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CRNA SHADOW DAY PREP

Prepare for your CRNA shadow day like an applicant who belongs in the OR

Prepare for your CRNA shadow day like an applicant who belongs in the OR

A CRNA shadow day is not a performance, but preparation helps you notice the right things, ask better questions, and document the experience clearly for CRNA school applications.

A CRNA shadow day is not a performance, but preparation helps you notice the right things, ask better questions, and document the experience clearly for CRNA school applications.

1. Know the workflow

Watch for pre-op assessment, induction, maintenance, emergence, transfer, and PACU handoff. You do not need to understand every drug dose to follow the arc of the case.

2. Review 10 common medications

Be familiar with propofol, fentanyl, midazolam, lidocaine, rocuronium, succinylcholine, phenylephrine, ephedrine, sevoflurane, and ondansetron.

3. Know the airway setup

Recognize the mask, oral airway, laryngoscope, endotracheal tube, supraglottic airway, suction, and backup airway plan.

4. Bring questions worth asking

Ask how ICU experience translates, what made school difficult, how they think through risk, and what they wish applicants understood earlier.

5. Notice clinical judgment

Pay attention to communication, anticipation, hemodynamic decision-making, positioning, patient safety, and how the CRNA adapts when plans change.

6. Document it the same day

Record date, facility, approximate hours, case types observed, what you learned, and how it changed your understanding of CRNA practice.

Download the CRNA Shadow Day Checklist

Use it before, during, and after shadowing so your notes are useful for applications and interviews.

Get the Checklist

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