PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS – The Program
The Minneapolis School of Anesthesia offers a thirty-six month doctoral program in nurse anesthesia. Clinical experience is provided at several Twin Cities Hospitals on a rotating basis. Each student will rotate to five or six facilities during the program. Students also receive clinical experience in pediatric and rural anesthesia.
The Doctor of Nursing Practice with a Concentration in Nurse Anesthesia Program is a cooperative arrangement between the Minneapolis School of Anesthesia and Metropolitan State University. Graduates are prepared to practice in a wide variety of settings and to utilize diverse methods of administering a safe anesthetic.
84.4% of 2021 graduate first time test takers passed the National Certification Examination on the first attempt.
100% of the 2021 graduates passed the National Certification Examination within 60 days of program completion. The attrition rate for that class was 3%. Since 2011 (2011-2021 graduation cohorts), 85.6% of the graduates have passed the National Certification Examination on the first attempt and the attrition rate has been 3.5%. All 2021 graduates looking for employment secured employment prior to graduation.
Accreditation
Graduates earn their Doctor of Nursing Practice with a concentration in Nurse Anesthesia and is a 78-credit program. Graduates are prepared to practice in a wide variety of settings and to utilize diverse methods of administering safe anesthetics. Clinical experiences are offered through a variety of Twin Cities hospitals, including Hennepin County Medical Center, M Health Fairview, United Hospital, Methodist Hospital and North Memorial Medical Center, St. Paul Children’s and Masonic Children’s Hospital. Rural and regional anesthesia experiences are provided through a variety of facilities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.
The Minneapolis School of Anesthesia (MSA) has been approved by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) to affiliate with Metropolitan State University as the degree-granting institution for the DNP Nurse Anesthesia Program effective spring 2021.
The program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA), a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education.
Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs
10275 W. Higgins Rd., Suite 906
Rosemont, IL 60018-5603
224-275-9130
A list of accredited nurse anesthesia programs can be found on the COA website here
Metropolitan State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The baccalaureate degree in nursing, master’s degree in nursing, and Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Metropolitan State University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.
The DNP program is approved as an APRN preparation program by the:
Minnesota Board of Nursing
2829 University Avenue SE #200
Minneapolis, MN 55414-3252
Phone: 612-617-2270
Fax: 612-617-2270
Toll Free: 888-234-2690 FREE (MN, IA, ND, SD, WI)
TTY: 800-627-3529
nursing.board@state.mn.us
www.nursingboard.state.mn.us
Required (Registration) Disclosure Statement
The Minneapolis School of Anesthesia is registered with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, sections 136A.61 to 136A.71. Registration is not an endorsement of the institution. Credits earned at the institution may not transfer to all other institutions.
Minnesota Office of Higher Education
1450 Energy Park Dr. Suite 350
St. Paul, MN 55108
www.ohe.state.mn.us
651-642-0567
Philosophy
We believe that the advanced practice registered nursing role of certified registered nurse anesthetist is a specialty in nursing that combines the art and science of nursing with the expert knowledge, complex decision making, and clinical competencies necessary for expanded anesthesia practice. The education provided by the Minneapolis School of Anesthesia prepares the intensive care trained registered nurse to fill this expanded anesthesia nursing role and provide competent, independent, individualized care across the wide range of anesthesia and pain management techniques.
As in nursing, professional competence in nurse anesthesia is a function of multiple factors: self-awareness of one’s own knowledge, strengths, needs, and weaknesses in both professional and personal arenas; value systems that recognize safe principles of anesthesia practice; and the ability to systematically analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and carry out a safe, effective, evidence-based anesthesia plan for the best patient outcomes across the lifespan.
We believe that anesthesia education is a lifelong process that begins by fostering a series of complementary forces within our program. Program design and implementation, curricular content, institutional learning resources, teaching roles and models, and educational administration are focus areas that help to meet accreditation requirements, fulfill the needs of teacher and learner, and provide opportunities for the student nurse anesthetist to become competent in the field.
We believe that as students in our program are adult learners; dedicated, motivated, and self-directed to augment past clinical and educational experience with a new role in nurse anesthesia. Through a combination of teacher-directed and self-directed learning activities combined with clinical opportunities that encourage inquiry, interdisciplinary collaboration, expert role-modeling, and evidence-based care, we provide our students with the opportunity to develop unique abilities that foster growth, independence, and competent, safe anesthesia patient care.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Minneapolis School of Anesthesia through a cooperative agreement with Metropolitan State University is to promote safe, effective, evidenced-based anesthesia care by providing high quality anesthesia education to competent registered nurses.
The mission of the Department of Nursing of Metropolitan State University is to promote holistic health and healing and eliminate health inequities by facilitating student learning, advancing scholarship and engaging the community.