The Harris College Magazine
- Winter 2008 ·
11
10
· Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences
When the Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia graduates walked across the stage Dec.
15, they were ready to walk into real-world practice. More than ready.
The 55members of the 2007 graduating class averaged 818 cases in general and regional
anesthesia. One graduate completed 1,097 cases.
Only 550 cases are required to sit for the national nurse anesthesia certifcation exam.
“And this class averaged 818. They worked very hard,” said Kay K. Sanders, CRNA, MHS,
director of the School of Nurse Anesthesia at the Harris College of Nursing &Health Sciences.
“So by the time they graduate, they’ve done anesthesia a lot of times.”
Standards of Excellence
December marked the third graduating class in the Nurse Anesthesia program, bringing
the total number of graduates to 161. Now the fourth-largest in the country, TCU’s program
continues to make inroads in an area that feels the pain of the nursing shortage. Nurse
anesthetists deliver almost two-thirds of the anesthesia administered in the United States.
Job openings are plentiful, and salaries average in the six fgures.
“Prior to TCU there were only three civilian programs in Texas. Starting a fourth program
has certainly helped with the supply of nurse anesthetists in Texas and other states,”
Sanders said.
The school is already
making a name for itself —
nationally and internationally.
In November 2006, it exceeded
national accreditation standards on
its frst application and earned the
maximum 10 years of accreditation.
Few programs are granted accreditation
with no progress report required and
even fewer achieve the maximum 10
years accreditation, according to ofcials
at the Council on Accreditation of Nurse
Anesthesia Educational Programs.
Setting TCU’s NA school apart are
its faculty, students and simulation
opportunities. The school has six full-
time nurse anesthetists. Two nurse
anesthetists have Ph.D.s — one full-time
faculty and one adjunct. (Only about 280
of the some 30,000 Certifed Registered
Nurse Anesthetists in the country have
doctoral degrees.) In addition, four
faculty members are enrolled in clinical
doctoral programs.
“The quality and academic
preparation of our faculty is a strong
point … which of course leads to the
quality of the academic preparation of
our students,” Sanders said.
TCU student pass rates on the
National Certifcation Exam for Nurse
Anesthesia prove that point. The class of
2006 posted a 100 percent pass rate —
compared to 89.5 percent nationally —
with TCU grads scoring an average 574
compared to 527 nationally.
Expectations are high for current
classes. Applicants must have a bachelor
of science degree, be a licensed
registered nurse and have at least one
year of critical care experience. The most
recent class admitted averaged fve-and-
a-half years of critical care experience.
During the frst year of the 28-month
program, students study physiology,
pathophysiology, pharmacology and
chemistry on the TCU campus, where
their work is very hands on. The human
patient simulator and lab facilities
are state of the art and include two
very sophisticated, computer-driven
mannequins that provide a full-body
simulation of anesthetics.
Students also complete 16-month
clinical residencies at one of 13 approved
hospitals around the country.
“Our students are well practiced
before they go to the hospital because
of our sophisticated simulation,”
Sanders said.
A Nurse, Not a Number
Students are also drawn to the
program’s personal touch.
“You almost felt like family when
you interviewed,” said Richard Burrow
of Forney, an MSNA December grad.
“You felt like they had a genuine interest
in you.”
Burrow earned his undergraduate
degree in business and worked as a retail
manager for fve years before going
to nursing school. “While working as a
nurse I came into contact with a nurse
anesthetist and was intrigued by their
responsibility,” he said.
He has taken a job with Baylor
University Medical Center in Dallas and
will also be working as a CRNA in the Air
Force Reserves, which helped fund his
participation in the program.
“From the frst time I walked into the
School of Nurse Anesthesia here I felt
welcome,” said April Foster, a December
MSNA graduate from Lafayette, La.
With a background in emergency
medical services, Foster left her job in
critical care to further her education and
realizemore autonomy in her profession.
She has accepted a position with North
Star Anesthesia in Georgetown, Texas.
She is looking forward to continuing
the long legacy of nurse anesthesia.
“Nurses were the frst to safely administer
anesthetics for over 100 years. I take
pride in that. I look forward to and really
enjoy anesthesia. It is a very rewarding
job to be able to make surgery without
pain or recall possible,” she said.
Not for the Faint of Heart
The 28-month program is rigorous
and challenging, according to those who
have just completed it.
“From the time you begin the
program it really turns your whole life
upside down. It challenges you in every
area of your life. It requires your full
attention so that can make it tough on
friendships, relationships andmarriages,”
saidFoster, who is eager tobegin training
for triathlons again with her husband.
For Burrow, who is married with three
children, balancing full-time school with
family life and adjusting to a budget
without his job was challenging.
“Wehadsuchavolumeof information
it was difcult to weigh family time and
study time against that,” Burrow said.
He describes the program as a “life-
changing” experience. “I made friends
I will have for life. … And it’s defnitely
made me appreciate my family more.”
Francesco DiPierro, RRNA, a second
year student, can relate. “Being in a
program as demanding as the nurse
anesthesia program has made me
understand the importance of hard
work, perseverance, determination and
sacrifce,” he said.
DiPierro lived in Italy for 13 years
before returning to the United States
when he was 18. “I realized Italy had —
and still has today — a large number of
college graduates without a job, and I
did not want to be one of them.”
He became intrigued with NA while
in nursing school. “I am very much so
a people person. I love being around
people and getting to knowmy patients.
The thought that I can help patients
be pain free is one of the aspects that
has attracted me to nurse anesthesia,”
he said.
DiPierro chose TCU because of the
commitment to making NA “a topnotch
program,” the high certifcation exam
passing rate, state-of-the-art equipment,
among other reasons.
“The TCU campus is a small jewel
in the heart of Fort Worth,” he said. “It
reminds me of a Renaissance garden
where scholars would meet to discuss
their theories.”
For more information onTCU’s School
of Nurse Anesthesia, call 817-257-7887
or visit www.crna.tcu.edu. - RSM & DTS
Practice Makes Prepared:
TCU Nursing Anesthesia grad students get hands-on experience for real-world practice
Continued on next page.