Emory CRNA Program Interview, Requirements and Tuition (2026)

No applicant is admitted to Emory University's Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Nurse Anesthesia program without an interview. According to Emory's Apply Now and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesia pages, the School of Nursing runs two application and interview rounds each cycle for the August cohort start. Confirm your exact date and delivery format in your invitation email and check your Application Status Portal Page regularly. For a wider look at how programs evaluate applicants, read our guide to CRNA school interviews.

To practice answering receptor pharmacology and clinical scenario questions out loud before your interview window, Confetto, an AI mock interviewer for healthcare program interviews, runs spoken clinical and behavioral mock sessions with follow-up questions. Start your free week.

• Round 1: June 1, 2026 application deadline, with interviews scheduled for July and August.
• Round 2: September 1, 2026 application deadline, with interviews scheduled for October and November.
• Two-interview limit: Emory limits every applicant to a maximum of two interviews across all cycles.
• Attire: Emory's program page instructs you to dress as if you are attending a very important and conservative business meeting.
• Waitlist rule: Emory maintains an unranked waitlist that stays active up to the first day of orientation. Waitlisted interviewees who are not selected for the cohort must reapply for a future cycle, as being on the waitlist does not guarantee admission the next year.

Emory publishes a clinical and professional preparation guide directly on its Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesia page. The faculty advises you to prepare for and earn CCRN certification, read the online Journal of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, and expand both the breadth and depth of your critical care knowledge beyond your home unit. Every item below comes directly from the program's interview preparation section.

• ACLS manual review: Study drug therapies, invasive monitoring, and the commonalities and differences between vasoactive medications, including their pharmacological actions and the specific receptor sites they affect.
• Code blue debriefing: Review your recent BLS, ACLS, and PALS code situations. Be ready to explain what went right, whether there were deviations from standard algorithms, the clinical rationale for any deviation, and the patient outcome.
• Therapy rationale and mechanisms: For therapies on your unit, ask why a particular therapy is prescribed, what alternative therapies could be proposed, what underlying mechanisms of action apply, what side effects you anticipate, and what actions you take when those side effects occur.
• Invasive hemodynamic monitoring: Know the invasive technologies used in critical care, their correct usage, the hemodynamic parameters frequently monitored, normal ranges, and their units of measurement. Review how those parameters change in response to therapy and across different disease processes, and how patient tolerance for abnormal parameters shifts.
• Laboratory values: Review why specific labs are ordered, normal ranges, units of measurement, clinical implications of out-of-range values, and factors that can alter values or affect their validity.
• Shadowing reflection (16+ hours strongly recommended): Be prepared to discuss the typical day and responsibilities of a CRNA, the procedures and types of anesthesia you observed (general, regional, or monitored anesthesia care), the medications used during induction and emergence, what was communicated during the PACU hand-off, and whether the practice setting you saw is generalizable to most settings.

We wrote the practice questions and sample answers below directly from the study prompts on Emory's CRNA program page. They are for practice and do not represent official questions released by the committee. For more clinical and behavioral prompts, see our collection of CRNA school interview questions with answers.

Question 1 (Vasoactive medications and receptor sites): Walk me through the commonalities and differences between norepinephrine and phenylephrine, including the specific receptor sites they target and when you would propose one over the other in septic shock.

"Both norepinephrine and phenylephrine are potent vasopressors used to restore mean arterial pressure, and both stimulate alpha-1 adrenergic receptors on vascular smooth muscle to cause vasoconstriction and increase systemic vascular resistance. The primary difference is beta-1 receptor activity. Norepinephrine has strong alpha-1 activity alongside moderate beta-1 adrenergic agonism, which supports myocardial contractility and helps maintain cardiac output against the higher afterload. Phenylephrine is a pure alpha-1 agonist with no beta-1 effect. Because it raises afterload without supporting inotropy or chronotropy, phenylephrine can trigger a baroreceptor-mediated reflex bradycardia and drop stroke volume in a patient with impaired cardiac function. In septic shock, norepinephrine is the first-line agent because sepsis often involves both profound vasodilation and some degree of myocardial depression. I would propose phenylephrine as an alternative mainly when a patient develops significant tachyarrhythmias on norepinephrine, or as a rapid bolus to support coronary perfusion pressure during transient hypotension accompanied by sinus tachycardia." Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented.

Question 2 (Hemodynamic monitoring and units): What are the normal ranges and units of measurement for central venous pressure, pulmonary artery pressures, cardiac index, and systemic vascular resistance, and how do they shift in cardiogenic shock versus septic shock?

"Central venous pressure normally runs 2 to 6 millimeters of mercury, and pulmonary artery pressures are roughly 15 to 30 millimeters of mercury systolic over 8 to 15 diastolic, with a pulmonary artery wedge pressure of 6 to 12 millimeters of mercury. Cardiac index is measured in liters per minute per meter squared, with a normal range of 2.5 to 4.0. Systemic vascular resistance is measured in dynes-seconds per centimeter to the fifth power, and normal is 800 to 1,200. In cardiogenic shock, pump failure causes fluid to back up, so CVP and wedge pressure rise above normal, cardiac index drops below 2.2 liters per minute per meter squared, and SVR climbs above 1,200 dynes-seconds per centimeter to the fifth power as the vasculature clamps down to maintain blood pressure. In early hyperdynamic septic shock, you see the opposite vascular picture: profound vasodilation drives SVR well below 800, filling pressures like CVP and wedge are low due to relative hypovolemia and capillary leak, and cardiac index is often normal or elevated before myocardial depression sets in." Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented.

Question 3 (ACLS code deviation rationale): Tell us about a code situation you participated in. Did the team deviate from the standard ACLS algorithm, and what was the rationale?

"Last fall I cared for a 62-year-old post-cardiac-surgery patient in the CVICU who went into pulseless ventricular tachycardia 12 hours after a coronary artery bypass graft. Under standard ACLS, we would immediately begin chest compressions, defibrillate, and administer epinephrine after the second shock. In our post-sternotomy protocol, we deviated on two points with the intensivist and surgical fellow at the bedside. First, we delivered three stacked defibrillations before starting external compressions to avoid sternal disruption and graft trauma if a shock could immediately restore perfusion. Second, once he converted on the second shock with a mean arterial pressure of 45 millimeters of mercury, we held the full 1-milligram ACLS code dose of epinephrine and instead gave a 50-microgram push dose while uptitrating his norepinephrine drip. The rationale was that 1 milligram of epinephrine in a fresh bypass patient can cause severe hypertension, extreme tachycardia, and bleeding or graft avulsion. He stabilized without re-opening the chest." Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented.

Question 4 (Shadowing reflection and PACU hand-off): During your CRNA shadowing hours, what medications did you observe during induction and emergence, and what did the CRNA communicate during the PACU hand-off?

"During my 16 hours shadowing at a metropolitan hospital, I observed four general endotracheal anesthesia cases, including a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. For induction, the CRNA pre-oxygenated the patient, gave 2 milligrams of midazolam in pre-op, and then administered 100 micrograms of fentanyl and 40 milligrams of lidocaine to blunt the sympathetic response to laryngoscopy, followed by 180 milligrams of propofol and 50 milligrams of rocuronium for neuromuscular blockade. Maintenance ran on sevoflurane. For emergence, the CRNA checked train-of-four twitch monitoring, gave 4 milligrams of ondansetron and 4 milligrams of dexamethasone early for PONV prophylaxis, reversed the rocuronium with 200 milligrams of sugammadex, and titrated small doses of hydromorphone so the patient woke up comfortable without respiratory depression. In the PACU hand-off, the CRNA gave a structured report: patient history, allergies, airway grade and tube size, exact totals of induction agents, opioids, and sugammadex reversal timing, estimated blood loss, total crystalloid infused, urine output, and post-op pain and nausea orders." Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented.

This two-week preparation checklist is our team's plan built around the exact topics on Emory's CRNA page.

• Days 1 to 3 (Vasoactive drips and receptors): Build a one-page table for norepinephrine, epinephrine, phenylephrine, vasopressin, dopamine, dobutamine, milrinone, and nicardipine. Write out the exact receptor sites (alpha-1, alpha-2, beta-1, beta-2, V1, dopa, or PDE-3/calcium channel), the primary mechanism of action, two anticipated side effects, and your alternative drug if a patient cannot tolerate the first choice.
• Days 4 to 6 (Invasive lines and units): Drill normal ranges and exact units of measurement out loud for arterial lines, CVP, PAP, PAWP, CO, CI, SVR, and PVR. Emory specifically mentions units of measurement, so always state "dynes-seconds per centimeter to the fifth power" with SVR.
• Days 7 to 8 (Labs and validity factors): Pick ten ICU lab values (lactate, potassium, ionized calcium, arterial blood gases, troponin, creatinine, INR, platelets, hemoglobin, and mixed venous oxygen saturation). Practice stating the normal range, unit, clinical meaning of an abnormal result, and one factor that alters validity, such as hemolysis elevating potassium or hypothermia shifting blood gas values.
• Days 9 to 10 (ACLS and PALS algorithms): Review the ACLS bradycardia, tachycardia, and cardiac arrest algorithms alongside PALS dosing. Write down one real code from your ICU, noting any clinical deviation from the standard card and why the team made that call.
• Days 11 to 12 (Shadowing notes): Review your 16+ hours of CRNA shadowing notes so you can name the induction agents, neuromuscular blockers, reversal agents, volatile gases, and PACU hand-off structure you saw.
• Days 13 to 14 (Spoken dress rehearsal): Put on your conservative business attire and run a full spoken mock interview, keeping clinical answers concise and structured.

To qualify for an interview at Emory, you need a bachelor's or master's degree from an accredited nursing program (CCNE or NLNAC) with at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale, an unencumbered Georgia RN or compact license (applying to the Georgia Board takes up to 4 months), current BLS, ACLS, and PALS certifications, and at least 1 year (12 consecutive months, preferably 2 to 3 years) of current full-time critical care experience excluding orientation. Telemetry, Cardiac Cath Lab, Operating Room, Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU or RR), Interventional Radiology, and Emergency Department experience do not count as critical care. Standardized test scores (including the GRE) are waived for CRNA applicants, while CCRN certification and at least 16 hours of CRNA or anesthesiologist shadowing are recommended, alongside a $50 application fee, official transcripts, a 1-to-3-page CV or resume, and three letters of recommendation (one faculty member who taught you, one supervisor responsible for your annual performance review, and one professional colleague, physician, or CRNA). Compare these with national benchmarks in our guide to CRNA school requirements.

A patient in your ICU is on a norepinephrine infusion at 18 mcg/min for septic shock, and their mean arterial pressure remains 54 mmHg with a heart rate of 128 bpm. What alternative or adjunct vasoactive therapy could you propose, what is its mechanism of action and receptor site, and what side effects would you anticipate?

• Emory School of Nursing: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesia (DNP)
• Emory School of Nursing: Apply Now and 2027 Deadlines
• Emory School of Nursing: Tuition and Funding (2026-2027)
• Emory School of Nursing: Admissions FAQs
• Emory Nursing Catalog: Academic Progression Policies
• Council on Accreditation (COA): List of Accredited Educational Programs (July 8, 2026)