Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Program

Program Description

As of 2021, Florida State University has been approved by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) to offer the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) program. Graduates of the DNAP program shall receive a doctoral degree, be an expert in research-based anesthesia clinical practices, be eligible for the CRNA exam, and shall acquire knowledge, skills, and competencies including patient safety, individualized perianesthetic management, critical thinking, and communication skills needed for their professional role.

The DNAP curricular framework was developed with the required standards set forth by the COA, as well as additional coursework that will best develop graduate students into independent advanced practice nurses prepared to enter the workforce. The courses are sequenced in a manner that helps students to blend didactic knowledge with clinical application and culminate in the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and independent critical thinking that are required to practice as a CRNA. Each graduate student will be actively engaged in a scholarly inquiry project which will ultimately be presented at the local and/or national level to a body of peers.

The Nurse Anesthesia Program admits 34 students once a year. The application deadline for consideration of a spot in the DNAP cohort commencing Summer 2025 is January 15, 2025.

Please note that you will need to apply for the Summer 2025 term which will open August 1, 2024.

Summer 2025 Applicant Interview Dates: February 19, 20 and 21, 2025

Accreditation

Initial program accreditation was granted January 21, 2015, by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA). This agency is identified by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) as a nationally recognized accrediting agency for the accreditation of institutions and programs of nurse anesthesia at the certificate, master’s, or doctoral degree levels in the United States, its territories, and protectorates.
 
In June 2015, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) Board of Trustees approved the Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia degree and was included in the scope of the university’s accreditation. The program was granted approval by the COA and SACSCOC to offer the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) as the entry level degree in February 2021, and  the last masters cohort graduated in 2022.  The program was granted the maximum 10 year accreditation from the COA in May 2021.  The program will be scheduled for the next consideration of continued accreditation in Spring 2031.

The Council on Accreditation’s contact information is as follows:

• 10275 W. Higgins Rd., Suite 906
• Rosemont, IL  60018-5603
• Phone: (224) 275-9130, Fax: (847) 692-7137
• Email: Accreditation@coa.us.com