Nursing Practice, Specialization in Nurse Anesthesia (DNP)

The Nurse Anesthesia program is a specialized track of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree offered by the School of Nursing at the University of Louisville. The program is committed to fostering expertise in the art and science of anesthesia, excellence in leadership, and a commitment to the future of the Nurse Anesthesia profession. Completion of the specialty curriculum prepares students to take the National Certification Examination (NCE) offered by the National Boards of Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA).

Nurse Anesthesia Program Outcomes

At the completion of the Nurse Anesthesia DNP Program, the graduate must demonstrate the ability to:

Patient Safety

• Be vigilant in the delivery of patient care.
• Refrain from engaging in extraneous activities that abandon or minimize vigilance while providing direct patient care.
• Conduct a comprehensive equipment check.
• Protect patients from iatrogenic complications.

Perianesthesia

• Provide individualized care throughout the perianesthesia continuum.
• Deliver culturally competent perianesthesia care.
• Provide anesthesia services to all patients across the lifespan.
• Perform a comprehensive history and physical assessment.
• Administer general anesthesia to patients with a variety of physical conditions.
• Administer general anesthesia for a variety of surgical and medically related procedures.
• Administer and manage a variety of regional anesthetics.
• Maintain current certification in ACLS and PALS.

Critical Thinking

• Apply knowledge to practice in decision making and problem solving
• Provide nurse anesthesia services based on evidence-based principles.
• Perform a preanesthetic assessment before providing anesthesia services.
• Assume responsibility and accountability for diagnosis.
• Formulate an anesthesia plan of care before providing anesthesia services.
• Identify and take appropriate action when confronted with anesthetic equipment-related malfunctions.
• Interpret and utilize data obtained from noninvasive and invasive monitoring modalities.
• Calculate, initiate, and manage fluid and blood component therapy.
• Recognize, evaluate, and manage the physiological responses coincident to the provision of anesthesia services.
• Recognize and appropriately manage complications that occur during the provision of anesthesia services.
• Use science-based theories and concepts to analyze new practice approaches.
• Pass the National Certification Examination (NCE) administered by the NBCRNA.

Communication

• Utilize interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients and their families.
• Utilize interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective interprofessional exchange of information and collaboration with other healthcare professionals.
• Respect the dignity and privacy of patients while maintaining confidentiality in the delivery of interprofessional care.
• Maintain comprehensive, timely, accurate, and legible healthcare records.
• Transfer the responsibility for care of the patient to other qualified providers in a manner that assures continuity of care and patient safety.
• Teach others.

Leadership

• Integrate critical and reflective thinking in his or her leadership approach.
• Provide leadership that facilitates intraprofessional and interprofessional collaboration.

Professional Role

• Adhere to the Code of Ethics for the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.
• Interact on a professional level with integrity.
• Apply ethically sound decision-making processes.
• Function within legal and regulatory requirements.
• Accept responsibility and accountability for his or her practice.
• Provide anesthesia services to patients in a cost-effective manner.
• Demonstrate knowledge of wellness and substance use disorder in the anesthesia profession through completion of content in wellness and substance use disorder.
• Inform the public of the role and practice of the CRNA.
• Evaluate how public policy making strategies impact the financing and delivery of healthcare.
• Advocate for health policy change to improve patient care.
• Advocate for health policy change to advance the specialty of nurse anesthesia.
• Analyze strategies to improve patient outcomes and quality of care.
• Analyze health outcomes in a variety of populations.
• Analyze health outcomes in a variety of clinical settings.
• Analyze health outcomes in a variety of systems.
• Disseminate scholarly work.
• Use information systems/technology to support and improve patient care.
• Use information systems/technology to support and improve healthcare systems.
• Analyze business practices encountered in nurse anesthesia delivery settings.

Standards for Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Programs - Practice Doctorate, Page 17-20, Revised January 30, 2021

A holistic review process is used when considering applications for admission to the DNP Nurse Anesthesia program. The holistic review considers multiple criteria for admission, including the applicant’s professional career goals, academic capabilities, GPA, work experience, leadership, and community engagement.

The University of Louisville School of Nursing participates in Nursing's Centralized Application Service (NursingCAS), which provides you with an online application.  NursingCAS collects and processes your application documents and verifies your transcripts.  The School of Nursing will receive your application information from NursingCAS and use it to make admission decisions.

• Official Transcripts representing all college course work with a recommended overall cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from a regionally accredited institution and a NLN, CCNE or ACEN accredited nursing program. 
  • Applicants who have attended a college or university outside the United States are also required to submit a course-by-course evaluation of their transcript through World Education Services (WES) or Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)
• Minimum Science GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
• Prerequisite courses at the undergraduate level with preference given to those who earned a B or better in all required courses.
  • Human Anatomy
  • Physiology
  • Microbiology
  • Chemistry
• Unencumbered Registered Nursing License
• Acute/Critical Care Nursing Certification (CCRN) or equivalent nursing specialty certification.
• Current certifications in BLS and either ACLS or PALS.
• Minimum one year of recent (within 2-years preferred) full-time critical care experience or the part-time equivalent with Employment Verification.
  • Preference is given to applicants who have high acuity critical care experience where hemodynamic monitoring, mechanical ventilation, and vasoactive drug administration is routinely managed.
  • Preference is given to applicants with experience in shared governance leadership.
• Completion of Graduate Record Examination (GRE), official scores must be within 5 years prior to application.
• Minimum of 24 hours of shadow experience with a CRNA.
• Meet the Program Technical Standards.
• English Proficiency exam as applicable: TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System)

Degree Requirements

BSN-DNP Curriculum

Core Courses Required - See below for additional required coursework for Nurse Anesthesia Speciality

Program Requirements

BSN-DNP Curriculum

Core Courses Required - See Below for Additional Required Coursework for Nurse Anesthesia Specialty

Nurse Anesthesia Requirements

Academic Plan Code: NURSDNPNAN

¹

This course contains clinical hours specific to the DNP project development.  Clinical hours in this course should not be counted as direct patient care hours.  

²

This course contains patient care focused clinical hours. Clinical hours in this course are counted as direct patient care hours. 1 credit hour = 84 clinical hours. 

The Nurse Anesthesia program is a specialized track of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree offered by the School of Nursing at the University of Louisville. The program is committed to fostering expertise in the art and science of anesthesia, excellence in leadership, and a commitment to the future of the Nurse Anesthesia profession. Completion of the specialty curriculum prepares students to take the National Certification Examination (NCE) offered by the National Boards of Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA).