Nursing Practice, Specialization in Nurse Anesthesia (DNP)

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. 
  • 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

NURS 607Foundational Concepts of Evidence Based Practice3
NURS 643Quality and Safety in Advanced Practice Nursing2
NURS 657Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Culturally Diverse and Vulnerable Populations.3
NURS 725Analysis of Leadership and Health Policy3
NURS 740Advanced Pharmacology3
NURS 741Advanced Pathophysiology4
NURS 742Advanced Physical Assessment3
NURS 743Epidemiology3
NURS 744Synthesis and Evaluation of Evidence in Practice3
NURS 746Program Development & Evaluation3
NURS 748Application of Leadership and Health Policy1
NURS 750DNP Project I: Project Inception (84 Clinical Hours) 13
NURS 751DNP Project II: Project Implementation2
NURS 752DNP Project III: Project Evaluation, Analysis and Dissemination (84 Clinical Hours) 13
NURS 791Applied Statistics for Evidence Based Practice3
Students who do not complete the DNP project within the DNP coursework will be required to enroll in the DOC 600 completion course until degree requirements are met.
A minimum of 2000 clinical hours is required for the DNP-NA degree.
Minimum Total Hours42

Nurse Anesthesia Requirements

Academic Plan Code: NURSDNPNAN

NURS 809Advanced Anatomy and Physiology for Anesthesia I3
NURS 810Advanced Anatomy & Physiology for Anesthesia II3
NURS 811Chemistry and Physics for Anesthesia3
NURS 812Advanced Pharmacology for Anesthesia 3
NURS 813Business & Leadership in the Nurse Anesthesia Role3
NURS 814Intro to Anesthesia3
NURS 815Foundational Principles of Anesthesia I3
NURS 816Foundational Principles of Anesthesia II3
NURS 817Advanced Principles and Practice of Anesthesia I3
NURS 818Advanced Principles and Practice of Anesthesia II3
NURS 819Advanced Principles and Practice of Anesthesia III3
NURS 821Clinical Practicum for NA I (180 Clinical Hours) 22
NURS 822Clinical Practicum for NA II (360 Clinical Hours) 24
NURS 823Clinical Practicum for NA III (450 Clinical Hours) 25
NURS 824Clinical Practicum for NA IV (450 Clinical Hours) 25
NURS 825Clinical Practicum for NA V (540 Clinical Hours) 26
NURS 826Clinical Practicum for NA VI (450 Clinical Hours) 25
NURS 827Clinical Practicum for NA VII (450 Clinical Hours) 25
NURS 828Nurse Anesthesia Seminar I2
NURS 829Nurse Anesthesia Seminar II1
NURS 830Nurse Anesthesia Seminar III2
Minimum Total Hours70
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).