Post-BSN to DNP - Nurse Anesthesia

BSN to DNP-Nurse Anesthesia admission requirements:

1. BSN degree from a CCNE, ACEN or NLNAC accredited program.
2. Current licensure as an RN in Texas or hold a compact license with multi-state privileges that includes Texas.
3. 3.0 GPA from last 60 hours of college coursework 
4. Three professional references.
5. TOEFL minimum requirements: Paper examination: 550 or International English
    Language Testing System (IELTS) score minimum: 6.5.
6. A completed basic statistics course.
7. A completed Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry course with a grade of 'B' or higher
    taken within the last 5 years.
8. Minimum one year work experience in critical care as a registered nurse, two years preferred.
9. BLS, ACLS and PALS certification

Applicants submit required items through NursingCAS, a centralized application system.
Admission staff review and the top applicants are invited to interview and submit a
writing sample.

The DNP-Nurse Anesthesia program requires full-time attendance. Invited applicants
will meet with program faculty to discuss time and financial commitments. Per COA
requirements, all students must attend full-time.

Degree Requirements and Graduation

For the Post-BSN to DNP CRNA degree, completion of 108.5 semester credit hours  an overall minimum GPA of 3.0, no more than one C in a required course, and no incomplete grades are required to be eligible for graduation.

The program is designed to be completed in 36 months of full-time study. A clinical preceptorship is required. 

Clinical/Practicum Hours

The Doctor of Nursing Practice requires that all students have 1,000 clinical/practicum hours post bachelors. DNP clinical/practicum hour requirements for nurses in the BSN to DNP program are 360 hours. The CRNA clinical/practicum hour requirements for nurses in the BSN to DNP program is 2160 hours.

DNP Project

A hallmark of the practice doctorate is the DNP project demonstrating the student’s in-depth knowledge of one's area of specialty practice and the synthesis of the student’s coursework and practice application. The project is guided and evaluated by a primary faculty and secondary faculty (optional). The project results in a scholarly paper and presentation.

The focus of all DNP projects is on knowledge translation at multiple system levels. During the program, students work with faculty to begin exploring concepts related to their area of interest while evaluating sources of evidence related to the problem/need. The project will be defined through the DNP Seminar course. Based upon an assessment and evaluation of the evidence, the plan and design will be developed for a DNP project initiative

  1.  Integrate nursing science, ethics, and biophysical, psychosocial, and analytical knowledge to provide safe, individualized, culturally competent anesthesia care across the lifespan. (DNP program outcomes 1, 3, 5, 8)
  2.  Collaborate with interprofessional teams to enhance anesthesia care delivery and patient outcomes. (DNP program outcomes 6)
  3.  Evaluate and utilize evidence to implement, design and deliver anesthesia practice improvements. (DNP program outcomes 2, 3, 4, 5, 8)
  4. Advocate for anesthesia practices that promote social justice and equity. (DNP program outcome 5)
  5. Lead interprofessional teams to develop, evaluate and utilize evidence-based guidelines that affects anesthesia healthcare processes, quality, safety and cost. (DNP program outcomes 3, 5, 7)
First Year
Fall SemesterTheoryClinicalLabContSCH
NURS 6302Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics3
NURS 6320Theoretical Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice3
NURS 7302Theoretical Foundations for Leadership in Complex Adaptive Systems3
NURS 6413Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology I4
Spring Semester
NURS 7320Statistical Methods and Data Analysis to Evaluate Healthcare Delivery Systems3
CSAT 5022Inter-professional Human Gross Anatomy5.5
NURS 6210Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning2
NURS 6110Advanced Health Assessment: Clinical Application601
NURS 6315Informatics & Health Care Technologies3
Summer Semester
NURS 6431Advanced Pharmacology for Nurse Anesthesia4
NURS 6432Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology II4
NURS 7303Science of Knowledge Translation and Implementation I3
NURS 6380Fundamentals of Epidemiology3
Second Year
Fall Semester
NURS 7210Nurse Anesthesia Principles I2
NURS 7304Science of Knowledge Translation and Implementation II3
NURS 7324Healthcare Economics And Policy3
NURS 7227Introduction to Anesthesia Equipment, Technology & Clinical Practice2
NURS 7322Healthcare Policy Analysis and Advocacy3
Spring Semester
NURS 7326Nurse Anesthesia Principles II3
NURS 7410Clinical Anesthesia Residency I4
NURS 7305DNP Seminar3
NURS 6250Advanced Health Promotion, Health Protection, and Disease Prevention2
Summer Semester
NURS 7230Nurse Anesthesia Principles III2
NURS 7520Clinical Anesthesia Residency II5
NURS 7306DNP Project1803
Third Year
Fall Semester
NURS 7340Nurse Anesthesia Principles IV3
NURS 7530Clinical Anesthesia Residency III5
NURS 7306DNP Project1803
Spring Semester
NURS 7319Seminars in Nurse Anesthesia I3
NURS 7540Clinical Anesthesia Residency IV5
NURS 7307DNP Dissemination3
Summer Semester
NURS 7327Seminars in Nurse Anesthesia II3
NURS 7550Clinical Anesthesia Residency V5
NURS 7231Professional Aspects of Nurse Anesthesia Practice2
 Total Credit Hours: 0.0420.00.00.0108.5
NEW COURSE (Adaptive Systems)3
NEW COURSE (Delivery Systems)3
NURS 6302Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics3
NURS 6320Theoretical Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice3
NURS 7302Theoretical Foundations for Leadership in Complex Adaptive Systems3
NURS 7320Statistical Methods and Data Analysis to Evaluate Healthcare Delivery Systems3
CSAT 5022Inter-professional Human Gross Anatomy5.5
NURS 6210Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning2
NURS 6110Advanced Health Assessment: Clinical Application1
NURS 6315Informatics & Health Care Technologies3
NURS 7303Science of Knowledge Translation and Implementation I3
NURS 7304Science of Knowledge Translation and Implementation II3
NURS 7324Healthcare Economics And Policy3
NURS 7322Healthcare Policy Analysis and Advocacy3
NURS 7305DNP Seminar3
NURS 6250Advanced Health Promotion, Health Protection, and Disease Prevention2
NURS 7305DNP Seminar3
NURS 7306DNP Project3
NURS 7307DNP Dissemination3