Degrees and Requirements
Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Completion Program
The Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Completion Program prepares graduates to assume leadership positions, with the ultimate goals of improving health care and patient outcomes. The Completion Program is for students who currently hold a master's degree and are Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) who wish to pursue a doctoral degree. Graduates of the program are prepared to:
- Analyze current and emerging scientific knowledge and technologies to provide the highest level of nurse anesthesia practice.
- Translate applicable evidence-based research findings into practice.
- Initiate changes in response to social, political, economic and ethical issues in health care.
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams in the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies for the improvement of health care.
- Develop leadership skills to meet the challenges of increasingly complex health care and educational environments impacting the practice of nurse anesthesia.
- Employ teaching and learning principles in the education of individuals, families, anesthesia students and peers.
- Initiate physiologically sound, evidence-based and culturally sensitive individualized anesthesia care for diverse populations across the lifespan while considering the surgical procedures and comorbid conditions.
- Adhere to the American Nurse Anesthetist Association’s (AANA) Code of Ethics and Practice standards.
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DNAP Completion Program:
Summary of Requirements
Required Courses: 26 credits
DNAP7000MEDICAL STATISTICS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course comprises the three major subject areas of a traditional statistics course, namely, descriptive statistics, probability, and inferential statistics. As regards the first two areas, it primarily reviews and reinforces them, although extending them in certain selected respects. the focus of the course is twofold: in extending and deepening the students' knowledge of inferential techniques such as of comparing two means or two proportions, the chi-square test for two-way tables, inference for regression, two-way Analysis of Variance, nonparametric tests, and/or multiple and logistic regression; and in demonstrating relevance of the subject of statistics to the exploration of health and disease. The use of Microsoft Excel and/or statistical software will facilitate the study of practical problems in health and illness care. This course is a three-credit, one-semester (summer - hybrid) course required for DNAP students.
DNAP7001EVALUATION AND DECISION MAKING
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
The course is designed to cover the core knowledge and skills involved in program evaluation, provide practical experience in evaluation design, and provide exposure to some of the ethical and philosophical issues current in evaluation research. Course activities will be focused on giving students direct experience in the specific research skills and tools required for effective program evaluation which is critical in the development and maintenance of evidence-based practice.
DNAP7002SYSTEMATIC LEADERSHIP I
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course is designed to explore the concept of leadership within the health care system. Content will focus on the nursing leadership role in quality and safety initiatives, information management, patient outcome improvement, and fiscal management. Strategies for creating a culture of quality and safety; application of current technology in information management; and approaches for improvement in patient outcomes will be examined. An overview of health care fiscal management and issues will be investigated. The nursing leadership role in systems thinking and organizational management will be explored.
DNAP7003HEALTH POLICY AND HEALTH CARE
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course is designed to provide the student with an overview of the development of health care policy in the United States. The role health professionals play in defining health policies and healthcare reform, and its impact on healthcare delivery systems is explored. The course offers an introduction to economics and policy factors that affect health care systems. A review of relevant economic concepts and topics such as demand for health services, health care provider behavior, implications of insurance strategies, cost containment, health technologies and government regulations will be covered. An overview of health care finance as it relates to health care systems/services is presented and strategies for influencing the regulatory process will be explored.
DNAP7004SYSTEMATIC LEADERSHIP II
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This graduate course focuses on communication, ethical/legal issues and advocacy as they are applied to complex health care situations. Principles of communication and relationships help the advanced practitioner be an effective team leader and team member in multidisciplinary groups. The exploration of pertinent ethical and legal dilemmas will provide a background for decision making with groups and individuals. Retrieval and synthesis of data insures a basis for evaluating individual and team goals. The transformation of electronic data bases further enrich patient advocacy by applying evidenced based practice to consumer health care information and aligning clinical systems to meet health care benchmarks.
DNAP7005TEACHING STRATEGIES IN CLASSROOM
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
The principles underlying the teaching of adult learners will be examined and applied to classroom and clinical settings. Emphasis will be on the application of practical strategies to plan, conduct, and evaluate educational experiences. Also, innovative teaching strategies, use of media, evaluation techniques, and test construction/evaluation will be addressed.
DNAP7019SCHOLARLY PROJECT I
Credits (Min/Max): 1/1
This first scholarly project course is an introduction to the eight essentials of the Doctor of Nursing practice in preparation for forthcoming application of evidenced-based practice and leadership. Students will utilize critical thinking skills to identify a problem, formulate a PICOT question, relate a supporting theoretical framework, conduct a literature search, and compose an appraisal and synthesis of existing evidence relevant to nurse anesthesia practice.
DNAP7024SCHOLARLY WRITING
Credits (Min/Max): 1/1
This course will develop and support the anesthesia student with the knowledge and skills to be successful in articulating concepts and ideas in a logical and scholarly manner without bias throughout their doctoral studies. This course begins by providing some general principles of expository writing, ensuring each student has a clear understanding of APA formatting. Development of strategies to use in achieving professional and effective communication through the written word will be enhanced.
DNAP7029SCHOLARLY PROJECT II
Credits (Min/Max): 2/2
This second scholarly project course designed to expand on existing evidenced-based practice in nurse anesthesia by utilizing a collaboration assessment with planning strategies to support the proposal development process. Each student is directed in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of a scholarly project specific to a phenomenon related to nurse anesthesia practice relating to evidence-based research. The proposal will be submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of both the university and appropriate clinical facility.
DNAP7039SCHOLARLY PROJECT III
Credits (Min/Max): 2/2
The third scholarly project course is designed for implementation of the evidenced-based proposal. Data is collected, analyzed, and implemented in a written report submitted to their committee for approval.
DNAP7049SCHOLARLY PROJECT IV
Credits (Min/Max): 2/2
The final scholarly project course will expand on the evidenced-based research with an analysis of results, discussion of conclusions, and compose suggestions for future research. The students will disseminate their findings in an oral defense and a poster presentation to peer and colleagues.