Professionalism Starts Before CRNA School - The Kind of Applicant You're Becoming

Can one decision during your application process predict the kind of CRNA you'll become? A few weeks ago, if you asked me that question, I probably would have said no. I would have told you that people make mistakes, people learn, they grow, and one decision doesn't define entire career. But over the past few weeks, I've had several conversations with CRNA educators and program directors from across the country, and they genuinely challenged the way I was thinking about this. Those conversations all started because of something that happens inside my Facebook group, the CRNA Mentor Community. And what I thought was going to be a conversation about shared interview questions ended up being a conversation about professionalism, about integrity, about mentorship, and ultimately about the future of this profession. So today's episode starts with interview questions and it ends somewhere much more important. Welcome back to the CRNA Mentor Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Anderson, and normally in this podcast, I bring guests on to you, to motivate you in your CRNA journey, and to offer unique perspectives that help you connect the dots to your future career as a CRNA. Today's episode is a little bit different. Instead, I want to share experiences that have honestly changed the way I think about mentorship, because I think there's a lesson here that every aspiring CRNA and every mentor can learn from. So let me tell you a little bit of the context of what happened. Uh, recently there was a few anonymous posts inside the CRNA Mentor community asking for, and in some cases sharing specific interview questions from individual CRNA programs. Now, many of you know that our community has grown into something much bigger than I have ever imagined. We have thousands of aspiring CRNAs, but we also have practicing CRNAs, CRNA school faculty members, program directors, national leaders in our profession. And not long after those posts appeared, my phone started ringing. I received messages from educators. I had phone calls with program directors. And honestly, I'm really grateful that they're willing to speak with me and share some of their perspectives. It would have been very easy for someone just quietly leave the community or just kind of keep their discussions solely within the circles of educators. Instead, they picked up the phone when I called, they explained their perspectives, and they really trusted me enough to have an honest conversation. And I'm genuinely grateful for that. And, you know, because of all those conversations, it really made me into a better mentor and somebody more capable to serve all of my aspiring CRNAs. Now I'll be honest with you, when this first happened, my mind immediately went to these interview questions that were shared. And I thought, okay, this is probably another reminder I have to put out in the community not to share specific programs for interviews, or even, you know, tighten my moderator settings that I have that help me identify these questions that are shared quickly so I can remove them and remove those individuals from the group. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I needed to speak with somebody on the phone, speak with some of these educators that are part of this community. So I started making phone calls, not because I was looking for somebody to make up the decision for me as to how to navigate this or exactly what to do. I just, I genuinely wanted to understand what they were seeing that I wasn't in this case. And every conversation that I had, you know, I talked to multiple program directors, educators, and each of them added some piece to the puzzle here to help me understand this a little bit more. One educator talked to me about academic integrity. Another talked about professionalism. Another shared the tremendous amount of work and the money that go into constructing these admission processes. And, you know, every conversation was a little bit different, but together they completely changed the way I viewed this situation. As soon as those conversations continued, I really found myself asking a different question. Not, you know, should interview questions be shared? You know, I think we all know the answer to that question. Is anonymous posting still serving the purpose I wanted within this community? You know, when I first allowed anonymous posting, my reason was pretty simple. You know, I wanted people to, if they felt embarrassed about asking a question, if they had, you know, maybe coworkers on their unit in this group, that they could ask these questions and still feel okay doing so because they could do it anonymously. You know, maybe struggles that they're having having in their ICU, or if they're feeling this imposter syndrome that many people feel in this experience. And I really wanted this to be a safe space to ask questions. And really, that is mentorship, right? And that's what an honest posting in the community I really thought could provide this. But over time, I realized that something had changed. Instead of encouraging vulnerability, it began creating some distance. Instead of encouraging honest mentorship, it was creating opportunities to avoid accountability. And that part really bothered me because mentorship isn't about anonymity, it's about building relationships. It's, it's built on trust and, and having accountability. And those are all the same qualities that make exceptional clinicians, exceptional CRNAs. So, you know, after reflecting on those conversations, I made the decision to turn off anonymous posting within the community. Not because I wanted fewer questions. I want more questions. I want the difficult ones, the vulnerable ones, you know, those are my favorite ones when I read in the group. And those are ones that I will very commonly comment on. And those are the ones that get, you know, the most comments from everybody else. But I also want this community to reflect professionalism. You know, that's what we're striving to develop because the way that we conduct ourselves while pursuing this profession matters just as much as getting into it. As I was reflecting all the conversations that I had with these program directors and faculty, I realized something. I thought that I was having conversations about these interview questions. Looking back, I realized I was actually having conversations about the future of this profession. And that's when everything clicked. You know, every educator approached the situation from a different perspective, but every one of them led to the exact same place. Integrity, professionalism. You know, this idea that professionalism doesn't begin just in orientation. It begins long before anyone hands you this acceptance letter. One program director said something that really stuck with me. They said, Tyler, this, this really isn't about the interview questions. And at first I wasn't sure where they were going with this because I thought, wasn't this the whole issue? You know, there, these interview questions were being shared. They said, "It's about integrity." And I'll be honest, I really wasn't thinking about that as much. Yes, it was maybe in the background of my thoughts, but I was looking at what was right in front of me. I was so focused on these interview questions. And they were focused on what those questions represented. And those are two very different conversations. They asked me to think about it from the perspective of an admissions committee. If somebody is willing to cross an ethical line, before they're even accepted. What does that tell you? Not necessarily who they'll become, you know, people grow, they mature, but what does it tell you about how they're approaching this entire process today? And that question really stuck with me because admission committees aren't simply asking, is this applicant smart enough? They're asking, can we trust this person? Is this person authentic in how they're representing themselves? And that's important for this profession. You know, our patients, you know, trust us. Our surgeons trust us. Our colleagues trust us. Our profession as a CRNA is built on trust. Integrity isn't just another characteristic of being a good CRNA. It's the foundation that everything is built on. Another educator shared something that all aspiring CRNAs need to hear. They said, professionalism starts long before someone becomes a nurse anesthesia resident. And that statement was spot on because professionalism shows up in every little decision that we make every single day. How do you show up prepared? Do you own your own mistakes? How do you respond when somebody gives you difficult feedback? You know, these are decisions that, that repeated over time become your professional identity long before anybody ever calls you an SRNA. Another conversation that, that really surprised me, one program director asked me, they said, Tyler Anderson, have you ever thought of how much goes into creating an admissions interview? And honestly, not really. You know, they said that they spend months building these admission processes and they debate, you know, what qualities they're trying to identify. They refine their interview questions, they discuss evaluation methods, they work hard to create something that's fair. And then I heard something that really resonated with me. They said when interview questions begin circulating, it doesn't just help one applicant, It undermines the entire process that faculty have worked so incredibly hard to build. And I've always worked hard in the community to protect the integrity of the interview process, but that statement really stuck with me. There's another educator that, that shared some perspective that I really wasn't expecting. They said, honestly, I'm not all that worried if people hear different interview questions here and there. And I thought, really? Because I've been working hard to try and prevent this from happening. And They said, you know, if we think that someone memorized an answer, we simply pivot. You know, we'll change and ask you the why. We'll ask you to connect concepts. We'll ask you to explain your reasoning. They said that they changed the direction of the interview, sometimes completely, and sometimes they're even changing from one interview to the next. You know, and this is something that within the CRNA Mentor community, I've always focused on not teaching people what to say. I always thought it was more important to teach people how to think. And these are two very different things. You know, anybody can memorize an answer, but eventually someone's going to ask you why. And, and that's where genuine preparation actually wins. Understanding is always going to outperform memorization. You know, after all those conversations, one question that I kept coming back to thinking for my mentees is, who are you becoming while you're pursuing this goal? Not how competitive are you, or how many shadowing hours do you have, what's your GPA, but, but who are you really becoming? Because eventually the interview is over, CRNA school's over, orientation is over, and now you are a CRNA. And the habits that you're building today make you the clinician you'll become tomorrow. So, you know, let me ask you a few questions. When you finish your ICU shift, Who are you becoming when your preceptor gives you difficult feedback? Who are you becoming when nobody's watching or you're tempted to take a shortcut? Who are you becoming? You know, these are the opportunities that we have to, to grow. It's not just about these interview questions. You're going to be faced with these opportunities where you can either learn or you can simply get by. And I think that that's the important part of this entire discussion. You know, it's not really just about those specific interview questions. It's really these life questions of of who are you becoming as a CRNA as you navigate all of this? Who are you becoming professionally? Uh, and honestly, that's where all these things are being built, is, is right now throughout this entire process of getting your application together and, and interviewing for CRNA school. Yeah, you know, after all those conversations, I really kept coming back to, you know, this idea of what do I want CRNA Mentor to represent? Because if I'm being honest it would have been easy to simply just remove anonymous posting, move on, and never talk about this. But I don't think that's the right thing to do. You know, I had this opportunity to learn, and if I learned something, this could help thousands of aspiring CRNAs. And, and I think that I have a responsibility to share it. You know, I'm always trying to better myself, just as you guys are trying to better yourself in your journey. And, and I think that, you know, teaching you to think about leadership differently, or develop your emotional intelligence, or navigating the ICU, you know, all All these things matter, but this experience really reminded me that as your mentor, you know, my responsibility is much bigger than helping you get accepted to school. My responsibility is helping people become, you know, the kind of professionals that our educators are proud to train. And I've always believed that if we focused on becoming the right applicant, acceptance is just a natural byproduct. It's not the primary goal. And that really is a huge difference. You know, you have this mindset that says, you know, how do I get into CRNA school? The other asks, how do I become the future CRNA that a program will be excited to train? You know, one is focused on the destination, the other is focused on the person that you're becoming all along. And I think that's where this conversation needs to go. And as I was thinking more about CRNA Mentor, I'm thinking, you know, mentorship isn't just about opening doors. It also carries this responsibility to protect what's on the other side of that door. You know, we're inviting people into one of the greatest professions in healthcare, and that also means protecting the integrity of this profession. You know, helping people get accepted and protecting the profession aren't competing ideas. They're inseparable. You know, one depends on the next. So, you know, if you're listening to this today and you're somebody who is an aspiring CRNA, I really want you to hear this conversation, and I don't want you to feel guilty or for this to make you feel anxious about this entire, you know, interview process. But it's also important, I guess, to point out that this profession, it doesn't expect perfection. You know, none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes, but we all have moments where we need someone to challenge our thinking. And that's exactly what happened to me through all these conversations. Now, before I wrap this up, I want to say thank you and express my gratitude for all the educators, the program directors that spent time talking to me on the phone, messaging me back and forth. You know, it really would have been much easier to just quietly leave the community or just kind of keep these conversations to yourself. But instead, you trusted me enough to have an honest conversation, and I genuinely appreciate that. And it really— it did challenge my thinking, and it really helped me see your perspective. And honestly, it's because conversations like this, they help me become a better mentor and better serve not just our aspiring CRNAs, but better serve this profession in the future. I'm honestly a better mentor today than I was a few weeks ago before this happened, and I just genuinely appreciate all of your support and, and everybody within the CRNA Mentor community. Uh, thank you all for, for joining me for this episode of the CRNA Mentor podcast. If this conversation changed your perspective, I encourage you to share it with other aspiring CRNAs or other mentors in this space. And if you're new to CRNA Mentor, I'd love to invite you to check out my, my brand new updated website, crnamentor.com. Check it out on the desktop. It's, it's, it's a bit cleaner. It has all the resources, uh, for anybody along this entire journey, from you know, a high school graduate that just found out what a CRNA is, all the way up to, you know, aspiring CRNAs who are getting ready to apply, who are preparing for interviews. I have all of my resources in one space to help you navigate all this. So go on and check that out. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you for the next episode of the CRNA Mentor Podcast.