Nurse Anesthesia (CRNA)

If an applicant has previously been enrolled in a nurse anesthesia program, they can apply; however, no anesthesia-specific courses will be transferrable.

Doctoral level courses may be accepted for transfer only if approved by the program director. A maximum of nine credits, all with an A or B grade, may be accepted for transfer.

Curriculum and schedule of classes are subject to change.

• Accredited by the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists (IFNA) since 2014
• 2025 attrition rate: 6.6% (1 out of 15 students)
• Low overall attrition rate: 2% (3 out of 150 students)
• Employment rate: 100% since 2006
• 2025 NCE first attempt pass rate: 93%
• Overall certification exam pass rate on first attempt: 95%
• Overall certification exam pass rate on second attempt: 100%
• Small class sizes
• Strong academic courses
• High-fidelity mannequin in a simulated operating room used routinely
• Graduate anatomy course with hands-on cadaver dissection
• Strong clinical experience across a variety of BJC institutions, including community hospitals and Level I hospitals, such as Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital
• Experienced faculty members who maintain their clinical practice
• In-person anesthesia courses
• Strong sense of collaboration while being a valued member of a team of anesthesia clinicians
   

The Nurse Anesthesia Program at Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing is fully accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. The program is also internationally accredited by the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists (IFNA). The College also holds accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

The Nurse Anesthesia Program admits one cohort each year, with a class size of approximately 15–20 students. The application portal opens in July of each year, and the application deadline is March 1. Interviews are normally held in April or May. Selected applicants matriculate in the following spring term in January.

To start the application process, visit the Goldfarb application portal and click on “Start Your Application.” The application process is managed through a program called Slate. All supporting documentation must be submitted by the March 1 deadline. Completed applicant materials are reviewed for eligibility, and selected candidates are invited to interview with the Nurse Anesthesia Program Admissions Committee. Applicants not invited for an interview will receive an email notification, with the decision also being posted in their student portal.

Interviews are scheduled across two to three days in April or May. Applicants invited to interview are contacted by email to schedule their session. During the interview, applicants will tour the campus and have an opportunity to ask questions of students currently enrolled in the program.

At the conclusion of the interview process, the Admissions Committee ranks all applicants and selects candidates for admission to the next cohort. Alternate candidates are also identified in case selected applicants decline their offers. Admission and alternate decisions are communicated through Slate by the Admissions Department shortly after final decisions are made.

Yes. All prerequisite coursework must be completed before the March 1 application deadline. Transcripts showing successful completion (a grade of B- or higher) must be submitted, or your application will not be reviewed.

If prerequisite coursework is not completed by the application deadline, your application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.

On average, the program receives approximately 7–10 applications for each available seat. From this applicant pool, about 30–35 candidates are interviewed for each class. Following the interview process, 15–20 applicants are selected for admission. An additional 3–4 applicants are designated as alternates to fill any positions declined by selected candidates.

Yes. You may apply to the Nurse Anesthesia Program if you already hold a master’s degree in nursing or have completed master’s-level coursework.

Up to nine credit hours may be transferred. To be eligible for transfer, courses must be directly equivalent to those offered in the program.
 

Both are considered. The program reviews the GPA from your baccalaureate degree and calculates a cumulative GPA from all college and university transcripts.

Science GPAs are also calculated and evaluated, including coursework in biology, chemistry, biochemistry or organic chemistry, physics, physiology, pathophysiology, and anatomy. Transcripts are reviewed for overall academic achievement, with science grades weighted heavily. 

A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is required in all undergraduate and graduate coursework. A minimum science GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all undergraduate or graduate science courses is required.

Letters of reference are preferred for applicants to the Nurse Anesthesia Program, as they provide more in-depth insight than brief reference forms.

Each letter should include the writer’s relationship to the applicant (for example, a co-worker, supervisor, CRNA, or physician). One reference must be from a nursing supervisor or department leader and include a contact phone number.

It is preferred that letters of reference be written on official company or university letterhead and signed. Most importantly, each letter should address the applicant’s academic and clinical potential for success in the Nurse Anesthesia Program.

Yes. To be eligible for review, applicants must have a minimum of 12 months of critical care experience at the time of the application deadline.

Additional experience can strengthen your application. Highest priority is given to applicants with recent experience in a high-acuity ICU setting at a Level I Trauma Center (larger hospital or medical center). This setting typically provides a broad base of experience with invasive hemodynamic monitoring, vasoactive drug administration, and ventilator management, including adjusting settings.

Qualifying ICU experience must be obtained in a hospital within the United States, its territories, or a U.S. military hospital located outside the United States.

OR experience is not accepted as critical care experience. The Council on Accreditation requires a minimum of one year of ICU or critical care experience. Applicants working in post-anesthesia care units or Emergency Departments may be considered only if they can demonstrate routine care of patients requiring ventilators, invasive monitoring, and vasoactive infusions.

For this program, ICU experience is strongly preferred over PACU or Emergency Department experience. A critical care setting is defined as one in which a registered nurse routinely manages one or more of the following: invasive hemodynamic monitoring (such as pulmonary artery catheters, CVP, or arterial lines), cardiac assist devices, mechanical ventilation, or vasoactive infusions.

Examples of qualifying critical care units include, but are not limited to, surgical ICU, cardiothoracic ICU, cardiovascular ICU, coronary ICU, medical ICU, neurological ICU, trauma ICU, and pediatric ICU.

Students in the Nurse Anesthesia Program complete clinical experiences at multiple hospitals throughout the program, including Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Children’s Specialty Care Centers, Shriners Children’s, Missouri Baptist Medical Center, Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, and Progress West Hospital.

Many of these facilities care for high-acuity patients. As a result, students are expected to be highly skilled in managing patients on ventilators, with invasive lines, and receiving a variety of medication infusions.

Neonatal ICU experience, due to its limitation in caring for newborns, is not acceptable for our program.

Pediatric ICU (PICU) experience may be acceptable if the applicant can demonstrate strong experience and knowledge in caring for children and young adults who require ventilators, invasive lines, and a variety of medication infusions, as well as familiarity with medical conditions common in adult patients.

Applicants with PICU experience are encouraged to also have adult critical care experience, but it is not required.

Applicants should request that official transcripts and letters of recommendation be sent electronically to Goldfarb Admissions at [email protected]. When applying for the program, applicants may request references through the “References” page of the application portal. In this section, applicants will click “Add New,” enter the recommender’s name, email, contact information, and relationship and then select “Send to Recommender.” This generates an email from [email protected] with a link for the recommender to complete a form and upload their reference letter. Once submitted, the letter of reference will be automatically added to the applicant’s file. 

Applicants may continue and submit their application even if recommendations are still pending.
 

Applicants are encouraged to begin the application process as early as possible to meet the deadline and avoid last-minute issues that could delay consideration. All applications must be submitted through Slate, the student application portal. Applications are not accepted via U.S. mail.

International applicants should review the international student admission procedures available on the admissions webpage or by contacting the Admissions Office directly at [email protected] or 314-454-7055.

For additional questions, contact Malou Jaime, international student adviser, at [email protected].

Applying to the Nurse Anesthesia Program requires that the applicant have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. If the cumulative GPA is below 3.0, the applicant will not be considered for admission and should not apply. An applicant can raise a GPA by retaking courses to improve grades or by taking additional coursework and earning higher grades. A new GPA will then be recalculated from both new and previous transcripts. However, raising a GPA is a slow process—the more credit hours completed, the slower the rate of change.

Science courses and critical care experiences are two areas that are weighted heavily. If you have prerequisite science coursework to complete, earning an A or a B in those courses will strengthen your application. Experience in a Level I trauma center can provide exposure to a wide variety of critical care experiences.
 

Additionally, experience with adult patients is highly recommended in critical care settings, such as cardiothoracic, cardiovascular, cardiac, medical, surgical, neurology, PICU, and trauma. It is important to have a wide variety of clinical experiences, which may require more than the minimum requirement of 12 months of experience.
 

Yes. In addition to requiring the CCRN, we also require submission of an official AACN CCRN score report.

Core nursing courses are offered online, while most of the nurse anesthesia-specific courses are conducted in person. On-campus attendance is required for these courses. Attendance in both the classroom and the OR is mandatory.

No. The program must be completed on a full-time basis. Part-time enrollment is not available. 

Either course will fulfill the requirement, as long as it is three credit hours. However, the course content must be specific to organic chemistry or biochemistry. A general chemistry course alone will not meet the requirements. An applicant’s personal preference, based on course descriptions, may influence an applicant’s choice between organic chemistry and biochemistry, but this choice will not affect the likelihood of admission. The grade earned in the course is what matters most during the review process.

Undergraduate physics is a required prerequisite for the program. The course should be algebra-based and carry at least three credit hours. These courses are often identifiable by listing college algebra as a prerequisite. A lab component is not required.

No. Labs are not required for these prerequisite courses. Each course must be at least three credit hours, and the physics course must be algebra-based. The goal is to ensure a foundational understanding of the subject matter.

Please visit the tuition and fees section of the website for detailed information. In addition to tuition and fees, students should plan for additional expenses, including textbooks, learning technology, professional meeting attendance, AANA student membership fees, background check and drug screening fees, graduation fees, the national certification exam fee, and the self-evaluation exam fee.
 

Health insurance is required while enrolled in the program, and costs may vary by individual. Students are encouraged to research and plan for their health insurance expenses in advance.
 

All costs are subject to change.

No. The GRE and GMAT are not required to apply to the Nurse Anesthesia Program.

There are no specified time limits for prerequisite coursework. However, it is preferred—and beneficial to the applicant—that coursework, especially in the sciences, is completed more recently.

Although a shadowing experience is not required, it is highly encouraged. Shadowing a CRNA helps the applicant to better understand the role of the CRNA. 
 

If you know a CRNA, you can ask to shadow them. You can also call anesthesiology departments of hospitals and ask for an opportunity to shadow a CRNA. There are no minimum number of hours required.

A typical day depends on the term. During the first two terms of the DNP program, students are not in the OR, and a highly motivated student may be able to work, but it will not be easy, and coursework may suffer as it is a very rigorous, full-time program. During the third term, students carry a heavy academic load, and many of the courses are on campus. Students also spend clinical time in the Center for Preoperative Assessment and Planning. 
 

Students begin clinical work in the OR in the fourth term while continuing coursework at the College. As students progress through the program, class time decreases, and clinical time in the OR increases. During the final terms, students are in the OR, and they are also enrolled in a course that prepares them for the national certification examination. Students are highly encouraged to not work while enrolled in the three-year program.
 

If they are highly motivated, students may be able to work part-time during the first, and possibly the second, terms because most of their courses are online. However, it will not be easy. We strongly recommend that students do not work while enrolled in the program due to the demanding academic coursework and high volume of clinical time. A grade below a B- is unacceptable for nurse anesthesia-specific courses and will result in termination from the program.

Most clinical sites are on the Washington University Medical Center campus. For example, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, along with St. Louis Children’s Hospital, are connected by an internal walkway. Shriner’s Children's is only a few blocks away and within walking distance from the College. Other clinical sites are less than 30 miles from the College.

• Continue working in the critical care setting to gain additional critical care experience. The Council on Accreditation requires a minimum of one year of critical care experience, and our program requires 12 months at the time of application submission. However, that is often not enough to be accepted.  Continuing in the critical care setting for a longer period will strengthen your application
• Recent or current ICU experience is recommended. If you do not have recent ICU experience, consider returning to the ICU
• Try to learn as much as you can while working in a critical care setting. Ask questions and think critically about your clinical decisions.  If you administer an infusion of a particular drug (narcotic, sedative, vasopressor, or vasodilator), make sure you understand its mechanism of action and side effects. Consider why specific pharmacotherapies are used and how a patient’s condition informs the plan of care. Interpret lab values, such as CBC, BMP, ABGs, and anticipate actions. If you have any questions or confusion about the care the patient is receiving, ask the physician, nurse practitioner, or senior ICU nurse, and read about the disease processes to strengthen your knowledge base
   

• Consider working in a Level I hospital. These patients are often more complex, with multiple comorbid conditions, and you will be challenged by taking care of patients with higher rates of morbidity and mortality. This environment also provides more opportunities for critical thinking and working with advanced technologies
• Increase your overall cumulative GPA by taking more courses and earning A grades. However, realize that the more courses you have already completed, the slower this process is to increase your overall GPA
• If you only have pediatric critical care experience, consider working in an adult critical care setting to gain broader experience
• If you only have Emergency Department or PACU experience, consider transferring to an ICU
• Seek leadership opportunities within your unit. Be proactive in joining or participating in research or QI projects within your unit
   

WashU Medicine Anesthesiology, where nurse anesthesia students complete their clinical training, hires CRNAs. The department employs more than 200 CRNAs across various hospitals. For more information, contact David Eisenbath at [email protected] or Erin Herrera at [email protected].