Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) with emphasis in Health Administration

This program is offered by the College of Science and Health and is only available at the St. Louis main campus.

Entry into Practice

Program Description

Quality Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students should be able to:

• Professional:
  • Discuss and define the Scope of Practice of the CRNA.
  • Discuss current issues pertaining to the practice of nurse anesthesia.
  • Demonstrate professional attributes through attendance and participation in local, state and national professional organizational meetings and events.
  • Demonstrate strong ethics and personal integrity in all professional pursuits to include the delivery of quality and safe anesthesia to the community we serve.
  • Maintain AANA Associate membership until certification is obtained.
  • Demonstrate professional behaviors in the classroom, clinical settings and organizational activities.
  • Discuss role of Advanced Practice Nurse in leadership and healthcare.
  • Contribute to organizational and systems leadership to improve health care delivery.
• Didactic:
  • Develop a strong and comprehensive knowledge base necessary for the safe and effective delivery of anesthesia evidenced by academic progression with a B or better average.
  • Demonstrate requisite knowledge of content learned as evidenced by biannual Self Evaluation Examination (SEE) scores at or above median range or year in program.
  • Proposed, developed, completed and defended a research thesis demonstrating a thorough understanding of the research and scientific method.
  • Pass the National Board Certifying Exam for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.
• Clinical:
  • Advocate for patient safety at all times.
  • Perform a thorough preanesthetic assessment and physical examination.
  • Develop an anesthesia care plan based on reported patient health conditions and physical exam.
  • Perform relevant patient and family teaching.
  • Obtain informed consent for anesthesia services.
  • Administer and manage a variety of anesthetic techniques, to include MAC, regional and general anesthetic techniques.
  • Provide advanced airway management skills.
  • Safely emerge patient from the anesthetic and transport to the Post Anesthesia Care Unity (PACU).
  • Demonstrate mastery in the understanding of co-morbidities and the delivery of anesthesia.
  • Transfer care to PACU staff.
  • Recognize and manage any post anesthetic conditions in PACU.
  • Maintain accurate record keeping of anesthetic experience.
  • Interpret and contribute to the development of health care policy.
  • Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the role of politics and economics in health care delivery.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of laws pertaining to health care delivery, patient rights, workers rights, etc.
  • Implement the technology of health care informatics into health care delivery.

Clinical Education Partners

The NAP is fortunate to have relationships with more than 30 clinical sites across the state of Missouri, and in Illinois (IL) and Kentucky (KY). These facilities afford us the opportunity to offer our students comprehensive exposure to a variety of specialty areas such as cardiothoracic, pediatric and obstetric anesthesia, and include experience in rural and under-served settings. Our partner clinical sites are overseen by highly qualified CRNAs and physician anesthesiologists. 

Clinical rotations begin in the fifth term of the first year. Our SSM Health sites include St. Louis University Hospital, Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, DePaul Hospital, St. Clare Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital St. Louis, St. Joseph Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital (IL), St. Mary's Hospital Centralia (IL), and the St. Louis University-Anheuser Busch Institute. Mercy-affiliated sites include Mercy St. Louis, Jefferson, Perryville, South, Southeast, and Lourdes (KY) Hospitals. BJC-affiliated sites include Missouri Baptist Medical Center, Missouri Baptist Sullivan Hospital, St. Peter’s Hospital, Christian Hospital, and Parkland Health Center. St. Luke’s facilities include Des Peres Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital and Hedrick Medical Center.

Baptist Health Paducah (KY), Blessing Hospital (Illinois), Boone Hospital Center, Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, John J. Cochran Veterans Affairs Hospital, Lake Regional Hospital, Missouri Delta Medical Center, Phelps Health, St. Francis Medical Center, and University of Missouri Hospital Center complete our outstanding group of clinical affiliates.

Program Curriculum

Enrollment requires admission to the NAP or special permission of the Program Director. 

Science Core

Requirements

Academic Performance

Students must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 during the course of graduate study and are permitted only one course grade of C.

General Requirements

Enrollment in all nurse anesthesia courses requires admission to the NAP. Completion of the courses will occur in the sequence prescribed by the program for the cohort group in which enrolled; deviations from this sequence, or enrollment without admission to the NAP require special permission of the Program Director. 

Students in the program are subject to the policies and procedures for graduate studies for Webster University and the NAP.

Continuous Enrollment

Graduate students enrolled in the NAP must maintain continuous enrollment, or request special permission from the Program Director. The Webster University NAP is a cohort program which requires continuous enrollment with courses completed in the prescribed succession.

Admission

See the Admission section of this catalog for general admission requirements. 

Students interested in applying must submit their application through the Nursing Common Application System (NursingCAS) at https://nursingcas.org/. Applicants will need to create and account within the NursingCAS platform. The Webster NAP application can be found by searching for "Webster". 

Additional Requirements

Requirements for admission to the NAP include:

CRNA Completion Degree

Program Description

The doctor of nurse anesthesia practice (DNAP) CRNA completion degree provides the master's prepared practicing CRNA with the opportunity to bridge their degree to the practice doctorate. The degree is offered in a 100% online, primarily asynchronous, platform to accommodate the complicated work schedules of practicing CRNAs. Two of the courses, HLTH 5000 and HLTH 5050, do have a required synchronous activity one evening per week. Consistent with the AACN guidelines and approval by the Council on Accreditation (COA) of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, the DNAP focuses on equipping the CRNA with content areas that emphasize the clinical practice-oriented leadership through evidence-based research, health administration, quality improvement, intradepartmental collaboration, and systems leadership.

Quality Outcomes

Upon completion of the program the graduates should be able to:

• Apply physiological, safety and organizational theories to promote patient safety, enhance quality care and improve nurse anesthesia practice.
• Critically appraise scientific literature and apply results to improve culturally sensitive nurse anesthesia practice and patient care outcomes.
• Effectively collaborate with other health professionals to provide the most appropriate, effective treatment. 
• Effectively communicate with patients and family members. 
• Demonstrate leadership skills to meet the growing challenges of complex healthcare systems.
• Understand that quality healthcare is steeped in ethics. 
• Contribute to ongoing education and training to all members of the healthcare team, families, students in training, etc.
• Demonstrate nurse anesthesia scholarship through a commitment to lifelong learning, leadership activities and interdisciplinary collaboration. 

Program Curriculum

• AHP 7500 Translational Research (2 hours)
• DNAP 8240 Health Care Policy Analysis and Advocacy (3 hours)
• HLTH 5000 Organization & Management in Health Administration (3 hours)
• HLTH 5050 Financial Management in Health Administration (3 hours) 
• DNAP 6400 Population Health and Epidemiology (2 hours)
• DNAP 8430 Health Administration Law and Ethics (3 hours)
• DNAP 8440 Advanced Practice Nurse Role in Leadership and Health Care (3 hours)
• DNAP 8230 Politics and Economics of Health Care (3 hours)
• DNAP 8500 Current Topics in Anesthesia I (1 hour)
• DNAP 8510 Current Topics in Anesthesia II (1 hour)
• DNAP 8520 Current Topics in Anesthesia III (1 hour)
• DNAP 8530 Current Topics in Anesthesia IV (1 hour)

Required Translational Independent Study Courses

• DNAP 7501, DNAP 7502, DNAP 7503, DNAP 7504, DNAP 7505, DNAP 7506 Translational Research Project I-VI (6 hours)

Total required: 32 credit hours

Requirements

Academic Performance

Students must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 during the course of graduate study and are permitted only one course grade of C.

Continuous Enrollment

Graduate students enrolled in the DNAP CRNA completion program must maintain continuous enrollment or requires special permission from the Program Director. 

Admission

See the Admission section of this catalog for general admission requirements. Students interested in applying must submit their application online at www.webster.edu/apply. Transcripts should be sent from your institution electronically to transcripts@webster.edu. If this service is not available, send transcripts to:

Office of Admission
Webster University
470 E. Lockwood Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63119 

Additional Requirements

Requirements for admission to the doctor of nurse anesthesia practice (CRNA completion) program include:

• Master's degree in nurse anesthesia from an accredited institution.
• A cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
• Official transcripts from all universities, colleges and professional schools.
• A minimum of one year of practice as a CRNA or verification of a 4-credit hour Advanced Health Assessment course.
• Proof of current CRNA license from NURSYS.com*; report should include all licenses and expirations.
• A current résumé.* 
• A letter of reference from a supervisor that can attest to CRNA practice. References are requested through the application.

*These required materials must be electronically uploaded to the application account.

Application Process

Please visit the Webster University Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice webpage for the Application Deadline date: https://www.webster.edu/science-health/nurse-anesthesia/nurse-anesthesia.php.

Submit all the following documents to the Office of Admissions; address is below. 

1. A completed DNAP CRNA Completion degree online application
2. A non-refundable application fee
3. Official transcripts from professional program
4. A current resume
5. Current copy of CRNA credential
6. A letter of reference from a supervisor that can attest to CRNA practice

Completed application files will be reviewed by the Nurse Anesthesia Department.

Transfer Credits

Transfer credits are considered on an individual basis up to 6 credit hours.

Send all admission materials to:
Office of Admission
Webster University
470 East Lockwood Ave
St. Louis, MO 63119