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In addition, this
27-month program includes a 24-month residency which allows students to gain
the clinical practice required by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse
Anesthesia Education Programs and needed to provide quality anesthesia care.
Graduates of the program are eligible to sit for the national examination
that, upon completion, allows the individual to use the title of Certified
Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA).
The curriculum is
designed to prepare nurses to provide anesthesia care for patients
undergoing surgical and obstetrical procedures and to provide pain relief in
a variety of health care settings. The graduate nurse anesthesia resident
works with Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and
Anesthesiologists to provide assessment preoperatively and to develop an
anesthetic plan appropriate to the physical and emotional status of the
patient and the procedure that is anticipated. The nurse anesthesia resident
then administers the anesthetic in a form such as general, regional, or
local anesthesia with sedation and physiological monitoring. Working with
clinical preceptors, the resident provides anesthesia care and monitoring
during the perioperative period.
The program accepts
registered nurses that are able to demonstrate a strong and current adult
critical care experience. Graduates are prepared to implement research
findings into their professional practice as nurse anesthesia care givers,
educators, and leaders in health care.
ADMISSION
REQUIREMENTS
The admission
requirements for the Graduate Anesthesia Program are as follows:
-
Graduate of a CCNE or NLN accredited
baccalaureate nursing program
-
BSN
-
Current Ohio State license
-
A minimum of a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale
(or the equivalent) from undergraduate work
-
A minimum of one year of current
adult critical care experience. Current experience is defined as one
consecutive year of adult critical care nursing. The following does
not constitute critical care experience for admission to The
University of Akron: operating room, labor and delivery, step down
telemetry units, neonatal intensive care, emergency room, pediatric
intensive care, post anesthesia care units and cardiac catheterization
labs.
-
Shadow a CRNA for a minimum of 8
hours (specific documentation is not required)
-
Current ACLS certification. (This
must be maintained throughout the program)
-
The University of Akron Graduate
School Application (submit with check for $30 payable to The University
of Akron Graduate School).
-
Transcripts of all coursework (a
minimum of a 3.0 GPA out of 4.0 GPA is required for admission).
-
Completion of the Graduate Record
Examination (GRE) with a minimum score of 400 in the verbal and
quantitative categories and a minimum score of 3.0 in the analytical
writing category
-
Essay, a 300-word position paper
describing your professional goals and purpose in seeking graduate
education. The purpose of this paper is to determine the congruency of
your goals with the graduate program’s philosophy and to state your
rationale for pursuing nurse anesthesia education.
-
Information Form
-
Nurse Anesthesia Data Sheet
-
Resume outlining educational and
professional experience, scholarly activity, and professional
organization memberships, activities and/or awards.
-
References from three individuals who
can attest to the applicant’s clinical and academic skills and
potential.
- Current
nursing supervisor
- A member of
the nursing profession who can attest to the applicant’s scholarly
abilities.
-
A former college or school
faculty member (or a second nursing supervisor if out of school more
than three years)
Although the
majority of our applicants hold the BSN degree, an RN-MSN option is
available for the associate degree or diploma-prepared nurse. RNs that don’t
hold a BSN should refer to our program guides for the RN-BSN or RN-MSN
track.
The Graduate Application must be completed online at
www.uakron.edu/gradsch/. Questions regarding the
application process should be directed to the Graduate School at
330-972-7663. All additional application materials, including official
transcripts, letters of recommendation, test scores and supplemental
materials are to be mailed to:
The University of Akron
Graduate School
Akron, Ohio 44325-2101
All application
materials must be received by the August 1. Once accepted into the College
of Nursing Graduate Program, candidates may begin taking core classes and
will be eligible to interview for the graduate anesthesia program in
October. Students admitted into the graduate anesthesia program will begin
anesthesia course work in June of the following year.
ADMISSION POLICIES
-
The entering student must meet all
University requirements for admission.
-
Academic records for previous college
work will be evaluated and decisions made accordingly.
-
The student will be considered for
admission to the College of Nursing when all university requirements and
college prerequisites are met.
-
All transfer
grades will be combined with those earned at The University of Akron in
computation of a GPA.
STUDENT
EMPLOYMENT
The faculty of the
Graduate Anesthesia Program does not recommend employment during the
program. If part-time employment is a necessity, the student may not work
between 11p.m. to 7 a.m. prior to a class or clinical day. The faculty will
not make concessions in clinical or class time due to outside employment.
STIPENDS
Students do not
receive a stipend during the program. However, a limited number of Graduate
Assistantships are available during the first year of the program.
Information on financial aid is available through the Financial Aid Office
at The University of Akron. Tuition assistant programs are also available
through the Army, Navy and Air Force.
CURRICULUM
The curriculum
follows a predominantly front-loaded didactic format. The majority of the
first year focuses on didactic work with approximately 20 hours/week in
clinical experiences. The curriculum consists of 20 credits of core graduate
nursing course work and 40 credits of graduate anesthesia course work.
During the last 15 months of the program, students are in the clinical
setting four days per week with one day of didactic content.
The curriculum
affords the student the opportunity to gain experience in all types and
techniques of anesthesia care including regional anesthesia administration
and invasive line placement. Students function as a member of a
multi-disciplinary health care team to provide anesthesia nursing care to a
variety of patient populations. The curriculum includes the following
courses:
CLINICAL SITES
Thirty-two clinical
sites are offered throughout the State of Ohio. | 
