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Nurse Anesthesia Curriculum

Philosophy

The Nurse Anesthesia Program is dedicated to the graduate education of nurse anesthetists in the uniformed services. The uniformed services require that graduates independently provide quality anesthesia care in diverse settings throughout the world. The rigorous curriculum is designed to integrate scientific principles with anesthesia theory and practice, stressing unique aspects of the federal health care system. An emphasis is placed on statistics and research methodology enabling the student to critically analyze anesthesia literature and evaluate potential problems in anesthesia. The primary goal of the program is to produce safe, competent, adaptable anesthetists who can meet the challenges of today's federal health care needs.

Design

The Nurse Anesthetist Program is a 30-month, front-loaded, regionalized course of study that consists of two phases. The Phase I didactic component, conducted on the campus of USU, provides the student with the academic and professional education necessary for entrance into the clinical arena. All content areas identified in the Standards and Guidelines for Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs are introduced during Phase I. The 18-month Phase II clinical component focuses on the application of science and research to clinical anesthesia. Students are assigned to a federal medical treatment facility as their principal clinical training site. Individual clinical training sites may be eliminated or added as needed to assure quality clinical education. The clinical phase is designed to guide graduate students toward the goal of functional autonomy by demanding that students care for patients in a manner reflecting comprehensive integration of scientific principle and anesthesia theory, as well as maximal independent decision-making appropriate to each student's level of experience.

Basic & Clinical Sciences: 22 Credit Hours
Applied Anatomy/Cell Biology
Applied Neuroscience
Advanced Health Assessment
Applied Physiology/Pathophysiology
Applied Pharmacology for Advanced Nursing Practice
Applied Biochemistry
Clinical Pharmacology for Nurse Anesthetists

Leadership: 5 Credit Hours
Leadership Role in Interdisciplinary Healthcare
Leadership/Management in a Global Environment
Ethics and Policy in Federal Health Systems

Research & Statistics: 11 Credit Hours
Theoretical Foundations for Military and Federal Health Research
Statistical Measures/Analytic Methods
Applied Scholarly Inquiry I , II
Capstone Clinical Investigative Project I, II

Nurse Anesthesia: 44 Credit Hours
Basic Anesthetic and Pharmacologic Principles of Anesthesia
Advanced Principles of Anesthesia
Clinical Practicum and Seminar for Nurse Anesthetist Practice I, II, III, IV & V

Total Credit Hours: 82
Downloadable Nurse Anesthesia Curriculum

Accreditation

The Uniformed Services University Nurse Anesthesia Program is fully accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) for a 30-month masters program. The program's next review by the COA is scheduled for Spring 2013.

The address for the COA is 222 Prospect Avenue, Park Ridge, IL, 60068. The COA phone number is (847) 655-1160, and their e-mail address is accreditation@coa.us.com.

The attrition rate is 32 percent for the Uniformed Services University Nurse Anesthetists 2011 graduates. The employment rate is 100 percent and the first-time taker National Certification Exam board pass rate is 100 percent with 27 students taking the exam.