Interview Kaiser Permanente school of Anesthesia

[KrittyP]

I just received a letter saying I have an interview in the middle of Feb. Is there anyone who knows what I should be preparing for. What kind of questions will they ask?

[icudropout]

you start in a room with 4 applicants. there is a woman there who is friendly and tries to put you at ease. when you go into the room for the interview there are almost 20 people in there. They ask you to tell about yourself, why you want to be a CRNA, and stuff like that. no clinical quizzes.

[mjanel84]

do you guys have an idea whether invitations are still being sent out? my friends are still waiting.... hmmmm.....:hmmmm2:

[brooks327]

I'm applying to Kaiser at the end of the year. what is their focus in terms of background (years of experience, ccrn, gpa, volunteer work, committees). just want to make myself as competitive as possible. thanks

[Flipballin80]

I'm applying to Kaiser at the end of the year. what is their focus in terms of background (<b>years of experience, ccrn, gpa, volunteer work, committees</b>). just want to make myself as competitive as possible. thanks

All of the above.

They look at the whole picture. They look at your years of experience, but where the experience is, ie. small community hospital vs. large level 1 trauma university. CCRN almost always helps you look competitive. It does not look that great if you have years of experience, yet have never taken the CCRN, does not imply any "staying educated in my practice". Your GPA is your GPA, there is little you can do to increase it except take grad classes, but I would consult with the school to see if it will increase your gpa. Volunteer work and committees are great ways to show the admission committee that you are dedicated to community service and the profession.

Good Luck! :beerglass:

[helicali]

I got an interview with these creds:

5 yrs CCU experience
1.5 yrs E.R.
CCRN
3.7 GPA
Member of Disaster and ergonomics committee
Volunteer with church for medical mission and food bank L.A.

Got an interview, doesn't mean I'm in. Hope this helps, good luck!

[SIG]

So I live in Colorado and still have not gotten an invite or a "no thanks" letter. Does this likely mean I'm not getting one? Here are my stats.

GPA Nursing and Nursing Sciences 3.795
Cumulative GPA 3.1
CCRN
ACLS/PALS/TNCC/BLS
Pain Nurse Committee
10 years military medical experience (lab)
2 years ICU/RN experience when school starts in Aug 09
80 hours shadowing CRNA/MDA's

[Alia]

Dear SIG !
and Everyone else who is dealing with Kaiser School.
You have very impressive credentials and with no doubts deserve to be accepted and get your education in any of the Schools across the country. I mean in any of the GOOD schools with the GOOD reputation. And it is definitely not Kaiser one !!!
I applied to 7 schools. I went for an all 7 interviews. Guess which experience and what impression was the worst? Right, Kaiser! From the first day when i opened the door of the school till the last day when i had personal meeting with http://www.nurse-anesthesia.org/images/smilies/saroll.gifDirector of the Program. Rude, disorganized, dispespectful , dispreputable...etc...not worth anymore of my and yours precious time to discuss. And finally, do you really want to be one of 35 !!!!! pehttp://www.nurse-anesthesia.org/images/smilies/Test/balloon.gif:saroll: ople in the class?
I am so sorry that you`ve got under their typical ignorance. Please, do not be upset !http://www.nurse-anesthesia.org/images/smilies/Test/bur2.gif It is wonderful news that you will not deal with bunch of people who have no professional as well as personal ethics and absolute absence of basic culture.
Dear SIG, my sincere advice to you::flybye: Ignore them!
Instead of worrying about worthless Kaiser letter, please expand your experience and apply to many other Schools. Eventually, when you get accepted to more reputable School (ahttp://www.nurse-anesthesia.org/images/smilies/humble.gifnd with your credentials you absolutely will), you will know more, be stronger ,looking back and saying http://www.nurse-anesthesia.org/images/smilies/adore.gifThanks God I am not in Kaiser !
Best wishes to You and Good Luck ! http://www.nurse-anesthesia.org/images/smilies/nurse.gif

[CRN_Almost]

Wow Alia, those are some pretty harsh words about a program that has been ranked in the top 10 for how many years now? I have the complete opposite opinion about this program. They are anything but disorganized and highly respected among the CRNA community. I am sorry about your experience with your interview, but when you speak of the director in a fashion that he was "rude, disorganized and disrespectful" I have a feeling you didn't get an invitation to attend the program ( a little bitterness perhaps). The director of the program is the nicest individual you will ever encounter in the world of medical professions. Not only his he one of the top authorities in anesthesia pharmacology and teaches 8 CRNA schools their pharmacology via EDNET, he truly is one classy guy. The Kasier program takes over 400 qualified applications a year and it's true we have 35 students in our class, but this program is more then capable of providing a " Top 10 education" for all of us. Alia keep trying, maybe if you stop talking trash you might be so lucky.:salook:

[helicali]

I'm gonna have to agree with CRN Almost on this one. After not being selected to the past fall's class I set up meetings with the admissions director. I e-mailed him constantly. And he returned every one of them. He was very courteous, professional and gave me advice to make me a more competitive candidate this time around. The schol is highly respected and it shows from the students to administration

[Flipballin80]

I have to agree with CRNA_almost and Helicali. Kaiser's program is not what you have made it out to be. I think you are getting your PDs mixed up because our PD is one of the classiest people out there. The administration and faculty are very professional and helpful to anyone who is interested in the program. Just as helicali said, the admission director is an awesome person and he goes over your resume and work experiences to see where you can improve on your application. As CRNA_Almost put it, the 400 applications were the applications that were COMPLETE, which means all the T's were crossed and I's were dotted. So if they have that size of an applicant pool that are all vying for one of the 35 seats, unfortunately 365 of the applicants will not be admitted.

Anyways, good luck in your program! I wouldn't talk that much heat about a program that is "well-respected" in the region on a public forum because it can bite you in the a$$ one day when you are done and trying to look for a job, especially in southern Cali where there is less than 6 degrees of separation between you and the said PD.

[Alia]

Dear ALMOST CRN, ??

Thank you for your advice to keep trying, but trying what ? I am very happy where I am now and i am very happy that it is far from Kaiser School and any of their hospitals.
I am also very happy that you are happy there. I assume that people choose kaiser because they either truly like it or it`s location, or they just don`t have another choice. This is only my opinion and i like thinking like that. Fortunately, I had 4 another choices.
What is so impressive about teaching in many different schools? There is a huge shortage of a teachers nationwide ! They will hire anyone available.
Thank you for surprising statistics: one of the 10 top schools...Is it official data? Could you please provide the source of information? I will really appreciate it !
and there is another good one in your message : 400 applicants each year! "...and blessed is who believed...". I know who is the source of this information. This as you said really cool, "classy GUY"? Are you sure you spell the word 'guy' right? Do you know how many years they say the same things over and over? How many years they sell themselves exactly the same way? They dress classy, but look funny. CRNAs who graduated 5 years ago laughed when they heard exactly the same story from me as i hear from you know.
But,
Dear ALMOST CRN,

I respect you so much for defending your School, I applaud you for believing and practicing same principals as they do, I admire your character and ability to stand up and oppose somebody`s bitter words towards your 'home', i really do. I am sorry if it offended you so much.
It was just my personal attitude.

Good Luck and much Success to you ALMOST CRN to become FULL accomplished CRNA. Being one of the 35!!! people in the class with classy teacher who is torn apart b/w 9 schools you will need it !

[JumpNurse]

Wow, I can almost hear the bridges burning

[helicali]

Yes Alia, I must agree with JumpNurse. I would not talk too much trash about a school your not in because the CRNA community is very small. I have heard from many CRNAs and they all give the same advice......always back up your fellow CRNAs. Your bridges out on the West coast may be burning.

[Alia]

Dear opponents,
here I bring my apology about offending you by angry and bitter talking about wrong person.
I could not believe that so many people said so many good things and I looked it up yesterday. I was wrong about position of the "classy guy" i had horrible experience with.
When some of my documents were lost at Kaiser and things went terribly wrong, I asked about personal meeting with the PD. I didn`t have an idea that he is not PD ! They even ignored what i asked for. No wonder he could not resolve anything because he is apparently some kind of Director Assistant. He is the one I have so much bitterness for because of his arrogance, rudeness, false promises and ! indifference ! in addition to unopposed and unprecedented attitude, offensive words and suggestions about my foreign background. I thought if PD (which apparently he was not) behaved like this, I should seek advice from CANA.I did and they told me that it was clearly a case of a lawsuit against kaiser which i should proceed with. So I got additional confirmation that he was wrong.
Thank you, Guys for feeling sorry about bridges that are burning now. With just one correction: I burned it long time ago with kaiser school and kaiser system, next day after that meeting .I am glad i did that. I was accepted in 4 Schools from first attempt and i have not met anyone else who would behave at the same manner and say something even close from what I experienced at Kaiser.
And again it was my personal experience, the worst one ever happened to me. It`s not that somebody cares, especially at kaiser, I just felt at ease now when i could ventilate my anger and talked about it.

I am really sorry, I sincerely apologize if while expressing my attitude I hurt someone`s feelings.

Thanks Everyone for this discussion, wish you all the best !

I apologize in advance if i can not participate in this discussion anymore, it takes so much time away from more important topics than Kaiser.

[SAMRN]

I agree somewhat with Alia. I personally know several directors and Kaiser is not looked highly upon compared to Tier 1 Universities. Let me explain rankings are from the US News & World Report filled out by directors of the programs and not everyone fills out these surveys. You can't say that Kaiser affiliated with Cal State Fullerton is a better school than lets say Columbia University or University of Pennsylvania both Ivy League schools. My advice choose a program that you will fit in. Don't consider the cost but the experience. Would you want to do Clinicals at Kaiser or at major academic centers like County USC.

[Flipballin80]

You can't say that Kaiser affiliated with Cal State Fullerton is a better school than lets say Columbia University or University of Pennsylvania both Ivy League schools.

...and vice versa just because it's not an Ivy League school...


My advice choose a program that you will fit in.

I agree. There's a program out there for everyone. If you do your homework, you will find which school suits your academic needs, be it from an Ivy league school or not. The best program is the program that you get accepted into.


Would you want to do Clinicals at Kaiser or at major academic centers like County USC.

Well, that's funny that you mention this. I know that the USC students are getting great experiences at County. I've worked with some of their graduates. It's a great place to learn. But who is to say that WE are not getting great experiences? We have patients that are just as sick and with comorbidities as any hospital in the area. We do not have to compete for our cases with residents, especially for our heart and neuro cases, we get our regional experience at the Navy hospital in San Diego, we run trauma calls and emergency airways at Riverside County Regional Medical Center, we have over 21 clinical sites that we have an opportunity to rotate through, even in Hawaii. But you know, we are not a major academic center so who would want to go to this program right?

Bottom line, we provide safe anesthesia just like any other anesthetist from any school. You get out what you put in. We are all entitled to an opinion of which school is better, but once you are in an actual anesthesia program, your pissing contest will end and you will soon find out that everyone can piss just as far as you can.
:beerglass:

[SAMRN]

Flipballin I agree the best program is the one you get into. It's up to the student what he gets out of it. I assume you are a SRNA at Kaiser. How do you like it? How are you're classmates? Like you mentioned once your in your in.

[Flipballin80]

Flipballin I agree the best program is the one you get into. It's up to the student what he gets out of it. I assume you are a SRNA at Kaiser. How do you like it? How are you're classmates? Like you mentioned once your in your in.

I really do not have any complaints. Class is tough but I knew what I was getting myself into. Most people complain about the driving in Southern California. I've lived here for the past 12 years so I know how the commute can be. It becomes a fact of life living in LA, but I see how it can be hard for people that live elsewhere. I remember going to Nashville a couple years ago and was amazed how everyone drove 55mph on the freeway and there was no traffic! People drive 55mph on sidestreets here!!

We all get along in our class. We are a cohesive group. We all know we are in the same boat together and it is going to take all of us to row it to the finish line. We help each other out with everything.

Ron:beerglass:

[sonhee1]

Helicali,
Can you tell me who you have sent the email to? I have sent it to the director's email address and I haven't heard from him. If you you let me know who to talk to and include the person's email address, I'd be appreciated it.
Thanks!

[marisaniki]

Hi, my name is Marisa, I was wondering what the Kaiser school told u to do to be more competitive? I am applying there only, your stats looked good, congrats on getting into Texas! Guess I want to know what they thought you should have done in addition. Thanks!

[poyita]

I also received the letter for an interview. Does anyone know how many applicants being selected for the interview? I know the school will accept 35 students.
I got the interview with these:
1. 1 year ICU exp. at a large (1,000 bed) prestigious teaching hospital in LA. ,3 years exp. in PICU, 1 yr of Peds, and 1 yrs of M/S.
2. CCRN
3. ACLS, PALS, NRP, BLS, ENPC, Arterial puncture cert., and Chemo cert.
4. Fall and restraint committee and the journal club.
5. Volunteer as a heart touch project and mentoring nursing students at my BSN university.
6. Shadow an anesthesiologist.
7. GPA 3.7

Again, being selected as final candidate doesn't guarantee my place in the program. So please wish me luck!

[skipaway]

I also received the letter for an interview. Does anyone know how many applicants being selected for the interview? I know the school will accept 35 students.
I got the interview with these:
1. 1 year ICU exp. at a large (1,000 bed) prestigious teaching hospital in LA. ,3 years exp. in PICU, 1 yr of Peds, and 1 yrs of M/S.
2. CCRN
3. ACLS, PALS, NRP, BLS, ENPC, Arterial puncture cert., and Chemo cert.
4. Fall and restraint committee and the journal club.
5. Volunteer as a heart touch project and mentoring nursing students at my BSN university.
6. Shadow an anesthesiologist.
7. GPA 3.7

Again, being selected as final candidate doesn't guarantee my place in the program. So please wish me luck!
Time to shadow who you want to be: A CRNA

[poyita]

I'd love to do so. However, both hospitals I work for don't have a single CRNA. I informed the school during counseling session. However, I work closely with SRNA in Respiratory ICU.

[mtcolo]

I also received the letter for an interview. Does anyone know how many applicants being selected for the interview? I know the school will accept 35 students.
I got the interview with these:
1. 1 year ICU exp. at a large (1,000 bed) prestigious teaching hospital in LA. ,3 years exp. in PICU, 1 yr of Peds, and 1 yrs of M/S.
2. CCRN
3. ACLS, PALS, NRP, BLS, ENPC, Arterial puncture cert., and Chemo cert.
4. Fall and restraint committee and the journal club.
5. Volunteer as a heart touch project and mentoring nursing students at my BSN university.
6. Shadow an anesthesiologist.
7. GPA 3.7

Again, being selected as final candidate doesn't guarantee my place in the program. So please wish me luck!

They have already decided that your background makes the cut. You and the other interviewees are all now on a level playing field, Kaiser usually interviews double the number of seats they have in each class. This means your odds have increased to 50:50. Good luck

[poyita]

Thank you! Do you know if they will ask any clinical questions?

[mtcolo]

Thank you! Do you know if they will ask any clinical questions?

No clinical questions

[danielcrna]

Try to shadow a CRNA. So what if there are none at "your hospital". Call a Kaiser facility or other that uses CRNA's. Someone will be glad to let you shadow for a day. Your resume looks great to me, but filling in that last requisite shows you care and are serious. JMO.

[poyita]

Ok. Thanks. I will try to call Kaiser today for shadow CRNA for a day.

[james308]

Does anyone know if all of the interview letters have already been sent?






I also received the letter for an interview. Does anyone know how many applicants being selected for the interview? I know the school will accept 35 students.
I got the interview with these:
1. 1 year ICU exp. at a large (1,000 bed) prestigious teaching hospital in LA. ,3 years exp. in PICU, 1 yr of Peds, and 1 yrs of M/S.
2. CCRN
3. ACLS, PALS, NRP, BLS, ENPC, Arterial puncture cert., and Chemo cert.
4. Fall and restraint committee and the journal club.
5. Volunteer as a heart touch project and mentoring nursing students at my BSN university.
6. Shadow an anesthesiologist.
7. GPA 3.7

Again, being selected as final candidate doesn't guarantee my place in the program. So please wish me luck!

[GMonet]

I don't know for a fact, but the information I have says "late January". So, I feel there's more time. Good Luck!

[poyita]

You can call Sandra to see if all the letters have been sent out. My letter dated on Jan 11th

[igotgas]

I heard late January as well. Good luck!

[Missy121]

Anyone here get in?!

[ROTO]

Has anybody received interview letter for 2013 admissions at CSUF????

[Anesthesia Chris]

Seems like its still a bit early to get letters.

The people on this thread (from 2010) did not get letters until mid-january.

We still have to wait a couple of more weeks?

When the self-addressed envelopes start coming back, then maybe we can start expecting interview letters.


Has anybody received interview letter for 2013 admissions at CSUF????

[KetamineDream]

Has anybody received interview letter for 2013 admissions at CSUF????

Nothing here yet. Still waiting. Have received my self addressed letter back though.

[Anesthesia Chris]

Nothing here yet. Still waiting. Have received my self addressed letter back though.

JakeB, when did you get your self-addressed letter? I have not received mine yet... Did you submit your application early?

[KetamineDream]

I received my letter around the 18th of December. Mailed my application in on the 26th of November so it wasn't super early.

[garnerteen23]

I haven't received my self-addressed letter back yet either. It does seem like the interview letters really do go out after the first week from what I have heard from a friend who was accepted last year.

[KetamineDream]

Received an email for interview today. Holy moly I'm excited.

[Anesthetisttobe]

Congrats! Still waiting.....

[RescueNinja]

The PD is super fantastic, he teaches my pharm class via satellite. You will be in the same room as him, OMG!

Good luck :)

[Anesthesia Chris]

Received an email for interview today. Holy moly I'm excited.

Congrats man!! I'm still waiting on my self-addressed envelope. I guess my application has a pretty bleak outlook.

Care to share your stats?

[going2besrna]

Same here. I am still waiting on my self addressed envelope too. I guess it is not looking too good.

[Anesthetisttobe]

Got the rejection email on Friday. Good luck to all who get an interview.

[eyesonprize]

I got an interview at Kaiser for 2013 admission. Hoping the best... What do your stats look like, for those who are interviewing? Thanks and good luck to everyone