Nurse Anesthesia DNP

Major: Nurse Anesthesia (NA)
Degree Awarded: Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 135.0
Co-op Option: None
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 51.3804
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 29-1150

About the Program

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program is fully accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA).

The Drexel NAP-DNP is a clinically focused practice doctoral degree that combines the scientific and theoretical underpinnings with an extensive clinical experience that culminates in the DNP Scholarly Project. The NAP-DNP was developed in accord with the DNP Standards as mandated by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, as well as the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) DNP Essentials. The NAP-DNP is a 39-month, 135.0 quarter credit, full-time integrated program that begins each spring. The first three quarters of the program (spring, summer and fall) are full-time and offered entirely online. After the first nine months, students complete the remaining 30 months onsite at Drexel University's campus in Philadelphia. Upon successful completion of the program, the student is awarded a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree and is eligible to take the national certification examination offered by the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA).

Graduates of this program are able to provide safe, compassionate, culturally competent anesthesia care in rapidly changing practice environments across the lifespan. The DNP in Nurse Anesthesia educational experience will facilitate your professional growth and development into a competent, knowledgeable and vigilant nurse anesthesia practitioner.

Additional Information

For more information please contact napadmissions@drexel.edu. Additional information is also available on the College of Nursing and Health Professions webpage.

Admission Requirements

  • Completed online application: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
  • Degree Prerequisite:
    • For post-BSN applicants: A baccalaureate degree with a major in nursing (BSN) from an ACEN or CCNE accredited program.
    • For post-MSN applicants: A master’s degree with a major in nursing (MSN) from an ACEN or CCNE accredited program.
  • GPA Requirements:
    • Applicants to the NAP-DNP program who completed their education in the United States, with a BSN or MSN, must have a minimum GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale in BOTH their last earned/completed degree AND in their calculated science GPA on our science GPA form.
  • Certification and Transcripts:
    • Specialty Certification: CCRN or population-specific equivalent required.
    • Transcripts: Official transcripts from an accredited BSN/MSN program and all undergraduate and graduate schools attended (Please note that official transcripts can take up to six weeks to arrive.).
    • Official transcripts must be sent directly to Drexel from all the colleges/universities that the applicant has attended.
    • Please note that transcripts are required regardless of number of credits taken or if the credits were transferred to another school.
    • An admission decision may be delayed if transcripts are not submitted from all colleges/universities attended.
    • Transcripts must show course-by-course grades and degree conferrals. If the school does not notate degree conferrals on the official transcripts, you must provide copies of any graduate or degree certificates.
  • Professional Licensure: 
    • Current unencumbered United States Registered Nurse (RN) License with eligibility for licensure in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
      • Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware RN licensure is required six months prior to the start of your clinical components. While this is not a requirement for admission, we recommend starting the process of obtaining licensure immediately after admission.
    • Current American Heart Association CPR (BLS) certification.
    • Current Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification.
    • Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification.
    • Please provide at least one of the following: PALS or ACLS. If admitted, you will be required to have the other certification by the time you enroll in the program.
  • Personal Statement/Essay:
    • Submit a statement of interest detailing your desire to pursue a career in nurse anesthesia practice, your long-term career goals and identify a current clinical practice problem impacting nurse anesthesia practice.
    • Please limit your statement of interest to two pages, double-spaced, using Times New Roman, 12-point font.
  • Current CV/Resume:
    • A current curriculum vitae detailing academic and professional experience.
  • References:
    • Three (3) references are required from the following individuals who can attest to the applicant's clinical knowledge, clinical skill and potential aptitude for graduate-level study:
      • Nurse manager.
      • Physician or clinical supervisor.
      • Clinical educator or professor.
      • References will not be accepted from colleagues, friends, CRNA/anesthesiologist shadowed by the applicant or family members.
  • Applicants may use Drexel's electronic letter of recommendation service.
  • If a recommender prefers to submit an original, hard copy letter, please remind them that it must include an ink signature and be submitted in a sealed envelope.

Applicants to the NAP-DNP program will possess a minimum of two years (post-orientation) full-time experience working with the most critically ill patients.

Clinical Critical Care Experience:
The Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Programs defines a critical care setting:
Critical care experience must be obtained in a critical care area within the United States, its territories or a US military hospital outside of the United States. During this experience, the registered professional nurse has developed critical decision-making and psychomotor skills, competency in patient assessment and the ability to use and interpret advanced monitoring techniques. A critical care area is defined as one where, on a routine basis, the registered professional nurse manages one or more of the following: invasive hemodynamic monitors (e.g., pulmonary artery, central venous pressure and arterial catheters), cardiac assist devices, mechanical ventilation and vasoactive infusions. Examples of critical care units may include but are not limited to: surgical intensive care, cardiothoracic intensive care, coronary intensive care, medical intensive care, pediatric intensive care and neonatal intensive care. Those who have experiences in other areas may be considered provided they can demonstrate competence with managing unstable patients, invasive monitoring, ventilators and critical care pharmacology.

Technical Standards:
The Nurse Anesthesia Program requires that all applicants must be able to meet the technical standards for admission, progression and graduation. The technical standards can be found by clicking on this link: Technical Standards-Nurse Anesthesia.

Tuition and Fees:
Cost of Attendance for Graduate Programs

Degree Requirements

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
NUAN 600Doctor of Nursing Practice Program and Project Introduction2.0
NUAN 601Introduction to Nurse Anesthesia Practice2.0
NUAN 602Fundamental Principles of Nurse Anesthesia Practice3.0
NUAN 603Overview of Nurse Anesthesia3.0
NUAN 604Introduction to Simulation for Nurse Anesthesia Practice3.0
NUAN 700Nurse Anesthesia Pharmacology I3.0
NUAN 701Nurse Anesthesia Practice Principles I2.0
NUAN 703Nurse Anesthesia Pharmacology II3.0
NUAN 704Nurse Anesthesia Practice for Special Patient Populations I2.0
NUAN 705Intraprofessional Communication Simulation1.0
NUAN 707Nurse Anesthesia Practice for Special Patient Populations II2.0
NUAN 708Nurse Anesthesia Practice Principles II3.0
NUAN 710Nurse Anesthesia Practice for Special Patient Populations III4.0
NUAN 711DNP Project I-Practice Problem and Search for Evidence2.0
NUAN 800Nurse Anesthesia Practice for Special Patient Populations IV4.0
NUAN 801DNP Project II-Project Planning and Design2.0
NUAN 803Nurse Anesthesia Practice for Special Patient Populations V4.0
NUAN 804Crisis Management in Anesthesia Practice2.0
NUAN 806Anesthesia Practice Correlative Seminar I2.0
NUAN 807Nurse Anesthesia Professional Development2.0
NUAN 808DNP Project III-Project Implementation2.0
NUAN 810Anesthesia Practice Correlative Seminar II4.0
NUAN 811DNP Project IV-Project Evaluation and Dissemination2.0
NUAN 813Anesthesia Practice Curricular Review and Certification Exam Preparation3.0
NUAN 702Nurse Anesthesia Clinical Practicum I2.0
NUAN 706Nurse Anesthesia Clinical Practicum II2.0
NUAN 709Nurse Anesthesia Clinical Practicum III2.0
NUAN 712Nurse Anesthesia Clinical Practicum IV3.0
NUAN 802Nurse Anesthesia Clinical Practicum V3.0
NUAN 805Nurse Anesthesia Clinical Practicum VI3.0
NUAN 809Nurse Anesthesia Clinical Practicum VII3.0
NUAN 812Nurse Anesthesia Clinical Residency I3.0
NUAN 814Nurse Anesthesia Clinical Residency II2.0
PHYSIOLOGY PHARM HEALTH ASSESSMENT
NUPR 600Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics5.0
NURS 520Advanced Physiology3.0
NURS 550Advanced Health Assessment & Diagnostic Reasoning4.0
NURS 521Advanced Pathophysiology I3.0
NURS 522Advanced Pathophysiology II3.0
NURS 523Advanced Pathophysiology III3.0
DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE CORE
NUPR 530Introduction to Advanced Practice Nursing: Professional and Self Development3.0
NUPR 531Evidence-Based Practice: Processes, Structures and Impact3.0
NUPR 532Appraising Quantitative Evidence: Research Designs and Methodologies I2.0
NUPR 533Appraising Qualitative Evidence: Research Designs and Methodologies II2.0
NUPR 607Clinical Ethics and Health Law3.0
NUPR 715Health Policy and Politics4.0
NUPR 716Leadership and Management in Healthcare Delivery Systems3.0
NURS 706Applied Epidemiology3.0
NURS 720Health Information Technology and Information Systems3.0
RSCH 519Introduction to Biostatistics3.0
Total Credits135.0

Sample Plan of Study

First Year
  SpringCreditsSummerCredits
  NUAN 6002.0NURS 5203.0
  NUPR 6005.0NUPR 5313.0
  NUPR 5303.0NURS 7203.0
  RSCH 5193.0NURS 7063.0
   13 12
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
NUAN 6012.0NUAN 6023.0NUAN 7003.0NUAN 7033.0
NURS 5504.0NUAN 6033.0NUAN 7012.0NUAN 7042.0
NUPR 5322.0NUAN 6043.0NUAN 7022.0NUAN 7051.0
NUPR 7154.0NUPR 5332.0NURS 5213.0NUAN 7062.0
  NUPR 6073.0NURS 5223.0
 12 11 13 11
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
NUAN 7072.0NUAN 7104.0NUAN 8004.0NUAN 8034.0
NUAN 7083.0NUAN 7112.0NUAN 8012.0NUAN 8042.0
NUAN 7092.0NUAN 7123.0NUAN 8023.0NUAN 8053.0
NURS 5233.0  NUPR 7163.0
 10 9 9 12
Fourth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
NUAN 8062.0NUAN 8104.0NUAN 8133.0 
NUAN 8072.0NUAN 8112.0NUAN 8142.0 
NUAN 8082.0NUAN 8123.0  
NUAN 8093.0   
 9 9 5 
Total Credits 135

Nurse Anesthesia Faculty

Suzanne Ariza, MSN, CRNA (Drexel University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Didactic education of nurse anesthesia students
Lew Bennett, DNP, CRNA (Chatham University) Chair, Nurse Anesthesia Department. Assistant Clinical Professor. Didactic education of nurse anesthesia students.
Ferne Cohen, EdD, CRNA (Drexel University) Associate Chair & Director of Clinical Education, Nurse Anesthesia Department. Assistant Clinical Professor. Clinical and didactic education of nurse anesthesia students.
Jessica Hessel, DNP, CRNA (Drexel University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Didactic education of nurse anesthesia students
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