Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice

Description

Mission Statement

In congruence with, and in addition to, the stated mission of AdventHealth University, the mission of the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program is to:

• Prepare graduates for nurse anesthesia practice in culturally diverse populations across the lifespan and a variety of practice settings.
• Provide a curriculum for doctoral study.
• Maintain a quality program which meets accreditation standards.
• Prepare graduates to attain certification in nurse anesthesia.
• Promote professional socialization.
• Help graduates integrate research findings into their practice.
• Develop leaders who will practice healthcare as ministry and live the healing values of Christ.

Program Description

The Nurse Anesthesia program (NAP) consists of 122 graduate semester hours, leading to the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) degree. The curriculum integrates health sciences with nursing sciences to prepare students as advanced practitioners in nurse anesthesia who can integrate research findings into their practice. Students are prepared to assume leadership roles in anesthesia and provide anesthesia care to patients across the lifespan, in a variety of settings including medically under-served areas. Graduates are eligible for certification as Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and state licensure as Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), where required.

The Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) degree program is a 36-month course of continuous study. Students do not follow the traditional AHU trimester format upon entering the anesthesia clinical practicum sessions of the curriculum. To provide students with necessary hours to accomplish course and clinical objectives and comply with the required numbers and types of anesthesia cases designated by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational programs (COA), each trimester session is continuous with the next trimester session (block format), without traditional academic/trimester breaks. Thus, didactic and clinical assignments are scheduled almost continuously throughout the calendar year. Vacation time is pre-scheduled by the NAP, typically in one-week increments approximately each trimester, and usually during a portion of the AHU trimester break periods, to be dispersed throughout the program. Dates for registration, dropping courses without academic penalty, and student health requirements are contained in the AHU Academic Catalog.