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NKU Nurse Anesthesia Program gets accreditation, will help fill local and national shortage of CRNAs


Fewer than 120 universities in the nation have a Nurse Anesthesia Program.

That number has grown by one with the accreditation of Northern Kentucky University’s new program from the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA).

Scalise-Smith

NKU has developed a Nurse Anesthesia Program (NAP) that will help fill the local and national shortage of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs).

“We are pleased to expand our educational offerings to fill the national and local need for CRNAs,” said Dr. Dale Scalise-Smith, dean of the College of Health Professions.

The program was developed by Dr. William Terry Ray, former director of the University of Cincinnati Nurse Anesthesia Major. Dr. Ray will direct the program and the first cohort of students will begin taking classes on May 8, 2017. Applications for admission into the next cohort will be accepted beginning June 1, 2017.

The Nurse Anesthesia Program is a 36-month (106 semester hours) curriculum culminating in a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) nurse anesthesia specialization with a population focus of the family/individual across a lifespan.

Graduates will be eligible for the National Board of Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA) National Certification Exam (NCE) and to assume the role of an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA).

NKU’s program will also partner with regional healthcare providers such as St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Good Samaritan Hospital, Bethesda North Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and others for clinical practice.

For more information, click here  or contact Dr. Ray at rayw2@nku.edu.

Northern Kentucky University


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