Nurse Anesthesia

Faculty Coordinator:

Kathy Fagerlund, PhD, CRNA, RN
612-624-1115 or fager003@umn.edu

Specialty Area Information:

The University of Minnesota School of Nursing, Nurse Anesthesia Area of Study prepares Registered Nurses to become Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) who are prepared for nurse anesthesia practice at the highest level. Graduates will possess expertise in general and regional anesthesia techniques, and will be prepared to provide leadership in the practice setting.

With the Minneapolis VA Medical Center serving as the primary clinical site for the program, the University of Minnesota nurse anesthesia students rotate to several urban and rural clinical sites, which offer a broad spectrum of practice experiences. Some of the clinical sites are required, and some are optional.

Clinical sites:

• Aurora BayCare Medical Center, Green Bay, WI
• Baldwin Hospital, Baldwin, WI
• Berlin memorial Hospital, Berlin, WI
• Fairview Northland Regional Hospital, Princeton, MN
• Fairview Red Wing Medical Center, Red Wing, MN
• Mercy healthcare System, Janesville, WI
• Minneapolis VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Regions Hospital, St. Paul, MN
• Riverwood Healthcare Center, Aitkin, MN
• St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, MN
• St. Francis Regional medical Center, Shakopee, MN
• St. John's Northeast, Maplewood, MN
• St. Mary's Medical Center, Duluth, MN
• Unity Hospital, Fridley, MN
• University Medical Center-Mesabi, Hibbing, MN
• University of Minnesota Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Virginia Regional Medical Center, Virginia, MN
• Westfields Hospital, New Richmond, WI

Beginning fall 2009, all nurse anesthesia students will complete the requirements for the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, as well as the requirements to take the National Certification Exam for nurse anesthetists. The three-year DNP curriculum integrates anesthesia didactic coursework, anesthesia clinical experiences, and DNP coursework.

Curriculum:

Nurse Anesthesia Specialty Coursework

• Introduction to Principles and Practice of Nurse Anesthesia
• Basic Principles and Practice of Nurse Anesthesia
• Nurse Anesthesia Care: Patients with Cardiothoracic Problems
• Nurse Anesthesia Care: Advanced Principles for Special Populations
• Nurse Anesthesia Practicum A
• Nurse Anesthesia Practicum B
• Nurse Anesthesia Practicum C
• Advanced Clinical Physiology (3 courses)
• Pharmacology (2 courses)

Doctorate of Nursing Practice Coursework

• DNP Proseminar
• Ethical and Moral Positions in Nursing
• Science of Nursing Interventions
• Statistics
• Leadership Theory
• Research in Nursing
• Evidence-Based Practice
• Program Evaluation
• Epidemiology
• Economics of Health Care
• Teaching/Learning
• DNP Seminar I, II, and III

Nurse Anesthesia application deadline:

August 1, 2008 for the class starting in fall of 2009. The DNP nurse anesthesia application will be available in April 2008 at the School of Nursing website, www.nursing.umn.edu. Please continue to check the School's website for the new online application.

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