The Wake Forest University Nurse Anesthesia Program is a full-time, 36-month Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) track offered through the Wake Forest University School of Medicine that prepares registered nurses for advanced anesthesia practice and eligibility to sit for the National Certification Examination. Accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA), the curriculum integrates rigorous didactic coursework with high-fidelity simulation and extensive clinical immersion across the Wake Forest Baptist Health system and affiliated hospitals in North Carolina, allowing students to gain experience in general, regional, obstetric, pediatric, and specialty anesthesia care. The program emphasizes leadership development, evidence-based practice, and interprofessional collaboration, and typically admits a selective cohort each year that benefits from close faculty mentorship and strong employment outcomes following graduation.

Degree Type

DNP

Program Length

24 months, full time

Credit Hours

50 semester hours

Starting Month

August

Application Deadline

October

Program Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Nursing is required.

Current licensure as a registered nurse, NC licensure required for matriculation.

A minimum of one year of full-time experience within the 2 years prior to application in an intensive care (ICU) or coronary care unit (CCU). The average length of ICU experience for admitted students is a little over 3 years, with 5 years total RN experience. Clinical experience must involve: Direct patient care and independent decision-making. Examples of experiences most applicable to nurse anesthesia study include: Management of vasoactive infusions, Invasive monitors, Ventilator modalities, Sedative and paralytic drugs, and Blood test interpretation. The following will not be considered as meeting the minimum one year requirement: Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), Emergency Department (ED), Step-down, Surgery, or other non-ICU acute care.

A minimum GPA of 3.0 in nursing and supporting courses. The average undergraduate GPA of accepted students is 3.75.

Satisfactory score on the Graduate Record Examination (preferred) or the Miller Analogy Test within the past 5 years. The average GRE score for accepted students is 1100 for combined verbal and quantitative, average MAT score is over 400.

Required Certifications: BLS (Basic Life Support) and ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support).

Undergraduate Course Prerequisites: Biostatistics or Statistics (preferably including inferential) and Chemistry (organic chemistry is not required but preferred).

You are strongly recommended to shadow a CRNA for a day, however it is not required.

Contact

ph: (704) 355-2375
email: [email protected]
web: www.carolinashealthcare.org