Nursing Practice - Anesthesia, DNAP

Description of Program

The Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) is an innovative, solutions-focused program designed to prepare nurse anesthesia students for solving complex healthcare issues and developing new healthcare opportunities, specifically in the context of nurse anesthesia practice. The program builds on TCU's mission - "Learning to Change the World" - and charges post-baccalaureate registered nurse DNAP students with "Making a Difference in Healthcare".

Mission

The DNAP provides the terminal academic preparation for nurse anesthesia practice with advanced, specialized knowledge and skills to meet the health needs of diverse populations. The purpose of the DNAP program is to prepare nurse anesthetists who are equipped to assume clinical leadership positions in a variety of healthcare, business, government and educational organizations.

Objectives

Upon completion of the DNAP curriculum, graduates should be able to

Patient Safety

1. Be vigilant in the delivery of patient care.

2. Refrain from engaging in extraneous activities that abandon or minimize vigilance while providing direct patient care (e.g., texting, reading, emailing, etc.).

3. Conduct a comprehensive equipment check.

4. Protect patients from iatrogenic complications.

Perianesthesia

1. Provide individualized care throughout the perianesthesia continuum.

2. Deliver culturally competent perianesthesia care.

3. Provide anesthesia services to all patients across the lifespan.

4. Perform a comprehensive history and physical assessment. 

5. Administer general anesthesia to patients with a variety of physical conditions. 

6. Administer general anesthesia for a variety of surgical and medically related procedures. 

7. Administer and manage a variety of regional anesthetics. 

8. Maintain current certification in ACLS and PALS. 

Critical Thinking

1. Apply knowledge to practice in decision-making and problem solving.

2. Provide nurse anesthesia services based on evidence-based principles. 

3. Perform a preanesthetic assessment before providing anesthesia services. 

4. Assume responsibility and accountability for diagnosis. 

5. Formulate an anesthesia plan of care before providing anesthesia services. 

6. Identify and take appropriate action when confronted with anesthetic equipment-related malfunctions. 

7. Interpret and utilize data obtained from noninvasive and invasive monitoring modalities. 

8. Calculate, initiate, and manage fluid and blood component therapy. 

9. Recognize, evaluate, and manage the physiological responses coincident to the provision of anesthesia services.

10. Recognize and appropriately manage complications that occur during the provision of anesthesia services.

11. Use science-based theories and concepts to analyze new practice approaches. 

12. Pass the national certification examination (NCE) administered by NBCRNA.

Communication

1. Utilize interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients and their families. 

2. Utilize interpersonal and communication skills that result in an effective interprofessional exchange of information and collaboration with other healthcare professionals. 

3. Respect the dignity and privacy of patients while maintaining confidentiality in the delivery of interprofessional care. 

4. Maintain comprehensive, timely, accurate and legible healthcare records. 

5. Transfer the responsibility for care of the patient to other qualified providers in a manner that assures continuity of care and patient safety. 

6. Teach others. 

Leadership

1. Integrate critical and reflective thinking in his or her leadership approach.

2. Provide leadership that facilitates intraprofessional and interprofessional collaboration.

Professional Role

The graduate must demonstrate the ability to:

1. Adhere to the Code of Ethics for the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.

2. Interact on a professional level with integrity. 

3. Apply ethically sound decision-making processes. 

4. Function within legal and regulatory requirements. 

5. Accept responsibility and accountability for his or her practice. 

6. Provide anesthesia services to patients in a cost-effective manner. 

7. Demonstrate knowledge of wellness and chemical dependency in the anesthesia profession through completion of content in wellness and chemical dependency.

8. Inform the public of the role and practice of the CRNA. 

9. Evaluate how public policy-making strategies impact the financing and delivery of healthcare. 

10. Advocate for health policy change to improve patient care.

11. Advocate for health policy change to advance the specialty of nurse anesthesia. 

12. Analyze strategies to improve patient outcomes and quality of care. 

13. Analyze health outcomes in a variety of populations. 

14. Analyze health outcomes in a variety of clinical settings. 

15. Analyze health outcomes in a variety of systems. 

16. Disseminate research evidence. 

17. Use information systems/technology to support and improve patient care. 

18. Use information systems/technology to support and improve healthcare systems. 

19. Analyze business practices encountered in nurse anesthesia delivery settings.

DNAP Curriculum

Minimum coursework requirements are as follows:

Spring I or Summer I (Online)

Summer I or Spring I (Online)

Fall I (Face-to-face)

Spring II (Face-to-face)

Summer II (First Session) (Face-to-face)

Summer II (Second Session) (Face-to-face)

Fall II (Clinical Reasoning)

Spring III (Clinical Reasoning)

Summer III (Clinical Reasoning)

Fall III (Clinical Reasoning)

course, course, course, course, course are online courses

Due to the nature of the curriculum, courses outside of TCU are not transferrable, nor to be used in lieu of courses in the School of Nurse Anesthesia Curriculum.

Clinical Residency (minimum 16 months)

Upon completion of the initial 20 months of the program, students must immediately enter the clinical residency, which begins in late August and lasts approximately 16 months. During this time the student's learning is built on the material covered previously and comes primarily in a clinical residency although the student also returns to the classroom virtually on a weekly basis for extensive clinically related study. The clinical residency ends in December. The graduate receives a Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice degree and is eligible to write the National Certifying Examination (NCE) for Nurse Anesthetists administered by the National Board of Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA). Graduates who successfully complete this written exam are certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs).
The clinical residency consists of administering general and regional anesthesia alongside a qualified clinical instructor (anesthesiologist or CRNA). Weekly classroom sessions are clinical conferences; journal clubs; and seminars dealing with current topics including, but not limited to, respiratory, cardiovascular, thoracic, neurosurgical, regional, obstetrical, pediatric and special areas of anesthesia. Various projects and competency examinations are required/administered throughout this phase.

Courses during clinical residency are offered in concurrent sequences. Each set, e.g., course and course, must be taken together and successfully completed prior to beginning the next set.