Anesthesia Sites for the Pre-CRNA

As you enter the nurse anesthesia profession, you will find these anesthesia sites most helpful to reference.

AANA

"Founded in 1931, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) is the professional association representing more than 44,000 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and student registered nurse anesthetists nationwide... More than 90 percent of the nation's nurse anesthetists are members of the AANA."

Nurse-Anesthesia.org

The largest nurse-anesthesia forum online. It's an ideal community to join if you're serious about pursuing this profession, and it's a great place to get specific questions answered. You can ask CRNAs specific questions about the profession as you decide if it's the right profession for you, or get tips from those who've gone before you.

As you get closer to your goal of becoming a CRNA, you can gain additional privileges in the forum. You can progress from registered user to pre-srna (accepted to school no AANA number), to SRNA (school and AANA number) and finally to CRNA. The forum also provides links to many helpful anesthesia sites.

AllNurses.com

Though this community is targeted for nurses as a whole, it has three great sub-forums (pre-crna, srna, and crna). There are lots of discussions about interviewing at specific schools, specific class prerequisites and GPA issues. Just keep in mind that the forum is moderated by RNs rather than CRNAs, so there is some misinformation about the CRNA profession.

CRNA Student Blog

If you want to know what it will be like in CRNA school, this is definitely a great resource. The blog is written by a CRNA student (SRNA) and gives you a summary of each completed trimester (7 total). It's written intelligently, with a personal tone and gives you the highlights and trials of the journey through a nurse anesthesia program.

Ask the Nurse Anesthetist

If you ever wished you could interview a nurse anesthetist in order to discover if this profession is really a good fit for you, now you can! Find thorough, detailed answers to questions like "What do you like best about your job?", "Is your job stressful?", "what do you dislike most about your job?", etc. The questions are answered by actual CRNAs and will give you much to think about and consider before you pursue this path. Of all the anesthesia sites out there, this one is most helpful.

Before you apply to CRNA School

After scouring through over 100 school anesthesia sites, none were as helpful to the prospective applicant as Wake Forest. Along with describing their nurse anesthesia program, the school offers a thorough self assessment test that will show you exactly what schools are looking for from applicants.

WFBMC's program is one of the most difficult to get into, so if you can pass their self assessment test, changes are, you'll do just fine when applying to the school of your choice. Obviously, not everything they say will apply to you (if you apply to a different school), but it will be worth the time and will give you a great idea of where you shine, and what you can do to improve your application.

CRNA Salary

This is one of the anesthesia sites I used as a reference when creating the "salary by state" section of this website.

US News and World Report CRNA School Rankings

For those of you who didn't find the link on the "schools by rank" page, I'll provide it again here for your reference.

Graduate Record Exam (GRE)

This is the official site for the GRE. Since most nurse anesthesia programs require this test, you'll want to visit this site to determine when and where you need to take the test and how to best prepare for it.

National Board of Certification & Re-certification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA)

I feel their title says it all.

International Student Transcript Evaluation

If you are an international student and will be applying to CRNA schools in the states, you'll need to get your transcripts evaluated by any one of the organizations listed here in order to get your GPA and courses prerequisites transferred into the US equivalents. If you're confused by all of the options, I recommend WES.org

International Nurses - US work visa

If your RN license is in another country, and you wish to begin working as an RN in the US, you will need to take the CGFNS qualifying exam. This site will also tell you what other steps you need to take before you make this transition.International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists (IFNA)

A great place to find answers to questions about international nurse anesthesia. "The IFNA is the authoritative voice for nurse anesthetists and nurse anesthesia, supporting and enhancing quality anesthesia care worldwide."

Return to top of anesthesia sites for the pre-crna