University of Pittsburgh’s CRNA School
Killebrew-Laporte Center for Admissions & Student Affairs Claire M. Fagin Hall, Suite M-05 418 Curie Boulevard Philadelphia, PA 19104-4217 USA
Contact Information:
Phone: (412) 624-4860
Email: napcrna@pitt.edu
Url: website
Carol Ladden
Program Summary:
The University of Pittsburgh’s CRNA School curriculum was created to combine the classroom and clinical courses together in order to achieve the ideal learning experience for their students. The program consists of 20 core credits and 32 specialty credits related to anesthesia. The school has a lot of applicants each year, and typically accepts 30-40 students per class. The school’s application deadline is January 5th, and all applicants must have Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree (BSN), along with a current RN. The school also requires that you are able to obtain a PA license upon admission to the program. Are you interested in learning how to become a CRNA or are wondering how hard is CRNA school? Our student blogs located on our CRNA Career Pro website were written by actual CRNA students, and contain real CRNA school experiences. Finally get to see what CRNA school is really like.
Program created: 1972 Ranking: 3.9 out of 5.0 Class size: 40 Tuition: approx. $50,000-$60,000 National Certification Exam (NCE) First time passing rate: not listed
- License: Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree (BSN). Current licensure as a RN. You must obtain a PA license upon admission to the program.
- Work Experience: at least one year full time of Nursing experience in ICU/Critical Care within the last 5 years by the start of the program. Accepted: PACU unit is also ICU overflow on a regular basis or has the patient acuity of an ICU. Might also except ER if it part of an integrated level one shock/trauma OR and ICU system. Not Accepted: telemetry, NICU, OR PACU or RR, or ER.
- GPA: no minimum stated. Admission based on overall merit.
- GRE: no minimum stated.
- Certifications: ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) BLS (Basic Life Support)
Prerequisites:
3 credit undergraduate statistics course
Interview:Interviews are by invitation only. Selection of candidates for interviews is competitive (meaning you are in competition with the rest of the applicant pool). Historically about 40-50% of applicants receive an invitation to interview. The interview process entails all of these things. We start with an in-depth presentation about the program, then proceed to interviewing and touring our facilities. If you are selected for an interview, you will be with at the school for 4 to 5 hours. You will have several mini-interviews, meeting with 2 or 3 faculty members at a time.There are some clinical questions. The goal of their interview process is to see if the applicant would be a good fit for their program and to allow for the applicant to determine whether they feel the program is a good fit them. At the present time there is no written or oral test that is given.
CRNA Program Setup: Classes Start:January
Duration:24 months
Curriculum:20 core credits with 32 anesthesia specialty credits. Clinical practice begins as two days/week in the first term and increases in both intensity and frequency throughout the course of study. Clinical in the last term is 5 days/week and includes preparation sessions for the Certification Examination.
Clinical Sites:UPMC Presbyterian UPMC Shadyside Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC- Obstetrics and Main OR Veterans Affairs Medical Center University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine UPMC Mercy UPMC McKeesport UPMC Passavant UPMC Cranberry UPMC St. Margaret Butler Memorial Hospital Jefferson Regional Medical Center The Washington Hospital UPMC Mercy South Side Outpatient Center UPMC Northwest Affinity Medical Center Atrium Medical Center Altoona Hospital Clarion Hospital Conemaugh Health System DNA Health Systems Heritage Valley Health System Northside Medical Center Southwestern Ambulatory Surgery Center University of Washington UPMC Bedford Weirton Medical Center West Virginia University Hospitals
Disclaimer: Information on this page was gathered from the school's website and through phone interviews. A school's curriculum can change frequently, so we make sure that you are provided with the most up to date information. Our team regularly checks for any changes that CRNA programs make to their curriculum. The ranking of schools was based off of the 2011 US News World Report for Graduate Schools