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Interview: A Mom's SRNA Adventure 👩🏻‍🍼

Hey friends,
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Welcome to todays newsletter! In this interview, my classmate, who is a mother, will share her experiences and insights on how she manages the responsibilities of anesthesia school while being a first time mom, she also discusses her application process. Lets dive in!

Hi Claire! Thank you so much for sharing your story and finding time for this interview. To start things off can you share your nursing background prior to entering anesthesia school?
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Of course, I was working in the neonatal ICU for 3 years and when I knew I wanted to go to CRNA school I wanted to get exposed to an adult level of care. At the time I felt like that would’ve made me a well-rounded candidate, so I spent an additional year and a half between working in the Burn ICU and CTICU.
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How was your experience transitioning to an adult level of care?
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​It was great! I got exposed to a lot of resources. I met with the medical doctor of anesthesia (MDA) when I was working in the Burn ICU. I told them I was interested in becoming a CRNA and he encouraged me to shadow him, and I got to witness my first open heart surgery! He also gave me great letters of recommendation.

Can you tell me about the application process you went through?
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​I submitted all my application requirements to my top schools during pregnancy. Me and my husband agreed that it would be best if we had a baby before I started CRNA school. I didn’t feel comfortable of having a baby during school and didn’t want to run the risk of exposing the baby to the anesthesia gases in the OR.

Was there any difficulties you encountered throughout the application phase? ​
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I finally gave birth one week before my first interview. That experience was challenging. After I got discharged from the hospital, I had one week to fully prepare for this interview. However, I was experiencing body aches and back pains after birth. I was under a lot of stress and pressure. This was my first time being a mom too. I had lots of learning to do. I even had to go shopping for interview clothes because I needed new and larger outfits.

I’m sure the feeling of being accepted felt rewarding after going through the pregnancy, I cannot imagine how I would’ve handled things with so much pressure!​

Yes it was very rewarding, I felt very happy. In fact, I also interviewed and got accepted into two other schools a couple weeks after my first interview.

You got accepted into 3 CRNA programs one month after giving birth?!​

Yes that is correct. I interviewed for 3 schools soon after my pregnancy.

That is amazing. I’m happy it all worked out. What kind of support system do you have in place?
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​My husband and my mom take care of the baby while I am in school. It’s going very well. I also will be receiving help from my in laws soon too. They want to see the baby. I am very fortunate to have the help and support. Thankfully balancing school and being a first-time mother is going by smoothly. Together, we make sure to go to all the follow up appointments once every couple months.​
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Are they any resources or tools out there helping you for baby needs?​

Yes, I use baby tracker to track and trend sleep schedules, growth records and overall health.
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​Are there challenges you faced trying to balance anesthesia school and being a mom?​
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When I am at home it varies day to day. We work around the babies schedule. At the moment my sleep schedule is very irregular. Sometimes the baby wakes up at night and me and my husband take turns assisting his needs.
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I do all my school work in the school library and often times I find myself having a little separation anxiety. I scroll through videos of my baby in my phone when I'm actually suppose to be studying.
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​How do you cope with the stresses of juggling through school and being a parent?
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​My relax days comes right after our physics quiz. I attend Club Pilates once a week for training and stretching. Its been helping so far.
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​What is some advice you would give to mothers out there who want to pursue CRNA ?
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​ Have a support system and great communication. I told my husband that for the next 3 years we will have to sacrifice our time together. They have to understand. We both had to be mentally prepared. I will say that I feel very accomplished going through the application process, interviews and getting accepted to the class of 2026 cohort.

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