CRNA Interview Questions And Correct
Answers 2024-2025
What are the interventions for cardiogenic shock? -ANSWER-Fluids
-Vasopressors (Dopamine)
-Inotropes (Dobutamine, Milrinone for heart failure)
-IABP, ECMO
Your ventilator is peak pressure alarming. What could be the problem? -ANSWER-Normal
plateau pressure - Kink in tubing, patient biting tube, mucous plug, bronchospasm, ETT too
small
-If high plateau pressure - there is an issue with lung compliance ie: developing PNA,
pulmonary edema, auto PEEP, pneumothorax, right main stem, ARDS, ILD
Your patient must be intubated soon. What equipment do you want at the bedside? - ANSWER
-suction
-appropriate-sized bag and mask
-oxygen source
-appropriate size endotracheal tubes including a size larger and one size smaller
-laryngoscope and appropriate-sized laryngoscope blades (including one size smaller and one
size larger)
-endotracheal tube-securing equipment (tape or other)
-stylet
-syringe
-pillow, blanket roll
-stethoscope
,-IVF, pressure bag
-pressors depending on status
-sedation
-appropriate sized nasogastric tubes
-x-ray on standby
What are the causes of post operative tachycardia? -ANSWER Postoperative sinus tachycardia
is most commonly caused by catecholamine release in response to surgical stress or anemia.
-Pain
-Hypovolemia
-Anemia
-Drug induced
-Cardiac problem (MI, tamponade)
-Pulmonary problem (Pneumothorax, PE)
What is the difference between CRNA and MDA? -ANSWER -Schooling: MDA is a licensed
medical doctor with 12 years of schooling, CRNA requires 6-7 years of schooling
-Most states do not allow nurse anesthetists to administer anesthesia without being
supervised by a board-certified doctor. That requirement has been stripped in 19 states but still
stands in Texas
-Similar job roles & responsibilities
-Rural areas more commonly have CRNAs; hospitals have both
Do you know what the term "opt out" means? -ANSWER-As mentioned above, up until the
November 13, 2001 rule, the federal requirement has been that CRNAs must be medically
directed by a physician. The November 13, 2001 rule permits states to "opt-out" or be
"exempted" from the federal medical direction requirement.
,-For a state to "opt-out" of the federal medical direction requirement, the state's governor
must provide a letter of attestation to CMS. The letter must attest that:
1. The state's governor has consulted with the state's boards of medicine and nursing about
issues related to access to and the quality of anesthesia services in the state; and
2. That it is in the best interests of the state's citizens to opt-out of the current federal
physician supervision requirement; and
3. That the opt-out is consistent with state law.
Discuss the function of the sympathetic nervous system. -ANSWER-Branch of the autonomic
nervous system -"fight or flight"
-Involved with preparing the body for stress-related activities, slows bodily processes that are
less important in emergencies such as digestion
-Patho: The amygdala will send a distress signal to the hypothalamus. Impulses are then
transmitted through the SNS to the adrenal glands, which then pumps adrenaline into the blood
stream.
Increased heart rate, Dilation of the pupil, Secretion of sweat glands, Increased alertness,
Slowing down or stopping digestion, Relaxation of the bladder
Within the sympathetic nervous system, there exist two kinds of neurons: preganglionic
neurons, originating in the brain and spinal cord, and postganglionic neurons outside the spinal
cords or ganglion cells.
Neurotransmitters involved: Acetylcholine, Epi, Norepi
Explain the role of the parasympathetic nervous system. -ANSWER -Branch of the autonomic
nervous system "rest and digest" - maintains the basic functions of your body so that they
continue to function properly.
, -PSNS arises from your brain and projects out through long fibers that synapse with special
neurons near the organ they would like to act on
Pupils constrict, salivation occurs, heart rate slows, bronchi in the lungs constrict, digestion is
initiated, bile is secreted, bladder muscle contracts
Tell us about a critical patient you had and the pathophysiology behind his/her disease. -
ANSWER Urosepsis -> Septic Shock -> ARDS -> HFOV
How does IABP work? -ANSWER-The IABP consists of a thin, flexible tube called a catheter.
Attached to the tip of the catheter is a long balloon. The other end of the catheter attaches to a
computer console which has a mechanism for inflating and deflating the balloon at the proper
time when your heart beats.
An intra-aortic balloon pump can ease the flow of blood into your coronary arteries. It also
allows your heart to pump out more blood with each beat.
How it works:
1. Deflated in systole so that blood can be ejected with less resistance & also has a vacuum
effect pulling blood forward
2. In diastole, balloon inflates & pushes blood back towards coronary arteries, improving
perfusion
Indications: MI, CHF, defects, arrhythmia, myocarditis
What coronary is involved in an anterior lateral MI? - ANSWER **Left anterior descending
coronary artery (LAD)**
-Also known as anterior wall MI, or AWMI, or anterior ST segment elevation MI, or anterior
STEMI
-An injury to anterior myocardial tissue usually supplied by the left anterior descending
coronary artery due to lack of blood supply.
Answers 2024-2025
What are the interventions for cardiogenic shock? -ANSWER-Fluids
-Vasopressors (Dopamine)
-Inotropes (Dobutamine, Milrinone for heart failure)
-IABP, ECMO
Your ventilator is peak pressure alarming. What could be the problem? -ANSWER-Normal
plateau pressure - Kink in tubing, patient biting tube, mucous plug, bronchospasm, ETT too
small
-If high plateau pressure - there is an issue with lung compliance ie: developing PNA,
pulmonary edema, auto PEEP, pneumothorax, right main stem, ARDS, ILD
Your patient must be intubated soon. What equipment do you want at the bedside? - ANSWER
-suction
-appropriate-sized bag and mask
-oxygen source
-appropriate size endotracheal tubes including a size larger and one size smaller
-laryngoscope and appropriate-sized laryngoscope blades (including one size smaller and one
size larger)
-endotracheal tube-securing equipment (tape or other)
-stylet
-syringe
-pillow, blanket roll
-stethoscope
,-IVF, pressure bag
-pressors depending on status
-sedation
-appropriate sized nasogastric tubes
-x-ray on standby
What are the causes of post operative tachycardia? -ANSWER Postoperative sinus tachycardia
is most commonly caused by catecholamine release in response to surgical stress or anemia.
-Pain
-Hypovolemia
-Anemia
-Drug induced
-Cardiac problem (MI, tamponade)
-Pulmonary problem (Pneumothorax, PE)
What is the difference between CRNA and MDA? -ANSWER -Schooling: MDA is a licensed
medical doctor with 12 years of schooling, CRNA requires 6-7 years of schooling
-Most states do not allow nurse anesthetists to administer anesthesia without being
supervised by a board-certified doctor. That requirement has been stripped in 19 states but still
stands in Texas
-Similar job roles & responsibilities
-Rural areas more commonly have CRNAs; hospitals have both
Do you know what the term "opt out" means? -ANSWER-As mentioned above, up until the
November 13, 2001 rule, the federal requirement has been that CRNAs must be medically
directed by a physician. The November 13, 2001 rule permits states to "opt-out" or be
"exempted" from the federal medical direction requirement.
,-For a state to "opt-out" of the federal medical direction requirement, the state's governor
must provide a letter of attestation to CMS. The letter must attest that:
1. The state's governor has consulted with the state's boards of medicine and nursing about
issues related to access to and the quality of anesthesia services in the state; and
2. That it is in the best interests of the state's citizens to opt-out of the current federal
physician supervision requirement; and
3. That the opt-out is consistent with state law.
Discuss the function of the sympathetic nervous system. -ANSWER-Branch of the autonomic
nervous system -"fight or flight"
-Involved with preparing the body for stress-related activities, slows bodily processes that are
less important in emergencies such as digestion
-Patho: The amygdala will send a distress signal to the hypothalamus. Impulses are then
transmitted through the SNS to the adrenal glands, which then pumps adrenaline into the blood
stream.
Increased heart rate, Dilation of the pupil, Secretion of sweat glands, Increased alertness,
Slowing down or stopping digestion, Relaxation of the bladder
Within the sympathetic nervous system, there exist two kinds of neurons: preganglionic
neurons, originating in the brain and spinal cord, and postganglionic neurons outside the spinal
cords or ganglion cells.
Neurotransmitters involved: Acetylcholine, Epi, Norepi
Explain the role of the parasympathetic nervous system. -ANSWER -Branch of the autonomic
nervous system "rest and digest" - maintains the basic functions of your body so that they
continue to function properly.
, -PSNS arises from your brain and projects out through long fibers that synapse with special
neurons near the organ they would like to act on
Pupils constrict, salivation occurs, heart rate slows, bronchi in the lungs constrict, digestion is
initiated, bile is secreted, bladder muscle contracts
Tell us about a critical patient you had and the pathophysiology behind his/her disease. -
ANSWER Urosepsis -> Septic Shock -> ARDS -> HFOV
How does IABP work? -ANSWER-The IABP consists of a thin, flexible tube called a catheter.
Attached to the tip of the catheter is a long balloon. The other end of the catheter attaches to a
computer console which has a mechanism for inflating and deflating the balloon at the proper
time when your heart beats.
An intra-aortic balloon pump can ease the flow of blood into your coronary arteries. It also
allows your heart to pump out more blood with each beat.
How it works:
1. Deflated in systole so that blood can be ejected with less resistance & also has a vacuum
effect pulling blood forward
2. In diastole, balloon inflates & pushes blood back towards coronary arteries, improving
perfusion
Indications: MI, CHF, defects, arrhythmia, myocarditis
What coronary is involved in an anterior lateral MI? - ANSWER **Left anterior descending
coronary artery (LAD)**
-Also known as anterior wall MI, or AWMI, or anterior ST segment elevation MI, or anterior
STEMI
-An injury to anterior myocardial tissue usually supplied by the left anterior descending
coronary artery due to lack of blood supply.
