Quick Facts
Degree Level
Doctoral DegreeAverage Admitted GPA
3.42 (2019 DNAP intake)Application Deadline
June 1Program Start
Summer TrimesterAdmits per Intake
Up to 30 annuallyAccreditation
View Accreditation StatementAbout the Program
The Profession
Nurses first gave anesthesia to wounded soldiers during the Civil War, so nurses have been providing anesthesia care to patients in the United States for over 150 years. Nurse anesthetists have been the main providers of anesthesia care to U.S. military men and women on the front lines since WWI. Currently, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are the primary anesthesia providers in rural America, and in some states, CRNAs are sole providers in nearly 100% of the rural hospitals. CRNAs provide anesthesia in collaboration with surgeons, physician anesthesiologists, dentists, podiatrists, and other qualified healthcare professionals. CRNAs practice in every setting where anesthesia is delivered: traditional hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms; critical access hospitals; ambulatory surgical centers; offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, plastic surgeons, and pain management specialists; the U.S. military, Public Health Services, and Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities. As Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, CRNAs practice with a high degree of autonomy and professional respect.
The Program
Students in the AHU Nurse Anesthesia Program have the advantage of learning in a Christian environment where each student is valued as a child of God. Each May, a new cohort of nurse anesthesia students begins the nine trimester, 36-month program. The first two trimesters of the program are didactically-focused, and the remaining seven trimesters typically consist of one to two days of class and three to four days of clinical assignments each week, which varies by trimester.
Students in the Nurse Anesthesia Program have access to high-fidelity simulation labs, to include instruction in sonography-guided invasive line and regional block insertion. Clinically, AHU nurse anesthesia students have unparalleled access to clinical opportunities in the large AdventHealth system located throughout central Florida.
And the results are clear.
| Class of 2017 | Class of 2018 | Class of 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort Attrition Rate | 12.0% | 0.0% | 11.1% |
| Cohort NCE 1st-Time Pass Rate | 81.8% | 84.6% | 75.0% |
| National NCE 1st-Time Pass Rate | 82.6% | 84.3% | 84.3% |
| NCE 1st-Time Pass Rate of 3 most recent cohorts (co 2019, 2018, 2017) | 80.56% | ||
| Cohort NCE Pass Rate (1st-time + 2nd-time within 60 days of program completion) | 90.9% | 92.3% | 87.5% |
| Employment Rate (within 6 months after program completion) | 100.0% | 96.2% | 87.5% |
Our program is held to highest standards.
Our program is held to highest standards.