Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia, MSNA

Mission: The School of Health Care Professions is committed to the mission of Newman University, a Catholic and liberal arts university that incorporates career-oriented disciplines within its curricula. The purposes of the master’s in nurse anesthesia program are to prepare nurses to assume an advanced role on the health care team as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and to provide for the continuing needs for nurse anesthetists in the community, state, region, and country.

School Distincitves: The nurse anesthesia program provides education for registered nurses to become advanced practice nurses providing quality, safe care in any setting requiring anesthesia administration. The program at Newman University has provided the education for many of the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesists in the Wichita area. The nurse anesthesia program is one of only two in the state of Kansas.

Accreditation: The nurse anesthesia program is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA). The COA is approved by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The mission of the COA includes providing recognition of nurse anesthesia programs that meet nationally established standards of academic quality. This mission focuses on quality assessment and quality enhancement.

Admission Requirements: Admission to the nurse anesthesia program require:

• An unencumbered registered professional nurse license
• Bachelor of Science in nursing (applicants who do not meet this requirement will be evaluated on an individual basis)
• Grade Point Average (GPA) minimum of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
• A minimum of one year full-time experience in a critical care setting
• A minimum Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score of 290
• Must have completed a statistics course including descriptive and inferential statistics
• Must have completed an undergraduate nursing research course

Program Objectives: The Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia will prepare the graduate to:

1. synthesize knowledge and apply scientific and scholarly inquiry, analytical reasoning and decision making in the delivery of anesthesia;
2. assume an advanced role on the health care team as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA);
3. demonstrate oral and written communication skills inherent in advanced practice;
4. analyze health promotion activies and health outcomes;
5. incorporate those moral principles that have universal objective validity in advanced practice.

Progression Requirements: A grade of a C (75%) is considered a minimum passing grade for courses at the graduate level. Any grade below this minimum passing standard is considered to be a failing grade for program progression and for financial aid purposes. Completion of the required curriculum with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required for graduation; a grade of D or lower will not count towards meeting graduation requirements. Students with a cumulative GPA or semester GPA below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation for the next semester (summer session counts as a semester for probationary purposes). Failure to achieve a GPA of 3.0 will result in dismissal from the program. Unsatisfactory performance in a clinical course will result in an F. Failure of a practicum experience will result in dismissal from the program.