The NMSU School of Nursing is developing a new DNP degree concentration in Nurse Anesthesiology with a focus on rural health and health disparities. Graduates will be qualified to take the national certification exam administered by the National Boards of Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists to become certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs). CRNAs complete a three-year doctoral program with rigorous didactic courses and over 2000 hours of supervised clinical training. New Mexico’s hospitals have a critical need for anesthesia providers throughout the state due to nation-wide shortages and difficulty recruiting providers, especially to rural healthcare centres.
This specialty track in the DNP program is designed for BSN-prepared RNs with at least one year of full-time critical care/ICU experience. RNs with a master’s degree in nursing are also eligible for admission as long as they have the required critical care/ICU experience.
If you are interested in receiving information about NMSU’s nurse anesthesiology application requirements, application deadlines and other program information, please send your contact information to the SON Graduate Advisor Anthony Castro at rcastro@nmsu.edu.
For more information about specific roles that are within CRNA scope of practice, please explore the website for the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (ANAA).
More information on nurse anesthesiology education program admission requirements can be found on this website.
Program Development Timeline
- Nurse anesthesiology curriculum development, establishment of clinical training affiliations, and preliminary program accreditation will take 1.5-2 years to complete.
- Nurse anesthesiology program must be accredited prior to admitting its first cohort of students.
- The NMSU School of Nursing is working with an experienced consulting team on the curriculum, faculty recruitment, and accreditation during this program development phase.
- Our goal is to admit 24 students annually starting in May 2023.
BSN-prepared nurses who are interested in the nurse anesthesiology program can send their contact information to NMSU Graduate Advisor Karen Pech at kpech@nmsu.edu. The program will send periodic updates, hold online information sessions in Fall 2021 and will notify potential applicants when the application portal opens (likely in October 2022).
The NMSU Nurse Anesthesiology Program (NAP) is pursuing initial accreditation by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA), 222 S. Prospect Ave., Park Ridge, IL 60068; (847) 655-1160, https://www.coacrna.org/. The NAP program is undertaking capability review and is planning for an accreditation decision in October 2023. Applying for accreditation does not guarantee that accreditation will be granted and students cannot be enrolled in the program until accreditation is granted.
