Carrie Bowman Dalley, Ph.D., CRNA, FAANA
Associate Professor and Program Director
The Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice is a full time, in person, program designed to prepare graduates to provide one-on-one care during the perioperative period by delivering quality anesthesia services for surgical, obstetric, and other diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, combined with a personal concern for the health and welfare of the individual. Students are eligible to take the national certification examination administered by the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists.
The curriculum provides depth of knowledge, clinical excellence and research competence in advanced nurse anesthesia practice. The program prepares graduates to: understand the scientific principles underlying the delivery of anesthesia, to provide independent anesthesia care, and to provide optimal health care to the populations they serve. DNAP graduates apply their understanding of the health care system to advance the well-being of individuals and populations through safe, high-quality anesthesia care.
The program is a 36-month full-time program, in which the students build a solid foundation in the basic sciences, the science of anesthesia, and the conduct of practice-based research. Students also gain an appreciation for ethical leadership in nurse anesthesia within the broader context of health care delivery systems, and for the role of anesthesia providers in informing health policy and quality outcomes. Clinical education expands over 2 years, and focuses primarily on applying science and research to excellence and quality in clinical anesthesia care.
Academic Policies
Additional academic policies governing the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia program can be found in the program handbook.
Program Requirements
The curriculum of the Nurse Anesthesia Practice program is structured in two phases. The first phase is front-loaded, classroom, didactic learning supplemented by work in clinical simulation, and the anatomy/cadaver lab (64 credits). The second phase is the clinical and research project phase, consisting of 50-60 on-call hours per week of clinical work.
The standard course of study is outlined below.
Clinical Requirements
Clinical education is conducted in accordance with COA Standards for Accreditation and is designed to ensure students achieve the required competencies, clinical experiences, and case diversity necessary for entry into practice as CRNAs. Clinical affiliates partner with the program to provide supervised learning experiences, maintain a safe educational environment, support ongoing student evaluation, and comply with applicable COA requirements. The program works collaboratively with each clinical site to ensure students receive appropriate supervision, progressive responsibility, and access to a broad range of clinical experiences.
All students must complete at least 2,000 clinical hours prior to graduation.
Students are required to maintain the following resuscitative certifications to engage in clinical activities:
- Basic Life Support (BLS)
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
Evaluation Process
Through the program’s evaluation process, committee structure and faculty meetings the program is routinely evaluated and changes are made to ensure that the program remains in the forefront of nurse anesthesia education. The student and his/her evaluation are critical to this endeavor. The formal evaluation process is composed of numerous facets to evaluate all aspects of the program.
The following data collection tools are used as components of the systematic DNAP evaluation plan:
- Student evaluation of all didactic and clinical courses each semester.
- Student evaluation of clinical faculty each semester via Typhon.
- Student evaluation of clinical rotations and sites each semester via Typhon.
- Clinical Faculty Evaluation of Students (daily).
- Graduate final evaluation of program.
- Alumni (1 year post graduation) evaluation of their preparedness for practice.
- Employer (1 year post graduation) evaluation of graduate CRNA’s preparedness for practice.
Scholarly Project Requirements
The DNAP scholarly project and coursework prepare the learner to conduct practice-oriented research and evaluation in health care systems. Students complete all course requirements and disseminate their findings to the University community through a presentation and a written manuscript. Students are encouraged to present their findings at regional or national meetings and to submit their work to a peer-reviewed journal.
