Since its inception in 2009, the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS) Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Anesthesia (DNP-NA) has become one of the top-ranked programs of its kind. The 36 month, hybrid program offers Registered Nurses the flexibility to remain at home for the majority of their schooling, travelling periodically to one of two campuses for in-person classes, clinics, and labs. 

"The number of students applying to our program has continued to grow year over year,” shared Dr. Peter Kallio, Program Director for the DNP-NA. “In 2009, our program began with just 12 students. Today, our cohorts have grown to approximately 50 students, placing us among the top 5% of Nurse Anesthesia programs in the U.S. by enrollment volume.” 

“Our application numbers have consistently grown year after year,” Dr. Kallio shared. “In fact, last year, we received double the applications compared to the previous year. Kira Talent has been instrumental in helping us manage this growth effectively.”

Saving hours with a streamlined application

Before adopting Kira Talent, RFU's admissions process relied heavily on in-person interviews, demanding considerable time and resources from faculty, staff, and students. By transitioning to Kira’s Asynchronous Assessment, the program has streamlined its approach, enhancing efficiency and creating a smoother, more enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

"Our in-person interviews spanned an entire week, involving all six faculty members, administrative staff, and several students," Dr. Kallio shared. "It was pulling them away from their responsibilities in the clinics and classrooms."

"Kira has significantly streamlined our admissions process, saving us days of work and greatly improving overall efficiency."

“The assessment integrated seamlessly into our existing admissions process,” he explained. “Students submit their initial application via NursingCAS. Once their transcripts are verified, our admissions team reviews the applications to determine who advances to the interview stage. Selected applicants then receive an automated invitation via Slate to complete the video assessment on the Kira Talent platform.”

“The integration with Slate works seamlessly,” Dr. Kallio noted. “It automates email invites for applicants and eliminates manual transcription of scores, saving us valuable time.”

“After an assessment is submitted, it’s assigned to three faculty members,” Dr. Kallio continued. “They can log into the Kira platform at their convenience to review the videos, provide feedback, and submit scores. The flexibility is remarkable—evaluations can be completed anytime, whether it’s in the morning, afternoon, or even on the weekend.”

Customized for stronger connections

Kira’s flexibility extends far beyond better scheduling—it empowers Rosalind Franklin University's Nurse Anesthesia program to design an assessment tailored precisely to their unique requirements.

“Kira’s customizable framework allowed us to easily transfer key pieces of our traditional interview.”

“Our Kira assessment consists of seven questions designed to evaluate key metrics like motivation, problem-solving, ethics, and communication,” Dr. Kallio continued. "Each question is presented by a current student through a recorded video within the Kira platform, giving applicants an authentic glimpse into the personality and spirit of our program."

"We also had the flexibility to customize the scoring structure and response weighting," he explained. "Each question was assigned a specific point value, contributing to a total score out of 40. This score serves as a crucial factor in the comprehensive assessment of the applicant.”

A success story worth sharing

Since implementing Kira Talent, the Rosalind Franklin University DNP-NA has seen widespread positive results. 

"Our college has risen in national rankings, moving from the top 75 to the top 15."

“There’s a real buzz around our program right now,” shared Dr. Kallio. “It’s very exciting!”

“The feedback we’ve received from students has been overwhelmingly positive,” he added. “95% of our students are happy with the Kira assessment process, they like how flexible, efficient, and intuitive it is.”

"Our success with Kira has sparked interest from other programs within our college."

“Kira has been a game-changer for us and we continue to tout our successes with it,” Dr. Kallio shared. “We're the envy of our colleagues, from an applications perspective and how we process our admissions.” 

Harnessing innovation to promote equity and fairness

Kira’s innovative integrity features add another level of interest for Dr. Kallio and his team. 

“Kira helps us ensure a greater level of consistency and reliability of our scoring process.”

“With Kira's Inter-Rater Reliability Metrics, we’re alerted to significant score variations, allowing us to take action—whether by involving a fourth reviewer or reassigning the review—to ensure every applicant is assessed fairly and accurately," Dr. Kallio explained. 

“We’re even working to identify trends in high-performing applicants from past cohorts,” Dr. Kallio shared. “We’ve started exploring Kira’s Advanced Insights tool to see how we can try using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help us better predict which students will succeed in our program.”

Kira’s Advanced Insights feature evaluates applicant videos by analyzing speech, text, and both verbal and non-verbal cues. Using the Big Five personality traits model as a framework, it generates a detailed personality assessment for each candidate.

"We're eager to explore the role AI can play in the admissions process," Dr. Kallio continued. "Whatever direction it takes, we aim to stay ahead of the curve—and Kira is helping us do that."