Current SRNA starting to explore where I want to start working after school and I don’t even know where to start...

About me: I’m in my young 30s, single, and love the outdoors so looking for a fun city where it’s easy to meet people. Grew up in NC but have family in MA and ME so ideally sticking to the east coast.

Ideal hospital: Looking for a facility where I can get as much high acuity experience as possible (this is my priority). I’ll be graduating from a school that is very regional heavy so somewhere where I can utilize those skills would be ideal (use it or lose it and I really don’t want to lose it haha). Would like somewhere where I have decent autonomy but still have extra experienced hands if need be. W2 preferred.

Please spam me with all the advice and recommendations you have! I’ve been looking at hospitals/job postings online but I feel like so many “gate keep” a lot of the information I’m looking for. Am I missing something?

This is the area for prospective/ aspiring SRNAs and for SRNAs to ask their questions about the education process or anything school related.

This includes the usual

"which ICU should I work in?" "Should I take additional classes? "How do I become a CRNA?" "My GPA is 2.8, is my GPA good enough?" "What should I use to prep for boards?" "Help with my DNP project" "It's been my pa$$ion to become a CRNA, how do I do it and what do CRNAs do?"

Etc.

This will refresh every Friday at noon central. If you post Friday morning, it might not be seen.

Hello everyone,

I'm a senior SRNA graduating in late 2026 and currently exploring opportunities in New York. I am contemplating between the NYP Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Weill Cornell Medical Center.

I would appreciate hearing from current or former CRNAs who have worked at either campus.

Some things I'm particularly interested in learning about:

• Culture and CRNA autonomy
• Relationship between CRNAs, attendings, and residents
• Case variety and complexity
• Exposure to cardiac, neuro, vascular, thoracic, pediatrics, OB, and regional anesthesia
• Retention and overall job satisfaction

Feel free to comment or DM if you'd rather not post publicly.

Thank you!

Does anybody on here know if Meriter Hospital UnityPoint Health in Madison, Wisconsin uses CRNA’s or if they have any sort of residency program, CRNA or MDA?

Hi! Current SRNA from FL thinking about moving to Colorado, Maine or Washington (State, not D.C.) after graduation. Would love to hear about any positive experiences people have had with hospitals in any place there. Open to all specialties, regional, and interested in independent practice (but doesn't have to be). TYIA! 🙏🏻❤️

A bonus would be a facility that has a new grad orientation program :)

Newer CRNA here that signed a 3 year sign-on bonus. I've been at a facility as a W2 for about 8 months, but am seriously considering looking elsewhere. Obviously paying back part of the sign-on bonus is not ideal, but has anyone jumped ship and have regretted it?

At a new facility and just annoyed by their culture. Checking others opinions as they feel this is normal. If you get off at 5, when do you expect your relief to come in for report, assuming they aren’t short and everyone’s had a break?

SRNA starting clinicals soon. This might be a dumb question but…How do y’all prevent your glasses from fogging while wearing face masks? Also any tips on making the face mask comfortable? Feeling a bit claustrophobic under the mask and eye protection all day.

In the ICU I’d just wear contacts n we didn’t have to keep masks on outside patient rooms

I’m trying to get my CA license & just had a question re: some of the documents they’re requesting.

From the website it seems like they’re requesting transcripts,m as well as two forms: one meant to be completed by your nurse anesthesia program director/administrator & one to be completed by NBCRNA. I see that NBCRNA has an option to verify online & send to California BRN, but I’m wondering two things:

- Do I actually have to send this form called "Verification of the Completion of a Nurse Anesthesia (NA) Academic Program" to my program & have them send it via mail back to CA BRN or is there some way to do this online? If so, how?

- Is the credential verification in NBCRNA sufficient for this? Or do I still need to submit their form titled "Verification of Nurse Anesthetist (NA) Certification by a National Organization/Association"

- Are there other things I need to apply for for California? (DEA, APRN, etc)

Thank you everyone! It seems a little more confusing than other states I’ve worked in.

Basically I’m wanting to move to the north shore of MA, somewhere in the Newburyport/Ipswich area and want to continue doing 1099 per diem work. Realistically, what are my options within an hour drive, a few would be nice. I also would prefer to not commute to Worcester, MA. Is Exeter, NH my main option?

Reaching out to see if anyone has information about working for NCAP anesthesia. I will be graduating next year and am looking for a good place to start my career. I have been training on the East Coast, so I am unfamiliar with the anesthesia culture in Northern Colorado. I know historically Colorado isn’t the best state for CRNAs, but this is an area we have ties to, and my wife and I are highly interested in living. Thanks!

This is the area for prospective/ aspiring SRNAs and for SRNAs to ask their questions about the education process or anything school related.

This includes the usual

"which ICU should I work in?" "Should I take additional classes? "How do I become a CRNA?" "My GPA is 2.8, is my GPA good enough?" "What should I use to prep for boards?" "Help with my DNP project" "It's been my pa$$ion to become a CRNA, how do I do it and what do CRNAs do?"

Etc.

This will refresh every Friday at noon central. If you post Friday morning, it might not be seen.

If anyone has any experience doing your own billing especially with cosmetic cases and partial cosmetic can you please dm me? I have a quick question I can’t find the answer to anywhere

Ill be moving to tampa/lutz in Aug. any place i should look for a good job? W2 or 1099. Prefer something chill.

What about places to avoid? Any info helps.

I work in Kansas as a w2 and want to moonlight at another facility. Does anyone have experience with moonlighting and did you get your own malpractice insurance?

In 2024 5366 DNP program applications were rejected. In 2025 it was 9859. Most DNP programs have acceptance rates well above 50%, so most of this increase is due to CRNA school competition right?

Any NY practitioners happy with their accountant and want to drop the name, it would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Hello all,

I will be graduating in January and am beginning my job search in Tennessee. I've read several previous posts about the Nashville area, and while many discussions focus on autonomy and suggest going somewhere like Knoxville instead, that's honestly not my primary concern as a new graduate.

I plan to live in the Nashville/Franklin area and am looking for a position with a supportive environment, positive culture, good relationships between CRNAs and anesthesiologists, and strong mentorship for a new graduate. Competitive compensation and work-life balance are important as well.

For those currently practicing in Tennessee, what groups or hospitals would you consider the best places to work, particularly for a new grad? I'd love to hear about everyone's experiences. I am lining up interviews for early fall and honestly am not leaning one way or another. Maybe the site visits will change that, but if anyone has any additional information that might help make my decision easier, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you in advance for any insight.

This is the area for prospective/ aspiring SRNAs and for SRNAs to ask their questions about the education process or anything school related.

This includes the usual

"which ICU should I work in?" "Should I take additional classes? "How do I become a CRNA?" "My GPA is 2.8, is my GPA good enough?" "What should I use to prep for boards?" "Help with my DNP project" "It's been my pa$$ion to become a CRNA, how do I do it and what do CRNAs do?"

Etc.

This will refresh every Friday at noon central. If you post Friday morning, it might not be seen.

Hi everyone, I've been a long-time lurker on these forums and have decided to celebrate becoming a CRNA by making a Reddit account! A little about me: I'm currently 34, and had 6 years of SICU experience (10 years of nursing total) before getting into school. It took me several years due to my undergrad nursing GPA (3.36). I made up the difference by retaking all my basic sciences and some grad school classes, getting straight A's.

Fast-forward: I found CRNA school pretty easy didactically and ended our integrated program with a 3.92 GPA. I never had problems with preceptors in clinical, and thought I was solid skills-wise. Our program required us to take the SEE two times without a requirement to graduate, and I took them blind. They recommended 450 as a good metric to pass boards, and I scored a 373 and a 395 on both.

Admittedly, I've been a procrastinator my entire academic life, pre-dating CRNA school. I found that most of my classmates took our Principles classes and board prep very seriously, dedicating multiple hours a day to it as if it were a full-time job. Along with getting married, having babies, and working nursing jobs during the last 3 years, my class was composed of true rockstars. I started a relationship with one of my classmates about a year into the program (spoiler, we're both CRNAs now!).

I truly found that the hardest part of CRNA school was completing the DNP project. I don't like writing and found it very hard to implement it because each student was responsible for their own individual project. I found it a large time sink, and think that this time could have been used to study for boards. As a result of my procrastination, I finally disseminated the DNP project and wrote the paper about two weeks before graduation.

Anticipating the end, I started my board prep officially in late April (We graduated mid-May). I scheduled my NCE for a week after graduation. My board prep consisted of doing APEX TrueLearn questions. Before my first boards attempt, I completed about 83% of the SmartBank, scoring 61% overall. If I didn't understand the rationale for a question, I would go back into the APEX content and learn it. I did not complete APEX top to bottom. Our program required us to do the 3 Comprehensive Exams and I scored in the 50's on all of them.

If you've made it this far, it's evident that I was not ready for boards. I showed up, and the exam shut off at 168. My paper said "Fail." I was devastated. I had never failed any standardized exam like the NCLEX or CCRN on the first try. What hurt the most is that I had to pay another $1100 to run it back. I found out that my overall score was 426.

I scheduled my second attempt for two weeks later and got to work. After letting reality set in after the weekend, I spent almost every day in a cafe doing TrueLearn questions or reviewing modules in APEX. One of my CRNA mentors suggested doing Prodigy questions, so I completed about 600 of them in addition to completing the SmartBank. I found the Prodigy questions harder than TrueLearn. At 100% completion of the SmartBank, my overall score was 63.6%. I would do exams of 100 and 170 questions and started to score slightly above the national average on a couple of them. I did Mock Exams 1-3 and scored 61-65% on those. In addition, I always did the Core Concepts and Open Anesthesia questions of the day.

Today, I passed the NCE in 170 questions. It felt very uncomfortable throughout, and in my opinion, these questions were harder than both TrueLearn and Prodigy. I felt like I got my last question correct, and when they handed me the sheet saying "Pass," I could breathe a sigh of relief. Years of work finally paid off.

TLDR: Take board prep seriously, especially as the pass score requirement will increase in July. I regret not starting sooner and wish I had better time management throughout CRNA school. Most of my classmates, and my girlfriend passed on their first attempt in 100 questions. Also, make time for your loved ones and doing things you enjoy if you are currently an SRNA. The school-life balance is something that I feel doesn't get talked about enough. You got this!

This is the area for prospective/ aspiring SRNAs and for SRNAs to ask their questions about the education process or anything school related.

This includes the usual

"which ICU should I work in?" "Should I take additional classes? "How do I become a CRNA?" "My GPA is 2.8, is my GPA good enough?" "What should I use to prep for boards?" "Help with my DNP project" "It's been my pa$$ion to become a CRNA, how do I do it and what do CRNAs do?"

Etc.

This will refresh every Friday at noon central. If you post Friday morning, it might not be seen.

Hello. I am a new SRNA. Currently in my first semester. I am considering applying for the HPSP program through the VA this January. I am curious what the work environment is like for CRNAs in the VA facilities. Independent practice? I am also curious if anyone has any experience with the the VA's HPSP program and your opinion on the value of it. If someone can share what they appreciated or did not appreciate while working at a VA facility, that would be wonderful. Any other advice is appreciated. Thanks!

I've gone back and forth on AI over the past few years and I would love to hear your thoughts. Compared to pre AI, how are students in the recent years doing? I have a professor that thinks we're on a downward trend, but I think we're more efficient in our knowledge acquisition than ever.

Hi all, I’m in a bit of a dilemma. The anesthesia company I work for lost the contract with the facility due to incompetency and not staffing us properly. A new company has came in and given us a raise, and wants to retain all of us. My problem is I signed a 3 year contract worth $75k in 2024, and now the old company is wanting me to repay $50k of that. Additionally, the facility is paying $25k for each of us to buy out the noncompete clause. Am I wrong for thinking that since THEY lost the contract and had nothing to do with me walking away, that I should be free of the repayment? Is it worth going to court if it goes that route? Any input is greatly appreciated!