at each site: nurse anesthetists, anesthesiologists, or both?
Why ask it
The supervision model shapes what you learn to do independently and what you only assist with. Ask what a student is permitted to do unsupervised by the final year, and how that varies between sites.
How is call handled during clinical, and what limits apply to weekly hours?
Why ask it
Ask for the actual numbers: hours per week, consecutive hours permitted, required rest between shifts, and whether call is in addition to regular clinical days. Written limits and lived practice sometimes differ, so ask students the same question.
Can students work during the program?
Why ask it
Most nurse anesthesia programs prohibit outside employment or make it impractical, which means budgeting for years without nursing income. Ask what the policy says and what students actually do.
What is the total cost, including fees, travel, and housing during rotations?
Why ask it
Tuition is one line among several. Ask about fees, equipment, board and certification examination costs, professional liability insurance, and the housing and mileage attached to distant rotations, then add the lost salary.
What happens academically if a student fails a course or a clinical rotation?
Why ask it
Ask for the written policy: remediation, repeating a term, dismissal thresholds, and how a repeat affects the graduation date and financial aid. This is the question you most want answered before you need it.
How is the classroom portion delivered: in person, online, or a mix?
Why ask it
Delivery format affects where you must live and how you study. If any of it is online, ask which courses, whether attendance is synchronous, and how examinations are proctored.
What simulation facilities do students use, and how often?
Why ask it
Ask how many hours per term and whether sessions are debriefed by faculty, because a well-equipped lab that is rarely staffed teaches nothing. Also ask whether crisis scenarios are simulated before students meet them in a real room.
Who teaches here, and how many faculty are still practicing clinically?
Why ask it
Faculty who still work in an operating room bring current practice into the classroom. Ask about faculty turnover in the last three years as well, since a program that has lost several instructors may be in transition.
How does the program support a student who runs into difficulty, academically or personally?
Why ask it
The program is demanding and long, and illness, bereavement, and family circumstances happen inside it. Ask what leave is possible, whether a student can rejoin a later cohort, and who a struggling student is meant to go to.
Where do your recent graduates work, and in what practice models?
Why ask it
Ask about settings and models rather than a placement percentage: independent practice, care team, hospital, ambulatory surgery, pain management. It tells you what this program's training prepares you for and where its network reaches.
May I speak with two current students without faculty present?
Why ask it
A program confident in its own environment will arrange this readily. Ask the students what they would change, what surprised them, and whether the clinical hours and travel matched what they were told at interview.
What makes an application competitive here, and what rules one out?
Why ask it
Ask about the specific weighting given to critical care type and duration, certifications, graduate coursework, shadowing, and interview performance. The disqualifying half of the answer saves you an application cycle.
Evaluating a nurse anesthesia program
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Verify before you rely on it
- Confirm accreditation status, and any conditions attached to it, directly with the accrediting body rather than through the admissions office.
- Check the certification examination requirements and eligibility rules with the certifying body, since they change and a program's printed material may lag.
- Ask for pass rates and completion rates in writing, by cohort, with the number of students in each.
- Confirm the licensure requirements in the state where you intend to practice, which are separate from program requirements.
- Ask for the student handbook. Progression, remediation, and dismissal policies are in there and they govern what happens if something goes wrong.
Numbers worth writing down for each program
Outcomes
First-time certification pass rate for three cohorts, completion rate, cohort size, and the number of applicants per seat.
Clinical load
Total clinical hours, case counts by category, number of sites, distance to each, length of each rotation, and the weekly hour limit including call.
Cost
Tuition, fees, equipment, insurance, examination costs, travel and housing during rotations, and the months of lost nursing income.
Time
Total months, whether terms run continuously, and how long a single failed course adds to the end date.
What to ask current students
- Did the clinical travel and housing cost match what you were told before you enrolled?
- How many hours a week are you actually in clinical, including call?
- What happens here when a student is struggling, and have you seen it handled well?
- Which rotation was weakest, and did you get enough of any case type you were short on?
- Would you choose this program again, and what would you ask that you did not?
Common mistakes when comparing programs
- Choosing on location or cost alone without checking completion and certification outcomes.
- Accepting an eventual pass rate in place of a first-time rate.
- Budgeting tuition but not the rotation travel, housing, and years without a nursing salary.
- Not reading the progression and dismissal policy before enrolling.
- Relying on a single conversation with an admissions officer rather than with faculty and current students.
- Assuming credits or clinical hours would transfer if you had to move. In practice they usually do not.