nurse anesthetist essay

How to Become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)

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If you’re a registered nurse (RN) looking for more autonomy working with patients in an operating room, intensive care unit, or surgical facility, then becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) might be the perfect job for you.

CRNAs are highly respected for their work and, according to U.S. News & World Report, Nurses Anesthetists rank #10 in Best Health Care Job in 2023. They are also the highest-paid nurses of 2023 (the average CRNA salary is $203,090!) Read on to find out how to become a CRNA, what they do, and more.

Part One What is a Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)? 

Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) who administer anesthesia and other medications.

They monitor patients receiving and recovering from anesthesia. CRNAs have acquired a minimum of a doctorate degree focusing on anesthesia, completed extensive clinical training, and passed a certification exam approved by the National Boards of Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA).

CRNAs care for patients from all walks of life. Some patients are scheduled for surgery, while others come in for emergency surgeries related to trauma or other potentially life-threatening events.

CRNA Salary

$203,090 per year

Degree Requirements

DNP or DNAP Degree

How Long to Become

Related: CRNA vs Anesthesiologist: What’s the Difference?

Part Two How to Become a Nurse Anesthetist 

It takes about 7-10 years to become a nurse anesthetist. In order to become a CRNA, you'll need to meet CRNA school requirements , complete an accredited program, and earn your certification. You can complete these requirements using the following steps:

• Shadow a CRNA 
• Earn your Bachelor of Science in Nursing – 4 years
• Gain ICU experience – 1-3 years
• GRE & Certifications 
• Recommendations and Essay
• Interview Prep
• Complete Your CRNA program - 2-3 years
• Take and pass the National Certification Examination for Nurse Anesthetists - Eligible Upon Graduation

Let’s take a closer look at what each step entails, including tips from Dr. Charnelle Lewis, DNP, CRNA. You can see her full explanation of how to become a nurse anesthetist in the video below.

According to Dr. Charnelle Lewis, "Becoming a CRNA is not for everyone." She recommends shadowing as your first step to make sure it’s something you enjoy.

2. Earn your Bachelor of Science in Nursing

You will need your bachelor’s of nursing or related bachelor’s degree as well as an RN license in order to be eligible for a CRNA program.

Most CRNA programs have a minimum GPA requirement of 3.0, and acceptance is becoming increasingly competitive. 

3. Gain ICU Experience

Nurse anesthesia programs prefer candidates who have worked in the intensive critical care unit (ICU) with adult patients. You should have a minimum of 1 year of experience working in an ICU unit, but Dr. Lewis says, "the average incoming class has approximately 2.5 years of ICU experience."

Examples of ICUs you can work in are: CVICU/CTICU, MICU, SICU, BTICU, Neuro ICU, PICU.

Dr. Lewis adds that "some schools accept ER, CCU, and NICU, but it is best to check with the school to be sure."

4. GRE and Certifications

According to Dr. Lewis, there are some schools that don't require the GRE, but you'll need a high GPA in order to be a competitive applicant for those schools. 

The CCRN or critical care certification is generally not listed as a requirement but is preferred and will help give you an edge over other applicants. 

5. Recommendations and Essay

Dr. Lewis says that your recommendations are a crucial step in the application process. She recommends making sure you are "networking, making connections, and staying involved in your unit because you will need people to speak about your abilities and skills."

She also suggests keeping track of your accomplishments and shadow experiences. "Your personal essay is key to showing the admissions committee who you are and why you are right for the program!"

6. Prepare for Your Interview

While you're waiting to find out if you've been accepted, Dr. Lewis recommends using this time to prepare for your interview, "Grab a copy of Duke's Anesthesia Secrets and review your CCRN materials for the clinical portion."

7. Complete Your CRNA Program

Earning your degree will take between two and three years and will provide both high-level classroom work and clinical practice. Most CRNA schools are fully in-person, but a few universities offer hybrid online CRNA programs for increased flexibility. Students in these programs enjoy some online coursework alongside their in-person requirements.

>> Related:  CRNA Schools by State

8.  Pass the National Certification Examination for Nurse Anesthetists

All nurse anesthetists must pass the CRNA exam prior to beginning to practice. The National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nursing Anesthetists (NBCRNA) outlines eligibility, registration processes, exam details, and renewal procedures in its Examination Candidate Handbook .

Once you pass the exam and have become a CRNA, you must maintain certification, which involves recertifying every four years and taking a new test every eight years. 

Recertification requires the completion of 100 units of continuing education in a variety of areas, including pathophysiology and anesthesia technologies.

>> Related: CRNA vs Anesthesiologist: What’s the Difference?

Part Three  What Do CRNAs Do?  

In many states, CRNAs work with complete autonomy. In other team models, they work with anesthesiologists, surgeons, dentists, and other physicians in serving patients who are to receive anesthesia. But what does a nurse anesthetist do on a day-to-day basis?

In this specialty nursing career , you'll usually work in hospital operating rooms (ORs), emergency rooms (ERs), intensive care units (ICUs), cardiac care units (CCUs), or outpatient surgical clinics.

CRNAs work with surgical teams, and most surgical procedures occur from early morning (6 am) to late afternoons/evenings (6-7 pm), Monday through Friday. However, emergency surgery and unplanned cases can occur at any moment, so it is not unusual to see CRNAs working evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays. 

CRNAs have specific duties, which include but are not limited to:

• Assessing patient response to anesthesia
• Identifying possible risks to the anesthetized patient, including allergies and overdose
• Administering precise dosages 
• Educating patients before and after receiving anesthesia 

>> Show Me CRNA Programs

Part Four Nurse Anesthetist Salary

Nurse anesthetist's salaries are some of the highest in the field. Depending on the work setting and state where they are employed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ( BLS ) reports that the median average nurse anesthetist salary is $203,090 as of their most recent survey in 2022.

Highest Paying States for CRNAs

The top 4 states with the highest mean annual average salaries for nurse anesthetists are:

Source: BLS

Nurse Anesthetist Salaries by State

Here's a map of all the United States and the average CRNA salary for each per the BLS. 

CRNA Salary by State

Source  BLS , Date extracted: September 22, 2023

Part Five Where Do CRNAs Work?

CRNAs typically work in healthcare settings that have operating rooms, emergency rooms, and intensive care units.

CRNA Work Environments

• Medical and surgical hospitals
• Critical access hospitals
• Mobile surgery centers
• Outpatient care centers
• Nursing research facilities
• Offices of plastic surgeons, dentists, ophthalmologists, pain management specialists, and other medical professionals
• U.S. military medical facilities

While most CRNAs choose to practice at the bedside, there are also numerous administrative jobs available for Nurse Anesthetists. Individuals can work in a managerial role that includes personnel and resource management, financial management, quality assurance, risk management, department meetings, continuing education, and staff development.

Furthermore, CRNAs may hold positions within state and federal government agencies, including the state boards of nursing, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and for professional testing organizations such as the American Society for Testing and Materials.

Part Six Which Schools Have the Best CRNA Programs?

There are numerous CRNA programs in the US; our panel of nurses ranked them based on reputation, certification pass rate, cost, accreditation, and acceptance rates and determined these are some of the best options out there. See the full list of the  best nurse anesthetist programs !

Top 10 Nurse Anesthetist Programs

1. duke university.

Total Program Cost: $69,736 (based on per-credit tuition rate) Online: No Program Length: 36 months

2. Mayo Clinic College of Health and Sciences

Total Program Cost: $62,610 Online: No Program Length: 42 months

3. Villanova University

Total Program Cost: $94,000 Online: No Program Length: 36 months

4. Virginia Commonwealth University

Total In-State Program Cost: $52,272 Total Out-of-State Program Cost: $94,446  Online: Hybrid Program Length: 36 months

5. Rush University 

Total Program Cost: $103,774 (based on per-credit tuition rate) Online: Hybrid Program Length: 36 months

6. Georgetown University

Total Program Cost: $146,512 Online: No Program Length: 36 months

7. Baylor University

Total Program Cost: $98,686 Online: Hybrid Program Length: 36 months

8. University of Cincinnati

Total In-State Program Cost: $46,242 Total Out-of-State Program Cost: $81,468 Online: Hybrid Program Length: 36 months

9. Northeastern University

Total Program Cost: $124,000 Online: No Program Length: 36 months

10. University of Pittsburgh

Total In-State Program Cost: $82,770 Total Out-of-State Program Cost: $98,844 Online: No Program Length: 36 months

Pitt's DNP in nurse anesthesia program has been considered among the best for decades. The three-year program places RNs in clinicals around the area (including University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospitals, considered some of the top hospitals in the nation. Students begin the program with coursework, then gradually begin clinical practice. Once accepted, students are paired with faculty advisors to figure out how to quickly finish coursework so students can progress to clinical practices without worrying about courses.

Part Seven Nurse Anesthetists Top Tips on Becoming CRNAs

We asked leaders in the nurse anesthesia field for their best advice for nurses who want to become nurse anesthetists.

Joseph A. Rodriguez, MSN, CRNA, President of Arizona Association of Nurse Anesthetists

Second, get used to constant advocacy. CRNAs only exist because we’ve battled, for over 100 years, just for the right to do our job and take care of our patients.

Third, you must properly – and frequently - articulate your practice to others who likely know nothing about your practice. Few people (even surgeons, physicians, and nurses) understand the knowledge, background, and capabilities of CRNAs, and fewer will know that you have a deep understanding of perioperative anesthetic management.

Last, surgery and anesthesia are all about teamwork, not egos - the only measurement that ever matters - is the safety of our patients.

Kris Rohde CRNA, MSN, BSN, President-Elect of the Nebraska Association of Nurse Anesthetists

I also think that a nurse working in critical care will develop skills that are crucial to our profession. Understanding laboratory results, ventilator settings, & EKG interpretation are just the tip of the iceberg for us. A successful CRNA understands all of those things, plus the pathophysiology behind it. Working in an ICU or other critical care areas will also help an RN develop critical thinking skills that are absolutely essential to a CRNA. This is something that is learned over time, not just in a year. I truly believe that applying for school when one is ready, not just after the minimum requirement, is important.

Shawn Seifert, MS, CRNA, President-Elect of the Maryland Association of Nurse Anesthetists

That is, seek opportunities outside of the purely clinical and be involved politically, socially, or even artistically.

These experiences will allow you to evolve into the advanced role of nursing leadership that Nurse Anesthesia demands as well as makes your application for school more impactful and likely to lead to an interview.

Marcia Kluck, MNA, APRN, CRNA, President-Elect of the Minnesota Association of Nurse Anesthetists

Cheryl L. Nimmo, DNP, MSHSA, CRNA, President of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

After becoming an RN, you will need to obtain at least one year of experience working in an intensive care setting. My recommendation: Work for 2-3 years at a minimum before applying for nurse anesthesia school. Absorb advice and information like a sponge and become the best intensive care nurse you can be. 

Find a CRNA and ask if you can shadow him/her in the OR for a day. This will give you a total picture of what the career entails. Also, get your CCRN certification. Obtaining the certification shows that you are able to learn and retain new concepts and shows that you have the motivation to learn while working. 

Also, if you had a science course and your grades were not outstanding, take another science course before applying to show you are capable of the science courses in anesthesia school. This will position you well for the next stage of your career…as a CRNA! Good luck in your future career.

Gus Powell, CRNA, President-Elect of the Idaho Association of Nurse Anesthetists

In addition, it is very important to gain as much clinical exposure as possible while working as an RN and applying to anesthesia programs. I also feel it is helpful to find a CRNA mentor and shadow that person for enough time to really establish if this profession is for you. Becoming a CRNA is very rewarding and challenging. I have never regretted my decision to become a CRNA. Good luck to you!

Maricel Isidro-Reighard, CRNA, MSNA, DNAP, President of the California Association of Nurse Anesthetists

Our peers will have high expectations of us, and we have to know how to deliver. Don’t think that just because you have “CRNA” behind your name, that immediate ‘carte blanche’ is granted to you. It is, in fact just the opposite! We have to prove ourselves every single day! There is no doubt that in your CRNA career, you will need their helping hands and their moral support, and they will give it you almost 100% if they see that you did not shoot way too far into the stratosphere when you became a CRNA.

Christopher Bartels, CRNA, President of the Connecticut Association of Nurse Anesthetists

Part Eight  What is the Career Outlook for CRNAs?  

The job prospects for CRNAs are excellent. Healthcare legislation, increased emphasis on preventative care, an increasing number of insured patients, and an aging patient population have led to more patients seeking medical care. 

The BLS estimates that the projected job growth for CRNAs between 2022 and 2032 will be 38%, much faster than the expected job growth for RNs. As noted above, many rural areas are already using high numbers of CRNAs when they are available, and this is expected to increase significantly. Many organizations are utilizing them in place of anesthesiologists due to availability and costs.

Part Nine  Where Can I Find More Information On CRNA Careers? 

The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists ( AANA ) is an excellent resource for those interested in more information about this career path. AANA offers information about continuing education, advocacy, and upcoming annual meetings.

Additionally, Nurse.org is an invaluable resource for everything you need to know about a career as a CRNA and about CRNA programs. You’ll find the answers to all of your questions in these articles:

• Top 10 CRNA Programs
• CRNA Schools by State 
• Top RN to CRNA Programs
• CRNA Salary Guide

Becoming a Nurse Anesthetist is a lot of work, but with that title comes a rewarding and lucrative career. If your goal is to take your RN career to the next level, look into becoming a CRNA.

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How to Get Into CRNA School: Nurse Anesthetist Degree Requirements and Timeline

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• How to Become
• What to Expect
• Requirements

Are you ready to earn your online nursing degree?

If you want to get into CRNA school, it’s important to be meticulous about your application. This guide discusses how to get into CRNA school and how to become a nurse anesthetist.

We’ll dive into what to expect from your program, the courses you’ll take, the skills you’ll learn, and the granular details of the application process.

How Can I Become a Nurse Anesthetist?

Becoming a CRNA is a lengthy process that rewards persistence, dedication, ambition, and time management. If you want to become a CRNA, you must understand how clinical experience will strengthen your application.

After completing your CRNA DNP program, you will earn your license by passing the National Certification Exam (NCE) for nurse anesthetists, and submit a license application to the state where you reside. Each state’s requirements may be slightly different, and you can get that information from your state’s board of nursing. Once licensed, you will enter a job market where the average annual salary for nurse anesthetists is $203,090. With the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projecting 38% job growth for nurse anesthetists through 2028, there is great opportunity to create a highly rewarding and well-paying career.

Popular DNP Programs

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

What Should I Expect from a Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Program?

7-8.5 years How Long to Become

According to the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA), becoming a CRNA involves 7 – 8.5 years of education, 25-51 months of which is within the CRNA program itself.

Most programs require an absolute minimum of one year of ICU experience, but some nurses may wait until they have much more experience in order to be more competitive in the application process.

Accredited nurse anesthetist programs need at least 2000 hours of clinicals. However, many programs elect to require more. AANA states that the average number of clinical hours accumulated by CRNA program graduates is 9,369. In 2025, all graduating CRNAs will be required to have a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) — therefore, since 2022, all students entering CRNA programs are on a DNP track. CRNA program curricula include classroom hours, simulation lab, and clinical practicum hours. Program coursework generally includes anesthesiology, pain management, leadership, advanced pharmacology, healthcare policy, advanced physiology and pathophysiology, and numerous hands-on simulation/practicum hours.

Typically Required Courses

• Advanced pharmacology
• Advanced physiology and pathophysiology
• Pain management
• Anesthesiology

Key Skills You’ll Learn

• Anesthesia induction
• Patient assessment before, during, and post-anesthesia
• Titration of anesthesia during surgery
• Administering precisely calculated amounts of anesthetic medications

What are the Requirements to Get into Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) School?

Students applying to a CRNA program will encounter varying requirements depending on the school. These may include:

• Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing ( BSN )
• Active unrestricted RN license
• At least 2-3 years of critical care experience
• GPA of at least 3.0 and a GRE score of at least 300 (if required)
• Prerequisite coursework
• Current BLS, ACLS, and PALS, and CCRN certifications
• Shadow a CRNA for at least 8-40 hours
• Letters of recommendation
• Admissions essay and interview (if invited)
• Current resume or curriculum vitae (CV)

1 | Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN)

To apply for a CRNA program, you need a BSN . Since CRNA programs are highly competitive and academically rigorous, most schools require a minimum GPA of 3.0.

How to Stand Out: A high GPA demonstrates strong academic skills. A student can also get involved in student-based leadership activities, be inducted into Sigma Theta Tau or other nursing honor societies, and otherwise try to excel in classrooms and clinicals. Volunteer hours and community activities related to healthcare also strengthen your application. Everything in this step could and should be on your CV, which may be part of your required application materials depending on the program you apply to.

2 | Active Unrestricted RN License

If you’re a nurse practitioner, an unencumbered RN license is a crucial part of how to get into CRNA school. An unrestricted RN license is a registered nursing license free of limitations, restrictions, or disciplinary actions.

A CRNA program would not choose a student whose licensing record demonstrates substance use, disciplinary issues, or other infractions that have impacted the nurse’s ability to practice safely. It is always in the best interest of every nurse to maintain a clean and infraction-free license at all times.

3 | At Least One Year of Independent Critical Care Experience

Critical care experience provides CRNA applicants with crucial exposure to the care of critically ill patients. While most schools require one year of critical care experience, some may require more. Since a nurse’s first six months in critical care are focused on orientation and learning, it will actually take at least 18 months to achieve one year of independent experience caring for critical care patients. According to Nurse Journal’s interview with CRNA instructor and expert Nancy A. Moriber, Ph.D., CRNA, APRN, FAANA, nurses can improve their chances of admission by accumulating at least 2-3 years of focused critical care experience.

Dr. Moriber states, “Some programs will be more inclined to take nurses that come out of the CTICU (the cardiothoracic intensive care unit) or the surgical intensive care unit, while other programs don’t necessarily negate something like neonatal intensive care or pediatric intensive care experience.”

How to Stand Out: Moriber advises that being able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of hemodynamics, invasive monitoring, arterial lines, pulmonary artery catheters, balloon pumps, LVADs, and other critical care technologies is essential for success as a CRNA program applicant. She stresses that it’s not as much the type of unit as the skills and knowledge that the applicant has accumulated while caring for patients.

“It’s not necessarily the unit you’re in, it’s the level of acuity of the patient. How sick are the patients? What are you getting to see?”

–Nancy A. Moriber PhD, CRNA, APRN, FAANA

4 | GPA of at least 3.0 and GRE Score of at least 300 (if required)

Since CRNA programs are highly competitive and academically rigorous, most schools require a minimum GPA of 3.0, although striving for a higher GPA could boost your application further. Not all programs require applicants to take the GRE. Schools that do require it ask that applicants earn a combined score of at least 300. Students may sit for the GRE exam up to five times per year, with 21 days between any two attempts.

How to Stand Out: Achieving the highest possible academic success involves intense focus and discipline. Being a member of a study group can be helpful, as well as studying in a manner that fits with your personal learning style. GRE prep courses and tutors or coaches can assist in preparing you for this high-stakes exam.

5 | Prerequisite Coursework

Successful completion of prerequisite coursework is central to most CRNA program applications. In terms of how current those courses should be, make sure you took them within the past 2-7 years prior to applying.

Individual programs’ requirements will vary. Depending on each program, prerequisite coursework may include:

• Anatomy and physiology
• Human growth and development
• Microbiology
• Abnormal psychology
• Chemistry and/or organic chemistry

How to Stand Out: Achieving the highest grades possible will strengthen a candidate’s GPA, and having taken a few core graduate-level courses such as statistics or chemistry may be impressive in terms of standing out from other candidates.

6 | Current BLS, ACLS, PALS, and CCRN certifications

Most CRNA programs will require applicants to have certifications in BLS and ACLS prior to the first day of classes, and some may also require PALS. These certifications must remain current throughout the duration of the program.

How to Stand Out: Not all programs will require all of these certifications, including PALS and CCRN. One way to stand out from other candidates and demonstrate your commitment to critical care nursing, evidence-based practice, and becoming an expert in the field is to obtain CCRN certification from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) and PALS from the American Heart Association .

“There are other certifications out there that students can achieve, and I recommend that you get certified in whatever you can get certified in.”

7 | Shadow a CRNA for at Least Eight Hours to 40 Hours

Shadowing a CRNA demonstrates you’re serious enough about anesthesia nursing and taking the time to discover as much about the CRNA role as possible. Shadowing at a prestigious academic institution may also be helpful.

Dr. Moriber recommends shadowing at different times of day in order to experience as much variety as possible. There are many aspects of the life of a CRNA that are challenging, and it’s important for the candidate to have a realistic view of the position. She states, “A good mentor is going to tell you all the amazing things about being a CRNA, and they’re also going to tell you some of the things that present challenges in our profession.”

How to Stand Out: Spending more time than required shadowing a CRNA — or shadowing a CRNA even when it’s not required — are both strategies that may strengthen your application, as well as the ability to articulate knowledge of the role in a personal essay or during a CRNA program interview.

“If you find a mentor that doesn’t provide a balanced picture of the profession, I would find a new mentor, because they’re being unrealistic. They’re not telling you everything you need to know.”

8 | Letters of Recommendation

Similarly to professional references provided on a job application, letters of recommendation show how an applicant is viewed by current or former colleagues, managers, professors, supervisors, mentors, or employers.

These letters should give clear insight into the applicant’s impact in the healthcare and nursing space and how others perceive the applicant as a professional.. Most programs require a letter of recommendation from your current nurse manager, but wise CRNA program applicants are very strategic in terms of whom they ask to write their other letters of recommendation.

“When you enter into the ICU setting, you need to set a timeline, and your nurse manager needs to understand what your future goals are so that they become part of the process.”

9 | Admissions Essay and Interview (if invited)

A personal essay puts your writing skills to the test. It’s a chance to demonstrate your motivations, goals, history, and personality. It’s a chance to show you can communicate in a clear, concise, authentic, and professional style.

The essay should describe personal and professional characteristics that paint a picture of success as both a clinician and student. A carefully chosen and well-written story or anecdote can strengthen the essay’s impact.

A CRNA program interview gives administrators and instructors a chance to assess applicants in person or over video. Most interviewers will assess your body language, eye contact, hygiene and dress, responses to questions, and personality. A CRNA program interview is high stakes, and worthy of a great deal of preparation and practice.

How to Stand Out: Ways to make a strong impression during an interview include professional dress and demeanor, open body language and eye contact, and engaging, thoughtful, and genuine responses to questions. The personal essay and interview should tell an overall story of your goals, motivations, and strengths. Color it with stories or anecdotes that demonstrate clinical knowledge, commitment, and excellent skills in patient care, communication, leadership, and multidisciplinary collaboration.

“So you have to think about what you want to say, but you want to come to an interview really being genuine, be yourself.”

10 | Current Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)

A nursing resume provides a clear picture of your nursing career history, including education, employment, publications, professional affiliations, and areas of specific skill and knowledge. It also provides a window into how you represent yourself, and your skill in describing our career history in a concise, coherent, and compelling way.

How to Stand Out: Consider seeking professional assistance in making a well-written and well-designed resume , or research on your own how to craft a high-quality resume or CV . Sources of assistance include blogs, books, articles, videos, podcasts, and free and paid resume/CV templates.

How Will I Pay for My Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Program?

$60,502 per year Average Cost of a DNP Program

Source: NCES, 2020

CRNA school can be costly. Yes, you can likely expect a relatively high salary once the CRNA program is completed, but having a plan to finance your nurse anesthetist education is prudent.

You can find financial aid , student loans, and scholarships from a variety of sources. Grants and scholarships are financial awards for education that do not need to be repaid.

Scholarships may be sponsored by governmental and non-governmental agencies, nonprofits, and other groups, including private entities and civic organizations. Student loans, on the other hand, must be repaid, whether they are private or through a government program.

The National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program (NHSC SP) awards scholarships that you can repay by working for a certain amount of time in health professional shortage areas (HPSAs).

Frequently Asked Questions about Getting into CRNA School

How do i get into crna school on the first try.

To get into CRNA school on the first try, many factors contribute to increasing the odds: An outstanding resume, personal essay, and letters of recommendation are all very important, as well as achieving the highest possible GPA and GRE scores. You should also shadow a CRNA and practice your program interview.

The candidate who wants to get into CRNA school on the first try must also be fully prepared to perform superlatively during their admissions interview and have significant time documented shadowing a CRNA.

Is it hard getting into CRNA school?

Getting into CRNA school can be hard because it is a competitive area of nursing. Applications to CRNA school require many clinical, professional, and academic components that contribute to a candidate’s potential to be accepted into a CRNA program.

Is it harder to become a CRNA or NP?

The difficulty of becoming a CRNA or an NP depends on the individual who is applying. Since 2022, all CRNA students must pursue a DNP in order to complete a CRNA program, whereas not all NPs are required to have a doctoral degree, although this will change by 2025. CRNA training also involves deeper and more intensive advanced pathophysiology and pharmacology, and the responsibilities assumed by CRNAs may appear more clinically challenging in some instances.

Is CRNA school harder than nursing school?

CRNA school will likely be seen by most people as harder than nursing school due to many factors, including the number of years needed to complete the program. The advanced nature of the required coursework (e.g., advanced pathophysiology) also makes CRNA school a significant academic and clinical challenge that builds upon previously attained experience and knowledge.

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Page last reviewed on October 12, 2023

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CRNA Personal Statement Examples

Updated: Feb 20

Born and raised in Manila, the Philippines, I am a young man and a nurse who is three-quarters Filipino and one-quarter Chinese. One of four siblings, I grew up in a tiny, humble home in one of the most impoverished slums in Manila , far from the city lights. We were happy even though fifteen people shared our house throughout my childhood. Despite losing my mother to America, I was blissfully unaware of any disadvantage of my social class. One day when I was six, I woke up to find my mother and all her things gone. A decade would pass before we would be reunited in Pasadena, California.

I came to the US when I was sixteen, a first-generation immigrant. I take immense pride in our celebration of diversity here in South Central California. I am honored to be building a career in nurse anesthesia with a particular concentration on emergency care. The underserved often have no medical care until they have an emergency; this is why I take special pride in my goal of becoming a CRNA dedicated to a lifetime of service on the front lines of care for our enormous population of undocumented residents. I recently finished my BSN at XXXU in May 2013. I treasure the opportunity to give my all to my studies when I am not on duty. I ask to be accepted to your program so I may return to doing what I most enjoy, studying to become the most effective nurse possible.

As with most Filipinos, I am amazingly comfortable communicating in English. I do hope, however, that my fluency in Tagalog, both writing and speaking, will be helpful in my nursing career. I want to study at XXXU’s XXXX Campus for many reasons, not the least because I live and work there . I also appreciate that your program is new, and if I am accepted, I will be part of the third graduating class. I feel profound admiration for your curriculum's breadth and depth, and I particularly appreciate your emphasis on the importance of diversity in our nursing community.

Committed to lifelong learning, I keenly look forward to an extensive engagement with research in nursing anesthesia that I will most enjoy for many decades. I want to participate in research concerning better ways of applying anesthesia with fewer side effects and greater overall efficiency in all aspects of my field. My desire to become the finest CRNA possible is something that has been building up for several years, mainly because of several vital role models that I have had along the way, such as Dr. XXXX, an anesthesiologist, and XXXX, a CRNA, working alongside both during my military service was a special privilege.

I have extensive experience as a respiratory therapist using various ventilators and their modes. I also see my profound dedication to emergency nursing as one of the most vital aspects of my application to your distinguished program. In my current position, I deal with cardiac arrest and resuscitation daily; this has helped me learn to work well under stress.

Your program at XXXU is the ideal location for my complete immersion in clinical anesthesia.  I especially admire the structure of the second phase of your program and the organization of your c linical practicums . I particularly look forward to working under the supervision of CRNAs in my practicum and clinical rotations. I appreciate that those rotations are available throughout California so that I can gain exposure to anesthesia delivery in various contexts, from large academic institutions to rural and outpatient settings. I have served as a respiratory therapist since 2002, and I have also served as an anesthesia technician, working side-by-side with anesthesia providers, including CRNAs and anesthesiologists. Most of my duties were related to anesthesia delivery throughout the four years I was stationed at Naval Hospital XXXX . For me, this was the ultimate shadowing experience.

California needs exceptionally well-trained CRNAs, especially concerning emergency services — particularly here in the Central Valley, and I seek to respond to that need. I live and work here and want to continue attending school here and practicing here after completing your distinguished program. I hope at some point to teach as well as practice Nurse Anesthesia. Your DNP program in Nurse Anesthesia will serve as an ideal platform for continuing my education at some point.

While my overall GPA for my BSN program was only 3.5, for my last three semesters, I earned a GPA of 3.9. This demonstrates how my elevated level of motivation has been increasing. I believe that I could excel in your rigorous program.

Thank you for considering my application.

This applicant is multicultural and multilingual. But he does not mention his language skills. He speaks only Tagalog (spoken in the Philippines) and English. While he is part Chinese, he does not speak Mandarin Chinese. Mandarin, and to a lesser extent Cantonese, are important for helping the underserved. If an applicant speaks a Chinese language, this should be put in the statement because of its relevance for helping the underserved. The hospital is aware of the languages that are spoken by its nurses, those who are multilingual are on call to serve as translators between patients and medical professionals. So, the languages that one can communicate in are especially important in nurse anesthesia.

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Episode 56: Writing A Good Personal Statement For CRNA School

• March 16, 2022
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Even before an interview, a good CRNA school personal statement can already reveal much about you. Though the essay that you write for each school may seem like just a small part of the application process, it still plays a significant role in making yourself stand out as an applicant!

Whether you are an adept writer or a beginner at writing, today you’ll learn how to let yourself shine through!

In this episode, you’ll learn more about –

• Why programs ask you to write a personal statement and how it can greatly affect your acceptance into CRNA school
• Some important tips and tools you can use on how to efficiently write and improve your essay
• How you can make your CRNA school personal statement stand out from the rest of the applicants
• Why having English as a second language or not being a very good writer should NOT be a deterrent to creating a well-crafted personal statement
• Knowing why proofreading is very crucial before submitting
• Avoiding common mistakes
• The benefits of utilizing the academy forum for you and other students

We believe you can succeed as a CRNA, and we are dedicated to giving you the best support you need. Cheers to your success, future CRNA! We’re rooting for you!

Get access to planning tools, valuable CRNA Faculty guidance & mapped out courses that have been proven to accelerate your CRNA success! Become a member of CRNA School Prep Academy here:

https://www.crnaschoolprepacademy.com/join

Book a mock interview, resume edit or personal statement critique:

www.NursesTeachNurses.com

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Send Jenny an email or make a podcast request!

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Watch the episode here

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Writing a good crna school personal statement.

In this episode, we’re going to get into how to write a good personal statement for CRNA school. First, why do they have you write a personal statement? What’s the purpose behind writing a CRNA school personal statement? As you may know, your interview is only one piece of the puzzle. Sometimes it’s only 10 minutes long, maybe 15 or 20 minutes.

Some schools, I’ve heard of 30 minutes, 45 minutes, but the vast majority of schools only spend a short period of time interviewing you. They use your personal statement as another way to gauge your personality as well as your writing style. Your personal statement is for them to assess who you are as a person, get to know you, and assess your goals, educational background, work ethic, and writing style.

Remember, you’re entering into a Doctoral degree. There’s going to be a lot of graduate-level writing involved in getting your Doctoral degree. They want to assess your writing skills and word choices, whether it’s unprofessional or if you’re more of a conversational writer, which is the problem I have when I write. I write like I’m talking to you in person versus writing. Be aware of where you may lack and address these areas before starting your statement.

We’ll get into how you can do this and some resources for you to utilize to make sure that you’re looking over your writing prior to submitting that personal statement. Some of the things to point out, as far as looking at your writing style, they will think, “Is this student going to need a lot of guidance and help to get them up to speed, to be able to succeed at writing this paper?”

Let’s say they have two candidates who are relatively about the same interviewed and scored about the same. While one of them has a good personal statement, the other one is mediocre. They may lean on the student who had a better personal statement, knowing they’re going to need less help and less guidance to do all the Doctoral writing involved in the program. I’m not trying to discourage you if writing is not your strong suit.

Know that you need to make sure you make your CRNA school personal statement strong. When you’re in school, you’re going to have to rely on additional resources to make sure you’re getting extra help in proofreading where you need it. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it. It means that you’re going to need some extra help, and you need to identify that prior to submitting your personal statement.

To also point out, we’ve had students whose English is their second language. They’ve needed 3, 4, or 5 edits on their personal statement, and they still get into school. May they require some additional help during all their writing? Yes, but now they know they can get assistance. They can get someone to proofread their papers for them and help them where it’s necessary.

I don’t want to make you feel like this is not possible if English is not your strong suit. You can do this. You just have to be aware of the possible help you’re going to need along the way to accomplish the goal. That’s been addressed. Let’s get into the structure and some red flags that I want to point out. Students sometimes make themselves sound like they’re good writers.

Sometimes what they do is inflate their verbiage, meaning they use these big vocabulary words. They think that the more big words they use, it will make them sound smarter. The problem is if you don’t truly understand the word, not only is it going to become difficult to read quickly, but let me also remind you that these programs are getting 150 to 200 applicants or more sometimes.

They have a lot of essays to read. If it’s difficult to read, you’re automatically going to trigger something in their brains and say, “I need to be able to read this efficiently and quickly. They’re using many fancy words that I have to slow down and ask myself, ‘What do they mean by that?'” The reason why I want to bring that up is so that you will be aware of the word choices you’re using and use language that aids in your descriptions, but will also be cognizant of the flow of that and how difficult it is for someone to read quickly and get the gist of what you’re trying to say.

Richard Wilson, who does guided Q&As inside the academy, pointed out that sometimes it’s not about the word. The word definition matches, but it might be used out of context a little bit. You may have to be aware that even if the word definition fits what you’re trying to describe, maybe it’s not used in the best context or the best flow for the sentence.

I also want to point out that you need to proofread. It looks sloppy if you make pretty basic grammar errors in your essay. It shows them that you didn’t take the time to do your due diligence essentially to proofread the paper prior to submitting it. If that means getting help to do that, or reading it over when your eyes are not fatigued.

Sometimes I read something and put letters where they should go, which is my brain, but I didn’t write that down. Especially when I’m fatigued, I tend to do that more frequently. I miss little, tiny errors that I’ve made. If you haven’t used something called Grammarly, I highly recommend you do that, but that isn’t everything. There is a free version of it. While it’s amazing unless you pay for it, you can only get so much out of it. It shouldn’t replace a good proofread, but it’s a good place to start.

You can install it on Google Chrome. Make sure you’re doing that for your first proofread, for example. Also, I’ve noticed when you take documents and put it into a Word doc, Google doc, or whatnot, it will do some proofreading for you, but it can flip words that you may not even catch because maybe your spelling was off a little bit and it will pick a word that’s similar, but maybe it’s so similar that you didn’t catch it.

You have to be careful about that too. You think you’re correcting a misspelling, but in reality, you’re completely changing the word altogether. Maybe your brain doesn’t recognize that right away because it’s similar to the word that you wanted to say. You have to be careful. Don’t rely on spell-check and Grammarly to do everything for you.

Making Mistakes

You still need to put second eyes on that paper, walk away, and come back. Yes, you need to proofread. I want to take this moment to also share with you guys a story from one of our students because another thing that can happen too is when you’re writing multiple personal statements, sometimes you may make a mistake and leave in the wrong school name for example.

Maybe you express how you’d be a good candidate for school X, and you submit that personal statement for school Y. Even though it was relatively the same prompt, and you updated the prompt to match, you left in the wrong school name. That happens probably more often than I would even realize it happens. It’s easy to do.

Let me share with you this because this is from one of our students. I thought it was a great takeaway, “Jenny and CSPA family, I want to take time out to thank everybody who was a part of this community. This is my testimony to the effectiveness of the program. Back in June of 2021, Richard helped me write a concise and thoughtful letter of intent. This letter, along with my decent stats, got me interviews at 2 out of 3 schools. I used the content in the CSPA library and the resources on the site to prepare for my interviews.

I was offered a seat on the spot during my first interview. The second program also offered me a seat two weeks after my interview. I want to pause here and mention the importance of being honest, prepared, and not letting your mistakes define you. I sent my letter of intent with another school name on it to the program that offered me a seat on the spot.

Many people told me to forget about ever getting into that program. Instead of giving up, I wrote a letter to the director of the program, explaining my mistake and showing her that I take responsibility for my actions. In the interview, she later told me that my honesty and willingness to take responsibility for my actions without making excuses is why she wants me in her program.

“I owe my acceptance to this community. During my second interview, I was able to interpret graphs that I saw in one of Richard’s presentations. The interviewer told me I was the only one who was able to correctly interpret the data out of so many applicants. Thank you, Jenny, Richard, and everyone in this community. I look forward to using CSPA resources and crushing CRNA school.”

First, I love everything about it. The takeaway from this for you is the fact that this student had to own his mistake. He did this. He put the wrong school on his personal statement and sent it. He still got offered a spot during this interview, which is amazing. There are a couple of takeaways from this. One, he owned his mistake. There are probably plenty of students who make this mistake, who are fearful.

Plenty of people told him to walk away, to give up on that school. It’s not going to happen. He made a mistake, and he’s got to live with it. Instead, he was like, “I don’t want to end that way. I have to at least let them know that I’m aware that I made a mistake.” That’s what these schools want. They want a student who has a voice to say, “I messed up. I’m sorry.”

That’s important as far as your attitude. That’s what they’re looking for in a candidate. It’s not all about your ICU background, 4.0 GPA, etc. They want to see that personality characteristic that you’re going to take ownership of when you make mistakes. I also love the fact that he was well prepared for his interviews, and that is also clearly displayed in his interview skills.

Not only did he fess up and take ownership for his mistake, but he adequately prepared for his interview. I want to share that with you because I thought it was touching. If I’m speaking to you, mistakes happen. I also had shared a story of mine that originally, when I reached out to one of my programs I applied to, I was trying to see how it could stand out as an applicant, trying to see how it could be more competitive.

I interviewed the program director and addressed him informally, meaning that instead of saying, “Dear Mr. So-and-so,” I said, “Dear Charles.” That set him off. He was upset, “How dare you address me so informally?” He asked me to write a letter about how rude Generation X was or Generation Y, whatever you want to call me these days.

I had to do some research on Millennials and Generation X and write him this long explanation as far as how I am working towards being more respectful. I did that. It was a five-page paper. It ended up working in my favor because he was impressed with my writing and enjoyed the fact that I took the time to be that thorough in my research. It worked out, and I got into the program.

That was about a year’s time, and then I applied a year later. I’ll be honest with you. During the interview, it never got brought up. It wasn’t like I was going to point it out, but at the same token, I was like, “If they ask about it, I’m going to own it and talk to them about it because I clearly fessed up and wrote the paper. I apologized. We ended up being on good terms via email after that experience.”

It was one of those things where you can’t hold it inside and hope that no one notices. If you make a mistake, whether that’s in your essay, reaching out, or clinical, you have to speak up. That is the only way you can address it, learn from it, and move on. Don’t let that scare you. I also want to be careful and check to make sure. If it does happen to you, there’s still light at the end of the tunnel.

Future CRNA- here’s a quick tip for your CRNA interview. If you apply, assume you will get asked to interview. Do not wait until you get that phone call or email to start preparing. Remember, these panels have interviewed hundreds of students over the years and can easily tell the difference between a candidate who is well-prepared and a candidate who is not. Preparation is not about memorization. It’s about understanding. Understanding challenging concepts take time. It takes you building connections to existing knowledge.

CRNA School Prep Academy helps you build on existing ICU knowledge so that you are well-prepared for your interview. We offer mock group interview coaching with CSPA expert contributor in program faculty, Richard Wilson. These sessions take place every other month. Plan ahead and don’t miss out. What are you waiting for? Get started and challenge yourself and your knowledge, so when you get that phone call, you will be excited and eager to show up and knock that interview out of the park. Learn more about CRNA School Prep Academy at CRNASchoolPrepAcademy.com/join . Cheers to your future.

Assessment Process

Let’s get into how they assess your personality and how you interact with others. Essentially, whatever you place in this essay is going to be considered important by you. You wouldn’t put it there if you didn’t find it important. It’s important to include information about you, as well as your accomplishments. You want to highlight things that you have done, awards that you have won, committees you have been a part of, and any research you have done so they can get a taste.

Think about it. Don’t just regurgitate your resume. Some students make this mistake where they get listy in their CRNA school personal statements. It becomes like a new fancy resume. You got to be careful that you don’t do that, but if you did something special that maybe you want to highlight from your resume, then for sure talk about it, but know that you don’t need to put everything from your resume there. Anything that’s unique or stands out, mention it.

There are so many times where I had a candidate or students who got in, who maybe didn’t the first time they applied. I look at their resume, and I can’t gather the information I can get when talking to them. I’m like, “You’ve done all this amazing stuff, but your resume doesn’t even highlight that. I don’t even understand what this award is or what it means, but now you explain this to me. I wish I would’ve known that.”

It’s the same thing with your resume. You need to be going into enough detail to where they know why, what the award means, and what these certifications are. Use your essay to highlight that as well. There are a lot of things that people may assume that someone’s going to understand or know, but don’t ever assume that someone’s going to know. You have to explain and highlight what you’ve accomplished.

You want to go into the fact that you’ve been on this path for a while and why you want to do it. Let’s give you guys some examples of prompts. A prompt could be, “Share with me in a 500-word or less essay your short-term and long-term professional goals.” They could say, “Describe your personal strengths and weaknesses that you see to be important in completing this educational program.”

Maybe they don’t give you a page length. Maybe they just give you that prompt, but do you want to write a five-page paper? Ideally, most programs are going to give you a length. Maybe it’s two pages, but you want to still make sure, even if you have all this stuff to share, that you’re being succinct, concise, brief, and to the point. Allow a lot of the details to happen when they interview if they want to ask you questions about your personal statement.

I also want to get into this: what if you have something that you feel is a shortcoming and how to address it. I’ve had a lot of students also tell me they’ve had a lot of success by being upfront. I call it addressing the elephant in the room by addressing a shortcoming. The reason why that can be so powerful is because they’re looking at your resume, and they’re already going to be asking the question. They were such a bad student in the beginning, and now, they’ve gotten one A in stats, but how do I know they’re a serious student now? Address it briefly in your essay, and then allow them to ask you more questions in the interview and even bring it up.

“I know you probably saw this in my resume. I know I tried to describe it briefly in my statement.” Address it. They may even ask you, “Tell me why you think you’re a good student now when historically, you haven’t been.” Be ready to answer those hard questions because a lot of people have had traumatic things happen to them.

There are tons of stories that you can tell them, but you have to focus less on how you’re moving forward from it and what you have done to grow from it. Richard has said this before, too. It depends on what mood he’s in. When he reads an essay, he could get an essay that goes into all these details, and it could seem like they’re giving excuses as to why X, Y, and Z happened versus a brief, concise X, Y, and Z and now this.

He or she is admitting to this flaw, and this is what they’ve done to overcome that, versus tons of details of X, Y, and Z that this caused this and this caused that. Make sure you’re not taking up your entire personal statement by addressing one issue because you might miss out on other things you could highlight about yourself and not just focus on the negative. Keep in mind that you’re getting this shot to give the interview panel an overall picture of you. If you have a shortcoming, that’s just one part of who you are. That’s not everything. They’re understanding. They know a lot of students maybe didn’t have a clear focus early on in this career path and didn’t think they would go back to grad school.

That’s a common thing that people hear about pursuing CRNA, “I thought Nursing was it for me. I didn’t plan on going back to school. I was okay with Cs.” That happened. You didn’t have direction and a passion for CRNA, but once you discovered it, now you have found your passion and direction. Now you’re being able to persevere through overcoming what you did when you were younger and didn’t have as much direction on your career path by taking graduate courses, joining committee works, doing research, working at a great ICU, and explaining what you have done to make yourself a candidate that they will want in their program. That’s what I mean.

Give them a little taste of some of your shortcomings without going into so much detail that you’re taking over your entire paper because you want to make sure you’re still highlighting the good things too. You don’t want the whole paper to be about things that are more negative. Keep that in mind when you’re highlighting your shortcomings and focus on where you’re going with it versus what has already happened. That’s my biggest piece of advice.

Editing Your CRNA School Personal Statement

I want to make sure that I touch on this too. You guys are giving yourself enough time to edit your paper and think about what you want to write. Sometimes it takes a while, and it requires you to take a break and come back to it to gather your thoughts. Think about it. You write a paper and like, “I go back and tweak it 4 or 5 more times.” Maybe you even let some time pass, like a few days or so, and come back again. The thing is, what you do every time you do that is you stop and gather some insights around what you want to express and tell them.

Within 3 or 4 days, new insights come to you. They’re like, “I should mention that. The reason behind that clicks. Now I can see how I can fit into their program based on their mission statement. I know what my professional goals look like that are also in line with the school’s mission.” You should know the mission statement. Start it with that.

When you’re looking at how to start writing your personal statement, you should know your school and what they pride themselves on, what’s in their mission statement, and what’s important to them. You can also do this by going to their program, open houses, asking questions, and talking to students. Do your due diligence and research your school to make sure you’re personalizing your personal statement to that program, which is also why you have to tailor it even if you’re applying to 3 or 4 different schools.

Even if it’s the same prompt, you still have to tailor your essay to that school. I’m not saying you have to write a completely new essay, but make sure you’re answering the prompt. Let’s say you wrote a good personal statement for your number one choice school, and then you’re applying to two other schools as a backup. Maybe that’s what you’re doing.

Maybe your two other schools have different prompts where you’re like, “This essay is good. I know I made it great for this school. I’m sure it’s going to be fine for that school.” You submit it. They get it, and they’re like, “It’s a good essay, but you didn’t follow directions. You didn’t answer my prompt.” Immediately, they’re disqualifying you for not following directions. Don’t do that to yourself.

Take the time to tailor it to what the school’s asking. Why even bother applying if they’re going to discredit you from the beginning for not following directions? You may be a good writer, and you may have a lot of good things to say, but because you think what you did is good enough for them, it may not be. They’re still going to want you to follow directions.

It says to them like, “You don’t care enough to rewrite and answer what we’re asking you to write.” They’re going to not feel like they’re your top choice school if that’s the way you’re treating it. If it is a school that you want to potentially get into, if you don’t get into your top school, you have to treat it like the school you want to get into, which means you’ve got to give it your all-out effort.

Keep that in mind. I know it’s more work, but you need to plan ahead. Do not write your CRNA school personal statement the week your application is due. I know I’ve preached this before, but a lot of schools give preference to students who submit their applications early. You should probably be starting your admission statement at least 3 to 4 months out at a minimum, especially if you have more than one to do, because you could take a couple of months to tailor that essay and get feedback inside the academy. We have essay critiques that you can book one-on-one where they’ll review and edit 1 or 2 essays. Take advantage of these resources.

We have students whose English is their second language. They struggle with writing, and they’ve utilized our essay critiques in the academy 3, 4, or 5 times, have an awesome essay, and have gained acceptance. They’re still going to have to make sure that in school, when they are doing all their writing, they seek out resources if they’re struggling writing their papers, but the thought process behind what you want to say is there. It’s a matter of critiquing it to get it to read nicely. You have it within you to write.

Sometimes it takes some extra effort and tweaking to make sure you’re conveying what you want to say to the reader. Another great resource that’s free that I always recommend students to utilize, and I also know program directors frequently tell their students to do this course prior to starting the program, is a free writing course. It’s through Coursera.

If you google Writing in the Sciences and then Stanford, because it’s through a professor from Stanford, you will find it. I believe the platform they use is Coursera.org . It’s called Writing in the Sciences. Check it out. Whether you’ve already gained acceptance or still trying to prepare for your personal statement, it’s a great place to start because it goes over some basic writing style tips for you to take with you. Do that and utilize an essay critique in the academy.

Live Edits For CRNA School Personal Statements

If it’s something you’re worried about, make sure you’re having multiple eyeballs to take a look at your paper, whether that’s your dad, sister, friend, peer, or coworker, getting an essay critique inside the academy. Make sure you’re doing all those things to give yourself the best chance.

One cool thing we did inside the academy is we did a live essay edit.

We had a student of ours submit an essay for a live critique and Richard Wilson, who is our expert contributor and an Assistant Program Director, critiqued the essay live. You could watch what he’s thinking through reading the essay, what was good, what was bad, and what he corrected, and then allow you to ask questions around it. Those types of experiences are only going to help you when you go to write your own essay.

Don’t be afraid to swap with your peers. What’s great about swapping with your peers is you will get ideas from their writing. Utilizing the academy and the forum to swap your essay, even if you’re like, “I don’t want to have to offer feedback for their essay,” do it because you’re going to gather ideas for your own essay. Believe me. You will find something for them that they didn’t see. Maybe you can give them some advice they didn’t recognize. Don’t think what you have to offer is not valuable. You do have something valuable to offer. Even if you think you’re not a good writer, read it for context and clarity. You don’t have to read it for grammar.

If you’re like, “I have terrible grammar. I can’t proofread someone’s essay,” don’t do it for grammar. Do it for context and content. Do you understand what they’re passionate about? Do you know who they are a little bit more now that you’ve read their essay? That’s the feedback you can give to them if you feel like you can’t correct them on grammar.

Know that you have something valuable to give. It’s valuable to do a swap. That’s free. Pick someone from the forum to say, “I’ll read your essay if you read mine. Let’s do this.” Utilize your community for that resource. I know I did that. Granted, I worked in the medical ICU, and I knew three other girls who were applying to the same program at the same time as me.

We had the same prompt. We read each other’s essays. Why wouldn’t we? We’re friends. We’re going to help each other out. Even if I hadn’t gotten in and they got in, they would’ve helped me the next year trying to figure out how I could get in. We knew we had each other’s backs, and we utilized that to our advantage. Make sure you’re looking for opportunities like that. If you don’t know someone else who’s applying, try to go to these open houses and connect with the current student. They may be nice enough to read a personal essay for you or even show you theirs.

I also want to do a blanket statement. Don’t copy people’s essays. Do not do that. Even though there are a lot of applications that come in, take an essay from a student who got in the year prior, and if you were to take it and use it and tweak it to your own a little bit, they might recognize that. They may remember that essay, especially if it was good and unique. I highly encourage you not to do that. I’m not saying not to use an essay to get ideas. Be careful around that. That’s not an easy way. That would be a mistake.

If you fess up to it, I don’t know if they would overcome that because they would probably worry about you cheating in school too. I want to make sure I threw that out there. I hope you guys enjoyed this episode, and that it gave you something to think about. Best of luck to you in writing your own essay. I hope to see you inside the academy for fun things. The fact that we did a live essay critique, and utilize the students there doing critiques for you. I’ll see you next episode.

Important Links

• Coursera.org

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A Twitch of Anesthesia

For future, current, and prospective nurse anesthetists.

• Mar 27, 2019

Personal Statement- Nurse Anesthesia Application

By popular demand, I am sharing my personal statement from when I applied to CRNA school in 2016. Keep in mind, it's not perfect by any means and I have become a much better writer while in CRNA school due to all the doctoral research classes, haha. However, I wanted to be honest and not make any edits. I was 26 when I started my anesthesia journey and reading my statement is not only humbling, but it's a reminder of where I started and how BADLY I wanted it.

Brittany B Harvey, RN, BSN, CCRN

Since high school, I have always been fascinated by the nurse anesthesia career. However, it was not until the summer before my freshman year of college, while volunteering at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, I gained a true insight into the field. I was assisting a child life specialist prepare a nine-year old boy for a routine tonsil-adenoidectomy. We carefully demonstrated how he would wear the “special space mask” and showed him the “little straw” he would have in his arm to receive sleeping medications during his surgery. Shortly following that consult, I mentioned to the child life specialist my interest in furthering my education after nursing school, focusing on anesthesia. A few minutes later, she introduced me to a young, effervescent CRNA, named Kelly. Kelly allowed me to shadow her for the rest of the day and spent hours teaching me the intricacies of anesthesia. I could see the passion in her eyes and became instantly hooked! Over the past three years, I have had the opportunity to shadow an anesthesiologist and three CRNAs during several cardiac and thoracic surgeries, including a left ventricular assist device implantation. That fiery passion I witnessed in Kelly’s eyes was also present in the eyes of the three CRNAs, and is now the same passion I carry with me for anesthesia.

Throughout nursing school, I continued to carry the thought of nurse anesthesia with me while completing my BSN degree. Out of our 50-student cohort, I was one of 12 nursing students selected to participate in the nursing honors program and graduated in the top nine percent of my class. I was also given the privilege to serve on my college’s Nursing Student Board as the Community Health Director for over a year. In this position, I was responsible for fundraising and organizing community health events.

These community events included public flu shot clinics, educational presentations for fellow undergraduate students, Relay for Life, Walk for a Cure, and Susan G Komen walks. While in nursing school I continued to stay involved in our local chapter (MSCANS), state chapter (GANS), and national chapter (NSNA) for nursing students. Through my membership with NSNA, I was introduced to my first medical mission, a two-week trip to Costa Rica with other nursing and medical students. I have since

participated, as a registered nurse, on another two-week medical mission trip to Kenya with a group of talented professionals from various medical fields. On both of these trips, I had the unique experience of caring for adults and children outside of modern medical conveniences. My focus on these trips was displaying compassion and improving quality of life for those who lack access to primary healthcare. These experiences further fueled my desire to grow and challenge myself as a nurse while improving current nursing practices.

Following nursing school graduation, I was offered an amazing opportunity to work at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta-Scottish Rite in a 50-bed, level II trauma emergency center. While there, I gained an irreplaceable foundation for nursing, which in turn inspired me to transition to an adult intensive care setting. After 18 months at Scottish Rite, I left to join an incredible team of nurses and providers at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital in the Coronary Care Unit/Medical Intensive Care Unit. At this 500-bed

hospital, including six adult intensive care units, I have been rewarded with extraordinary opportunities that have fully prepared me for advancements in my nursing career. For example, one month after completing my CCU orientation, I was approached by my unit manager to join two highly competitive critical care nursing councils. I was quickly voted in as co-chair of our CCU Unit Based Council and

shortly thereafter became CCU’s representative for Piedmont’s Critical Care Practice Council, where I still serve. On these councils, I have a front row seat to our nurse driven practices and have contributed in creating protocols and procedures for restraints, bronchoalveolar lavages, and post-cardiac arrest induced hypothermia. In addition, I assisted in creating the 2015 and 2016 annual competencies for all six intensive care units, developed three in-services to educate our intensive care nurses on topics including QT intervals and Torsades de Pointes, rapid sequence intubation, and hypothermia therapy following cardiac arrests, and am currently assisting with data collection and analysis as our CCU submits its first application for a Beacon Award. Continuing to always challenge myself, seven months off orientation, my lead charge nurse requested I begin training for relief charge and precepting of new

graduate nurses. A few months later, I was given a permanent relief charge nurse position for our night shift team.

While working in our 19-bed CCU/MICU, I have had the opportunity to care for a high acuity patient population and am experienced with ventilator support, ABG analysis, EKG interpretation, various ventricular assisted devices, intra-aortic balloon pumps, transvenous pacemakers, EKOS, CRRT/CVVHD, hypothermia devices, Swan-Ganz catheters, Rotoprone therapy, and several other diagnostic and therapeutic devices. I am familiar with vasoactive drips including, Epinephrine, Norepinephrine, Phenylephrine, Vasopressin, Dopamine, Dobutamine, Milrinone, Nitroglycerin,

Nitroprusside, as well as many other essential medications. I have also developed a thorough understanding of these medications and their effects on cardiac output/index, SVR, PVR, PAS/PAD, PAOP, heart rate and blood pressure due to our requirements for continuous in-depth monitoring of our patients. After 18 months in the CCU/MICU, I was the first intensive care nurse to be approved for cross training in our 34-bed CVICU. In this unit, I have been able to care for an array of patients including, various open-heart surgeries, VV/VA extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, heart transplants, and

ventricular assisted device transplants. In addition to my cross training, leveling as a Nurse III Preceptor, receiving my CCRN, and actively studying for my CMC has enabled me to feel more confident in autonomously caring for my acutely ill patients, and has allowed me to quickly identify and prioritize complex clinical situations. These professional advancements, as well as the positions I have held throughout nursing school and my career, have greatly enhanced my leadership skills in my nursing

Like many others who join the healthcare field, I have a strong desire and eagerness to serve and care for others. As a CRNA, I will be able to directly center my attention on one patient at a time, concentrating solely on them. I cannot think of a more focused professional role as a patient advocate. I hold a deep respect for the nurse anesthesia career, as it demands excellence, vigilance, leadership, and compassion. It can be immensely challenging, yet fully rewarding. I am striving to become a CRNA

because each day I want to have the responsibility to care for another individual during the most vulnerable time of their life- a time when they place every ounce of their trust in their nurse anesthetist. I know anesthesia school will be one of the greatest challenges I will ever face, but I am determined and confident in myself and the passion I have for anesthesia to succeed in this highly respectable career. Thank you for considering me as a future student and I hope to become a valuable addition to your CRNA program!

Brittany B Harvey

Recent Posts

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• Essay Requirements: One double spaced page (12-point font/one-inch margins) 

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Applicants will be recorded answering two video essay questions. The questions are:

• Please tell us about a time that you have overcome an obstacle in your life, how you dealt with, and what you learned from the experience.
• In nursing, ethics serves as a strong component. Drawing from either a personal experience or creating a scenario, please discuss an ethical dilemma and your solution for it.

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• Set up the space where you will record in advance. 
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• Place your camera level with the top of your head for the best angle. 
• Have your light source facing you – placed right behind your computer/camera. This is best in order to provide good lighting. 
• Be aware of your surroundings and environmental sounds when recording audio. Use an external microphone if you have one (this may provide better sound quality). 
• Make sure to dress professionally and as if you were delivering your video essay in person to the Admissions Committee. 
• Don't rely on reading directly from any notes or a script when delivering your video essay. 
• Use the practice round of the video essay. This is an opportunity to work out any kinks before the actual recording starts. 
• Feel free to introduce yourself at the beginning of your video essay, and be mindful of the topics you decide to share when answering the question. 

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Applicants will be asked to answer a short essay question in a period of 10 minutes (two minutes to think about the response and 10 minutes to write the sample) within the application. A random question will be generated by the application site so applicants cannot prepare the essay in advance. Essays are evaluated on the content and structure of the applicant's response.

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Three letters of recommendation are required. At minimum, two references must be able to speak to your  professional abilities within the last six months. At least one reference must come from your current nurse manager.

References should be written for the purpose of the applicant's application. Academic references should know you as a student and professional references should know you in a job setting, preferably in a supervisory role. Personal references from friends or family members do not meet the requirement.

References selected must align with the experience the applicant has accounted for in their application (ie. if selecting a supervisor as a reference, the job in which you worked at should be listed on your resume).

Recommendation letters must be submitted through the application portal. The applicant will be required to provide the recommender's name and email address on the application. The recommender will receive an email from the Office of Admissions directing them to complete the online reference form. They can also upload their letter through this form as a Word document or PDF file.

As part of the admission process, all references will undergo a verification process.  After submission of an enrollment deposit and before orientation, we will reach out to your recommender to verify the authenticity of their submission.

• Note: Please use your recommender's institutional or work email address. Recommenders who have a personal email address (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo) attached to their information may be subject to additional review in order to verify that they are an academic or professional reference.

Resume or CV

Applicants will be asked to provide their professional affiliations, awards/commendations, interests, hobbies, and community service involvement on the application. Applicants will also be asked to upload their resume/CV to the application portal. The resume/CV should be uploaded as a PDF in order to ensure proper formatting.

There is no page limit required for the resume/CV. In addition to academic and professional experience, applicants should include hobbies, interests, honors, awards, and travel experience. This type of information will give the review committee an opportunity to gain a more holistic understanding of the applicant.

GRE exam scores are not required. Applicants who wish to submit these scores can upload an unofficial copy of the scores directly on the online application.

Applicants for the Nurse Anesthesia Program may be invited for an on-campus or Skype interview during the application process.

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• Addendum: Applicants can submit a brief statement explaining substantive extenuating circumstances that they feel could impact their application. Information related to academic circumstances that have affected an applicant's performance should be addressed in this section.
• Optional Essay: Applicants can submit a one-page essay (double spaced/12-point font) focused on non-academic topics.
• Communications: If an applicant has corresponded with our Admissions Office regarding any parts of their application or program requirements (i.e. prerequisite course review), they can upload the email communication in this section.

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• Note that the applicant must submit all materials directly, not through an agent or third-party vendor, with the following exceptions: submission by the U.S. Department of State's Fulbright program; submission by Danish-American Fulbright (DAF); and submission by Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD).
• The applicant will be required to attest to the accuracy and authenticity of all information and documents submitted to Columbia. If you have questions about this requirement, please contact the Office of Admissions at [email protected] .
• Failure to submit complete, accurate, and authentic application documents consistent with these instructions may result in denial or revocation of admission, cancellation of academic credit, suspension, expulsion, or eventual revocation of degree. Applicants may be required to assist admissions staff and faculty involved in the admission reviews in verification of all documents and statements made in documents submitted by the student as part of the application review process.
• All application materials will be verified by the Office of Admissions or a third-party vendor for enrolling applicants. Detailed information regarding this process will be distributed upon publication of admission decisions.

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Essay; Bailing Out Moscow

By William Safire

• Feb. 25, 1988

We have just been told by a well-placed informant inside the Kremlin that the Soviet Union is not the economic power our intelligence analysts have long thought it was.

Throughout the Reagan years, our experts have assumed that Soviet growth averaged slightly over 3 percent yearly. That is a vital statistic: we then put a price each year on what we know the Soviet military machine cost, and get what we hope is a clear idea of what percentage of its economy Moscow is devoting to armament.

That's just about the most important intelligence number of all. In the 70's, a ''Team B'' of outsiders was brought in by the C.I.A. to challenge the conventional wisdom, and doubled the previous estimate to 13 percent in the Soviet Union. That laid the basis for our own increased defense spending, which now amounts to 6 percent of our gross national product.

In a little-noted passage of his long speech last week to his Central Committee, Mikhail Gorbachev made a stunning revelation that kicks our estimates into a cocked hat.

He pointed out that during the Brezhnev years, economic growth had been artificially hiked by the sale of oil at high prices (the U.S.S.R. is the world's largest producer) and the accelerated sale of vodka (Soviet spending on alcohol may have reached 10 percent of total output, compared with less than 2 percent of ours).

''If we purge economic growth indicators of the influence of these factors,'' said Mr. Gorbachev, ''it turns out that, basically, for four five-year periods there was no increase in the absolute growth of the national income and, at the beginning of the 80's, it had even begun to fall. That is the real picture, comrades!''

No doubt the current Kremlin leader is trying to make the present bad economic picture look better by saying the old days under his predecessor were really much worse. But we should allow for the possibility that, concerning the 80's at least, Mr. Gorbachev may be telling the truth.

If that is the real picture, comrades, we have to do some fast reassessing of our own. During the 80's, as the price of oil has been cut in half, and the Soviet gulping of booze has been restricted, the total Soviet output is not likely to have risen much, if at all, from what Mr. Gorbachev says was its falling state in 1980.

Here is what that new assessment leads us to deduce: the Soviet economy has been stagnant (or possibly declining) for seven years - most definitely not growing steadily at the over-3-percent rate per year our analysts had been assuming. That means our assessment of total growth of about one-fourth in this decade has been egregiously mistaken. That supposedly seven-foot giant turns out to be closer to five feet tall, same as he was in the Brezhnev years.

Apply that new assessment to arms control. The way we estimate Soviet arms expenditures is by simple bean-counting, mainly from satellites, and that total is not affected. What does change is the percentage of the output devoted to arms; if it was 14 percent by the old assessment, it must be an unbearable 20 percent in the new reality Mr. Gorbachev reveals.

Thus, under pressure to reduce arms spending, he seeks treaties; forced to cut losses, he announces withdrawal from Afghanistan and may offer to reduce subsidies in Central America; faced with the prospect of having to match serious Star Wars spending, he rails at the idea of strategic defense.

Apply that no-growth, one-fourth-smaller fact to economic diplomacy. It explains why the Russians finally settled the old Czarist debt for a dime on the dollar, paving the way for a recent $77 million Soviet bond issue. That's also why the Kremlin will be seeking entry into the International Monetary Fund, GATT and the World Bank at the next meetings (in West Berlin) this fall. Soviet Communism is starving for capital.

Our European allies are rushing to lend Moscow money and to subsidize pipelines, while accommodationists here want to offer the Russians most-favored-nation status on trade. Commerce and State Department detenteniks await only vague ''economic reforms'' to end our opposition to Soviet entry into Western credit markets.

Here is a genuine issue to toss at the candidates in our election. In light of what the Soviet leader admits is ''a very serious financial problem,'' should U.S. policy seek to finance our adversary? Or should we ''stress'' Moscow now, as it surely would do to us if the roles were reversed?

Or should we use this moment of admitted Soviet economic weakness to put an irrevocable, verifiable, behavior-modifying price on every concession we confer?

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Conspectus of feuerbach’s book lectures on the essence of religion.

Written: 1909 Source: Lenin’s Collected Works , 4th Edition, Moscow, 1976, Volume 38 , pp. 61-83 Publisher: Progress Publishers First Published: 1930 in Lenin Miscellany XII Translated: Clemence Dutt Edited: Stewart Smith Original Transcription & Markup: R. Cymbala , & Marc Szewczyk , Re-Marked Up & Proofread by: Kevin Goins (2007) Public Domain: Lenin Internet Archive (2003). You may freely copy, distribute, display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and commer- cial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet Archive” as your source.

Conspectus of Feuerbach’s book “Vorlesungen über das Wesen der Religion” ( Lectures on the Essence of Religion ) is contained in a separate notebook whose cover was not preserved. On the first page in abbreviated form is written L. Feuerbach, Sämtliche Werke, Band 8, 1851; also indicated is the press-mark—8°. R. 807. There is no indication exactly when the Conspectus was worked out by Lenin. V. Adoratsky has suggested that it was written in 1909 ( Lenin Miscellany XII ). The following arguments speak in favour of this hypothesis. It has been established that the press-mark on the first page of the Conspectus is that of the French National Library (Paris) in which Lenin worked from January 13 to June 30, 1909. The contents of Lectures on the Essence of Religion borders upon those works of Feuerbach that were used by Lenin in 1908 in writing his book Materialism and Empirio-Criticism , and some of Lenin’s remarks in the Conspectus are related to propositions formulated in his book. In the Conspectus, for example, Lenin notes: [[Feuerbach and natural science!! NB. Cf. Mach and Co. today]] , and in Materialism and Empirio-Criticism he writes: “The philosophy of the scientist Mach is to science what the kiss of the Christian Judas was to Christ. Mach likewise betrays science into the hands of fideism by virtually deserting to the camp of philosophical idealism.” (V. I. Lenin, Materialism and Empirio-Criticism ) Certain remarks in Lenin’s Conspectus are also related to theses in his article “On the Attitude of a Working-Class Party to Religion,” written in May 1909. Note that this document has undergone special formating to ensure that Lenin’s sidenotes fit on the page, marking as best as possible where they were located in the original manuscript.

L. FEUERBACH. COLLECTED WORKS , VOL. 8, 1851 LECTURES ON THE ESSENCE OF RELIGION

NB  ˘

“Thus, Die Grundsätze der Philosophie is interconnected with the Wesen der Re- ligion .” [21] (113)

“I deify nothing, consequently not even nature.” (115)

“I understand by nature the total- ity of all sensuous forces, things and beings which man distinguishes from

himself as not human.... Or, if the word is taken in practice: nature is everything that for man—indepen- dent of the supernatural whisperings

of theistic faith—proves to be imme- diate and sensuous, the basis and object of his life. Nature is light, electricity, magnetism, air, water, fire, earth, animal, plant, man, in-

sofar as he is a being acting involun- tarily and unconsciously—by the word ‘nature’ I understand nothing more than this, nothing mystical, nothing nebulous, nothing theological” (above: in contrast to Spinoza).

...“Nature is ... everything that you see and that is not derived from human hands and thoughts. Or if we penetrate into the anatomy of nature, nature is the being, or totality of beings and things, whose appearances, expressions or effects, in which precisely in their existence and essence are manifested and consist, have their basis not in thoughts or intentions and decisions of the will, but in astronomical, or cosmic, mechanical, chemical, physical, physiolo- gical or organic forces or causes.” (116-117)

[Here too it amounts to opposing matter to mind, the physical to the psychical.] 121 — against the argument that there must be a prime cause (= God).

“It is only man’s narrowness and love of convenience that cause him to put eternity in place of time, infinity in place of the endless progress from cause to cause, a stat- ic divinity in place of restless nature, eternal rest instead of eternal movement.” (121 i. f.)

Yet, “no objective validity and exist- ence, no existence outside ourselves” must be ascribed to these abstractions. (125)

...“Nature has no beginning and no end. Everything in it is in mutual interaction, everything is relative, everything at once effect and cause, everything in it is all- sided and reciprocal....” (129)

there is no place there for God (129-130; simple arguments against God).

...“The cause of the first and general cause of things in the sense of the theists, theologians and so-called spec- ulative philosophers is man’s under- standing....” (130) “God is ... cause in general, the concept of cause as essence personified and become independent....” (131)

“God is abstract nature, i.e., nature re- moved from sensuous perception, mentally conceived, made into an object or being

of the understanding; nature in the proper sense is sensuous, real nature, as immedi- ately manifested and presented to us by the senses.” (133)

The theists see in God the cause of the movement in nature (which they make into a dead mass or matter). (134) The power of God, however, is in reality the power of nature (Naturmacht: 135).

...“Indeed it is only through their effects that we perceive the properties of things....” (136)

Atheism (136-137) abolishes neither das moralische Über (= das Ideal) [24] nor das natürliche Über (= die Natur.) [25]

...“Is not time merely a form of the world, the manner in which particular beings and effects follow one another? How then can I ascribe a temporal beginning to the world?” (145)

...“God is merely the world in thought.... The distinction between God and the world is merely the distinction between spirit and sense, thought and perception....” (146)

God is presented as a being existing out-

side ourselves. But is that not precisely an admission of the truth of sensuous being? Is it not (thereby) “recognised that there is no being outside sensuous being? For, apart from sensuousness, have we any other sign, any other criterion, of an exist- ence outside ourselves, of an existence in- dependent of thought?” (148)

...“Nature ... in isolation from its mate- riality and corporeality ... is God....” (149)

“To derive nature from God is equivalent

to wanting to derive the original from the image, from the copy, to derive a thing

from the thought of the thing.” (149)

Characteristic of man is Verkehrtheit (149 i. f.) verselbständigen [26] abstractions— for example, time (150) and space :

“Although ... man has abstracted space and time from spatial and temporal things, nevertheless he presupposes those as the primary grounds and conditions of the latter’s existence. Hence he thinks of the world, i.e., the sum-total of real things, matter, the content of the world, as having its origin in space and time. Even Hegel makes matter arise not only in, but out of,

space and time....” (150) “Also, it is really incomprehensible why time, separated from temporal things, should not be identified with God.” (151)

...“In reality, exactly the opposite holds good, ...it is not things that presuppose space and time, but space and time that presuppose things, for space or extension

presupposes something that extends, and time, movement, for time is indeed only a concept derived from movement, presup- poses something that moves. Everything is spatial and temporal....” (151-152)

“The question whether a God has created the world ... is the question of the relation of mind to sensuousness” (152—the most important and difficult question of philos-

ophy, the whole history of philosophy turns on this question (153)—the conflict between the Stoics and the Epicureans, the Platonists and the Aristotelians, the Sceptics and the Dogmatists, in ancient philosophy; between the nominalists and

realists in the Middle Ages; between the idealists and the “realists or empiricists”

(sic! 153) in modern times.

It depends in part on the nature of people (academic versus practical types) whether they incline to one or another philosophy.

“I do not deny ... wisdom, goodness, beauty; I deny only that, as such generic notions, they are beings, whether in the shape of gods or properties of God, or as Platonic ideas, or as self-posited Hegelian concepts....” (158)—they exist only as prop- erties of men.

Another cause of belief in God: man transfers to nature the idea of his own purposive creation. Nature is purposive— ergo it was created by a rational being. (160)

“That which man calls the purposiveness of nature and conceives as such is in real- ity nothing but the unity of the world, the harmony of cause and effect, the in- terconnection in general in which every- thing in nature exists and acts.” (161)

...“Nor have we any grounds for imagin- ing that if man had more senses or organs he would also cognise more properties or things of nature. There is nothing more in the external world, in inorganic nature, than in organic nature. Man has just as many senses as are necessary for him to conceive the world in its totality, in its entirety.” (163)

Where does spirit (Geist) come from?— ask the theists of the atheist. (196) They have too disdainful (despektierliche: 196)

an idea of nature, too lofty an idea of spir- it (zu hohe, zu vornehme (!!) Vorstel- lung [29] ).

Even a Regierungsrath [31] cannot be directly explained from nature. (197)

“The spirit develops together with the body, with the senses ... it is connected with the senses ... whence the skull, whence the brain, thence also the spirit; whence an organ, thence also its functioning” ((197): cf. above (197) “the spirit is in the head ”).

“Mental activity is also a bodily activi- ty.” (197-198)

The origin of the corporeal world from the

spirit, from God, leads to the creation of the world from nothing—“for whence does the spirit get the matter, corporeal sub- stances, if not from nothing?” (199)

...“Nature is corporeal, material, sen- suous....” (201)

Jakob Boehme = a “ materialistic theist ” (202): he deifies not only the mind but also matter. For him God is ma- terial—therein lies his mysticism. (202)

...“Where the eyes and hands begin, there the gods end.” (203)

(The theists) have “blamed matter or the inevitable necessity of na- ture ... for the evil in nature” (212)

The last (30th) lecture, pp. (358-370), could be put forward almost in its entirety as a typical example of an enlightening atheism with a socialist tint (concerning the mass that suffers want, etc., p. 365 middle), etc. Final words: it was my task to make you, my hearers,

“from friends of God into friends of man, from men of faith into thinkers, from men of prayer into workers, from candidates for the beyond into students of this world,

from Christians, who, as they themselves acknowledge and confess, are ‘ half- beast, half-angel, ’ into men, whole men” (370 end).

Next follow Additions and Notes . (371- 463)

Here there are many details, quotations, which contain repetitions. I pass over all that. I note only the most important of that which affords some interest: the basis of morality is egoism (392). (“Love of life, interest, egoism”)... “there is

not only a singular or personal, but also a social egoism, a family egoism, a corporation egoism, a community egoism, a patriotic egoism.” (393)

...“The good is nothing but that which corresponds to the egoism of all men....” (397)

“One has only to cast a glance at history!

Where does a new epoch in history begin? Only wherever an oppressed mass or major- ity makes its well-justified egoism effec- tive against the exclusive egoism of a na- tion or caste, wherever classes of men (sic!) or whole nations, by gaining victory over

the arrogant self-conceit of a patrician mi- nority, emerge into the light of historical glory out of the miserable obscurity of

the proletariat. So, too, the egoism of the now oppressed majority of mankind must and will obtain its rights and found a new epoch in history. It is not that the aristoc-

racy of culture, of the spirit, must be abol- ished; no indeed! it is merely that not just a handful should be aristocrats and all others plebeians, but that all should— at least should —be cultured; it is not that property in general should be abolished; no indeed! it is merely that not just a hand- ful should have property, and all others nothing; all should have property.” (398)

Examples from the classics of the use of the words God and nature without dis- tinction. (398-399)

Pp. 402-411 —an excellent , phi- losophical (and at the same time simple and clear) explanation of the essence of religion.

“In the final analysis, the secret of reli- gion is only the secret of the combination in one and the same being of consciousness with the unconscious, of the will with the involuntary.” (402). The Ego and the non-

Ego are inseparably connected in man. “Man does not grasp or endure the depths of his own being and therefore splits it into an 'Ego’ without a ‘non-Ego,’ which he

calls God, and a ‘non-Ego’ without an ‘Ego,’ which he calls nature.” (406)

P. 408—an excellent quotation from Sen- eca (against the atheists) that they make nature into a god. Pray!—Work! [44] (p. 411)

Nature is God in religion, but nature

as Gedankenwesen. [45] “ The secret of re- ligion is ‘the identity of the subjective and objective,’ i. e., the unity of the being

of man and nature, but as distinct from the real being of nature and mankind.” (411)

“Human ignorance is bottomless and the human force of imagination is boundless; the power of nature deprived of its foun- dation by ignorance, and of its bounds by fantasy, is divine omnipotence.” (414)

...“Objective essence as subjective, the essence of nature as different from nature, as human essence, the essence of man as

different from man, as non-human essence—

that is the divine being, that is the essence of religion, that is the secret of mysticism and speculation....” (415)

“Man separates in thought the adjective

from the substantive, the property from the essence.... And the metaphysical God is nothing but the compendium, the total- ity of the most general properties extracted from nature, which, however, man by means of the force of imagination—and indeed in just this separation from sen- suous being, matter, nature—reconverts into an independent subject or being.”

The same role is played by Logic (( 418 )— obviously Hegel is meant)—which converts das Sein, das Wesen [46] into a special real- ity—“how stupid it is to want to make

metaphysical existence into a physical one, subjective existence into an objective one, and again logical or abstract existence into an illogical real existence!” (418)

...“‘Is there, therefore, an eternal gulf and contradiction between being and think- ing?’ Yes, but only in the mind; however in reality the contradiction has long been resolved, to be sure only in a way corres- ponding to reality and not to your school notions, and, indeed, resolved by not fewer than five senses.” (418)

“The head is the house of representa-

tives of the universe”—and if our

heads are stuffed with abstractions, Gattungsbegriffen, [48] then of course we derive (ableiten) “the individual from the universal, i.e., ... nature from God.”

Interesting is the answer to (Feuerbach’s) critic Professor von Schaden (448- 449) and to Schaller . (449-450-463)

...“I do indeed expressly put nature in place of being, and man in place of think- ing,” i.e., not an abstraction, but something concrete— — —die dramatische Psycholo- gie. [49] (449)

“Jesuitism, the unconscious original and ideal of our speculative philosophers.” (455)

“Thinking posits the discreteness of real- ity as a continuum, the infinite multiplic- ity of life as an identical singularity. Knowledge of the essential, inextinguishable difference between thought and life (or reality) is the beginning of all wisdom in thinking and living. Only the distinc- tion is here the true connection.” (458)

[1] Feuerbach, L., Sämtliche Werke , Bd. 8, Leipzig, 1851.— Ed.

[2] sense of place and time— Ed.

[3] of the monarch— Ed.

[4] “God-believing world”— Ed.

[5] Zeile 7 von unten—line 7 from bottom— Ed.

[6] at the end— Ed.

[7] to discard— Ed.

[8] “extravagant”— Ed.

[9] sensuousness — Ed.

[10] sensuous— Ed.

[11] stomach— Ed.

[12] head— Ed.

[13] Das Wesen des Christentums ( The Essence of Christianity ) by L. Feuerbach was published in 1841. In this work, Feuerbach takes a firm materialist position in philosophy.

[14] “fear”— Ed.

[15] The reference is to The Holy Family by Frederick Engels and Karl Marx, in which the authors wrote that Feuerbach outlined “in a masterly manner the general basic features of Hegel’s speculation and hence of every kind of metaphysics. ” (Marx and Engels, The Holy Family , Moscow, 1956, pp. 186-187.)

[16] und folgende—et seq.— Ed.

[17] the pundits— Ed.

[18] energy, i.e., activity— Ed.

[19] evidence— Ed.

[20] underivable primordial being— Ed.

[21] Das Wesen der Religion ( The Essence of Religion ) by L. Feuerbach was published in 1846. Grundsätze der Philosophie der Zukunft ( Principles of the Philosophy of the Future ) was published in 1843.

[22] summation— Ed.

[23] objective = outside ourselves— Ed.

[24] the moral highest (= the ideal)— Ed.

[25] the natural highest (= nature)— Ed.

[26] perversity of endowing abstractions with independence— Ed.

[27] The reference is to the well-known passage on the basic question of philosophy in Engels’ book Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy (see Marx and Engels, Selected Works, Vol. II, Moscow, 1958, pp. 369-370).

[28] Lenin contrasts here the attitude toward natural science of Feuerbach, the materialist, and of Mach, the subjective idealist. A critical evaluation of Mach’s attitude toward natural science is given by Lenin in Materialism and Empirio-Criticism (see V. I. Lenin, Materialism and Empirio-Criticism, Moscow, 1960, pp. 363-364).

[29] too lofty, too noble (!!) an idea— Ed.

[30] Josef Dietzgen developed analogous ideas. For example, in the book The Nature of the Workings of the Human Mind ( Sämtliche Werke, Bd. 1, Stuttgart, 1922), in the paragraph “Spirit and Matter,” he wrote: “Long ago, mainly during early Christianity, it became customary to look with disdain upon material, sensual and carnal things, which become moth-eaten and rusty” (p. 53).

[31] a state counsellor— Ed.

[32] Josef Dietzgen wrote as follows in The Nature of the Workings of the Human Mind ( Sämtliche Werke, Bd. 1, Stuttgart, 1922), in the chapter “Pure Reason or the Capacity to Think in General”: “Thinking is a function of the brain, just as writing is a function of the hand” (p. 11) and further “... the reader will not misunderstand me when I call the capacity to think a material power, a sensuous phenomenon ” (p. 13).

[33] the “natural” and “civil world”— Ed.

[34] spiritual religion— Ed.

[35] feeling— Ed.

[36] comfortless— Ed.

[37] “natural necessity”— Ed.

[38] “necessity of nature”— Ed.

[39] “course of nature”— Ed.

[40] disembodied spirit— Ed.

[41] sensuous, physical— Ed.

[42] See Lenin’s notations in Plekhanov’s book N. G. Chernyshevsky (pp. 537-538, 540, 545, 546, 551-552 and 554 of this volume).

[43] Neue Rheinische Zeitung ( New Rhine Gazette ) was published by Marx in Cologne from June 1, 1848 to May 19, 1849.

Engels’ book The Condition of the Working Class in England was published in 1845. Regarding the significance of this book, see V. I. Lenin, pres. ed., Vol. 2, Moscow, 1960, pp. 22-23.

[44] Lenin is referring to the following passage in Feuerbach’s book Vorlesungen über das Wesen der Religion. Werke, Bd. 8, 1851, S. 411 ( Lectures on the Essence of Religion, ) Works, Vol. 8, 1851, p. 411): “... godliness consists, so to speak, of two component parts, of which one belongs to man’s fantasy, the other to nature. Pray!—says one part, i.e., God, distinct from nature; work!—says the other part, i.e., God, not distinct from nature, but merely expressing its Essence; for nature is the working bee, Gods—the drones.”

[45] thought entity— Ed.

[46] being, essence— Ed.

[47] All that is not God is nothing, i.e., all that is not I is nothing.— Ed.

[48] generic concepts— Ed.

[49] dramatic psychology— Ed.

[50] The Anthropological Principle —Feuerbach’s thesis that, in discussing philosophical questions, it is necessary to consider man as part of nature, as a biological being.

The anthropological principle was directed against religion and idealism. However, by considering man apart from the concrete historical and social relations, the anthropological principle leads to idealism in the understanding of the laws of historical development.

N. G. Chernyshevsky , in struggling against idealism, also took the anthropological principle as his starting-point and devoted a special work to this question under the title “The Anthropological Principle in Philosophy” (see N. G. Chernyshevsky, Selected Philosophical Essays, Moscow, 1953, pp. 49-135).

[51] The reference is to L. Feuerbach’s Theogonie nach den Quellen des klassischen, hebräischen und christlichen Altertums. Sämtliche Werke, Bd. 9, 1857 ( Theogony Based on Sources of Classical, Hebrew and Christian Antiquity , Collected Works, Vol. 9, 1857). Page 320—beginning of § 34, which is headed “‘Christian’ Natural Science”; page 334 is in § 36, which is headed “The Theoretical Basis of Theism.”