Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse Anesthesia
(DNP NA)

Take the Next Step

Application Deadline: July 1
GRE: Required

Overview

Whether in a planned procedure or an emergency, a small local hospital or a regional center, a rural or urban setting, and throughout the life cycle, the nurse anesthetist is a critical member of the health care team. In fact, certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) administer more than thirty million anesthetics each year in the United States.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice — Nurse Anesthesia Program has received full approval from the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Education Program

Northeastern’s Nurse Anesthesia program is housed in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences, which encourages interdisciplinary collaboration with other health care disciplines. The program offering is a Doctor of Nursing Practice — Nurse Anesthesia (DNP NA).

Students graduate in May each year and are eligible to sit for the national certification examination for nurse anesthetists, administered by the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists.

Program Outcomes

Nurse Anesthesia Program Outcomes Data: 2022

Nurse Anesthesia Program 2020 – 2022 Pass Rate: 89%

Accreditation

New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. logo

Northeastern University is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.

Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education logo

The Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Northeastern University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.

COA Accreditation

The Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse Anesthesia specialty is also accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) for the maximum allowable ten years, through May 2024. COA
10275 W. Higgins Road Suite 906
Rosemont, IL 60018-5603
Telephone: 224-275-9130

Admission Requirements

  • Baccalaureate degree in nursing(BSN) from a program accredited by the NLNAC or CCNE
  • Official transcript(s) of ALL college-level study
  • Undergraduate grade-point average of 3.000(B)
  • Science grade-point average of 3.000 (B)
  • Graduate level Chemistry/Physics course taken within 3 years highly recommended
  • Graduate Statistics grade-point average of 3.000 (B) completed within two years of application. Must be completed prior to matriculation.

    The course can be a basic graduate level statistics course. Content should include:
    • descriptive statistics (measures of central tendency and variability
    • use of a computer software for statistical functions (could be MS excel; Stata etc)
    • role of normal distributions
    • hypothesis testing
    • inferential statistical methods
    • data analysis (simple)
  • Official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score of 300 or higher Quantitative and Verbal combined; Writing score 4.0 or higher.
    Must be submitted via Northeastern’s NursingCAS code 2734
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Personal goal statement
  • Current unrestricted license to practice nursing in the United States
  • At least one year of current intensive care nursing experience (if Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Level  III/IV only)
  • Shadow a CRNA
  • CCRN
  • Current certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
  • Preferred Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
  • Virtual interview with faculty

Please note that all letters of recommendations and official transcripts must be submitted via NursingCAS.

Curriculum

The curriculum of the Doctor of Nurse Practice — Nurse Anesthesia program, consisting of 77 academic and clinical practice credits, is divided into four components: core nursing courses, DNP courses, nurse anesthesia specialty didactic courses, and nurse anesthesia specialty clinical courses.

The DNP NA program includes:

  • 4 core nursing courses
  • 9 DNP courses
  • 8 nurse anesthesia specialty didactic courses
  • 6 nurse anesthesia specialty clinical courses

The NEU Post BSN to DNP program will be offered in a full-time format and classes will begin each May.

It takes 36 months of full-time study to garner the 77 semester hour credits required for the DNP NA degree in nursing.

Sample Schedule

Full-time BSN to DNP

Year 1

Semester 1: Summer

  • NRSG 7100 Leadership in Advanced Practice Nursing (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 6306 Health Informatics (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 5121  Epidemiology & Population Health (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7500 Role/Practice Issues in Nurse Anesthesia (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7105   Translating Research Evidence into Practice (3 Credits)

15 Credits

Semester 2: Fall

  • NRSG 5117 Advanced Pharmacology (2 Credits)
  • NRSG 5126 Pathophysiology for Advanced Practice (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 6302  Health Care Policy & Law (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7506   Applied Chemistry & Physics and Cardiopulmonary Physiology of Anesthesia (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7920  Steps to Practice Inquiry (3 Credits)

14 Credits

Semester 3: Spring

  • NRSG 6115  Advanced Health Assessment (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7503 Pharmacotherapeutics in Anesthesia & Critical Care (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 6300   Health Care Finance & Marketing(3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7921   DNP Scholarly Project 1 (3 Credits)

12 Credits

Year 2

Semester 4: Summer

  • NRSG 7520  Conceptual Basis of Nurse Anesthesia Practice 1(3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7530  Nurse Anesthesia Practicum 1 (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7922  DNP Scholarly Project 2 (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7511  Applied Gross A&P of Anesthesia (3 Credits)

12 Credits

Semester 5: Fall

  • NRSG 7523 Conceptual Basis of Nurse Anesthesia Practice 2 (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7533  Nurse Anesthesia Practicum 2 (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7923  DNP Scholarly Project 2 (3 Credits)

9 Credits

Semester 6: Spring

  • NRSG 7526 Conceptual Basis of Nurse Anesthesia Practice 3 (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7536  Nurse Anesthesia Practicum 3 (4 Credits)

7 Credits

Year 3

Semester 7: Summer

  • NRSG 7509 Advanced Concepts in Nurse Anesthesia Practice (3 Credits)
  • NRSG 7540  Advanced Clinical Experiences in Nurse Anesthesia 1 (1 Credit)

4 Credits

Semester 8: Fall

  • NRSG 7543  Advanced Clinical Experiences in Nurse Anesthesia 2 (2 Credits)

2 Credits

Semester 9: Spring

  • NRSG 7546  Advanced Clinical Experiences in Nurse Anesthesia 3 (2 Credits)

2 Credits
Total Credits 77

APPLY

To the DNP — Nurse Anesthesia Program