Program Information

Program Statistics

*The average national attrition rate reported by the Council of Accreditation in 2013 was 6% ± 3.

Post-Graduate Job Placement

The school has developed an outstanding reputation not only in the community but also throughout the country and our graduates are held in high esteem. Many of our graduates have grown professionally and attained faculty positions, administrative teaching positions, program administrator positions in nurse anesthesia programs, and have held positions for state and national nurse anesthesia associations.

Every student has achieved employment upon graduation in a variety of settings throughout the United States, including the Armed Services, facilities of the Veteran’s Administration, and areas that are medically underserved. Our most recent graduates have received jobs spanning nineteen different states across the country.

Curriculum

The curriculum of the DNP Nurse Anesthesia concentration provides students with 36 months of scientific, clinical and professional foundations upon which to build a sound and safe clinical practice. All nurse anesthesia concentration courses are held at Kaiser Permanente in Pasadena, California and affiliated clinical sites utilizing state-of-the-art facilities. This concentration requires 109 units of full-time study including a doctoral project. Clinical hours are based on competency guidelines from Kaiser Permanente School of Anesthesia.

*All courses and sequencing are subject to change at any time.

Terminal Objectives

Patient Safety

• Demonstrate an understanding of clinical prevention and population health for improving the nation’s health (DNP Essential VII)
• Maintain vigilance and patient safety throughout the perianesthetic continuum
• Protect patients from iatrogenic complications and utilizes appropriate precautions in infection control
• Conduct a comprehensive and appropriate equipment check

Individualized Perianesthetic Management

• Demonstrate an understanding of:
  • Scientific underpinnings for practice (DNP Essential I)
  • Clinical scholarship and analytical methods for evidence-based practice (DNP Essential III)
• Provide:
  • Care throughout the perianesthetic continuum
  • Anesthesia services to patients of all ages and physical conditions for a variety of surgical and medically related procedures, including trauma and emergency cases
• Use a variety of current anesthesia techniques, agents, adjunctive drugs and equipment while providing anesthesia
• Perform a pre-anesthetic assessment and formulates an anesthesia care plan for patient to whom he/she is assigned to administer anesthesia
• Function collaboratively with a multi-disciplinary team to affect patient outcomes
• Deliver culturally competent perianesthetic care throughout the anesthesia experience
• 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 and appropriately respond to anesthetic complications that occur during the perianesthetic period

Critical Thinking

• Demonstrate an understanding of information systems/technology and patient care technology for the improvement and transformation of health care (DNP Essential IV)
• Apply theory to practice in decision making and problem solving
• Provide nurse anesthesia care based on sound principles and research evidence
• Critique and integrate scholarly research in order to improve anesthesia care and patient outcomes

Communication Skills

• Demonstrate:
  • An understanding of interprofessional collaboration for improving patient and population health outcomes (DNP Essential VI)
  • The ability to deliver a clear and organized public presentation
• Effectively communicate with all individuals influencing patient care
• Utilize appropriate verbal, nonverbal and written communication in the delivery of perianesthetic care

Professional Role

• Demonstrate:
  • An understanding of organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement and systems thinking (DNP Essential II)
  • An understanding of healthcare policy for advocacy in healthcare (DNP Essential VIII)
  • An understanding of advanced nursing practice (DNP Essential VIII)
  • Personal and professional integrity
  • Respect for human dignity to patients, peers and organizations
• Function as an advocate for patients, families and communities
• Positively influence healthcare policy decision and participate in activities which influence advanced nursing roles and improve patient care
• Understand sound principles of anesthesia risk management to include preventive and procedural strategies
• Participate in quality management activities and operate with budget restraints and cost effectiveness

The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice

• Demonstrate an understanding of:
  • Scientific underpinnings for practice
  • Organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement and systems thinking
  • Clinical scholarship and analytical methods for evidence-based practice
  • Information systems/technology and patient care technology for the improvement and transformation of health care
  • Healthcare policy for advocacy in healthcare
  • Interprofessional collaboration for improving patient and population health outcomes
  • Clinical prevention and population health for improving the nation’s health
  • Advanced nursing practice

Clinical Affiliations

Community Affiliations