Overview

Effective Summer 2020

The nurse anesthetist is a highly trained medical care specialist who, under the supervision of a physician, is responsible for the anesthesia requirements of patients in all areas of surgery. The nurse anesthetist develops, implements, and evaluates the anesthetic plan of care for individual patients and is a vital part of the health care team. The nurse anesthesia program at the University of South Carolina is an accredited program by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Education Programs and prides itself on a very high graduation rate and excellent pass success on the certification exam. Through careful selection of applicants, quality instruction, and supportive environment, 95% of our admitted students succeed in completing the program and earning their Doctoral degree. All of the program graduates have passed the National Certification Examination of the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists and have consistently scored at or above the national average. The first-time rate for passing the Certification Exam remains significantly above the national average. To date all graduates have found appropriate employment as Nurse Anesthetists.

The Doctorate of Nursing Practice program is a cooperative program between the School of Medicine Columbia and its clinical training partner institutions, Palmetto Health Richland (PHR) in Columbia, SC and Greenville Health System (GHS) in Greenville, SC. PHR began training nurse anesthetists in 1969 at the School of Nurse Anesthesia with involvement of School of Medicine (Columbia) faculty since 1986. A program leading to a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from University of South Carolina was accredited in 1993, and in 2010 GHS was approved as an additional required (primary) clinical site. Students may complete their entire educational program either in Columbia or Greenville sites, with didactic educational content shared by two-way synchronous interactive videoconferencing between Columbia and Greenville classrooms.

Learning Outcomes

• Integrate understanding of concepts in human anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology to clinical practice.
• Exhibit evidence of knowledge of all the indications, contraindications, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of currently available anesthetic agents and drugs.
• Utilize knowledge of the anesthetic related indications in the care of specialties such as neurosurgery, pediatrics, obstetrics, and cardio-thoracic anesthesia.
• Develop an evidence based project that demonstrates clinical scholarship supporting translation of knowledge into practice.

Admissions

Prerequisites must be met prior to an offer for an interview. Admission is competitive and students are chosen on the basis of their academic record, employment history and performance, character, and general fitness for the study of nurse anesthesia. To be accepted, the applicant must interview and demonstrate evidence of good physical health, emotional stability, and personality considered necessary for successful performance as a nurse anesthetist. Applicants to the Graduate Program in Nurse Anesthesia are recommended by an interview admissions committee composed of faculty from the USC School of Medicine, clinical coordinators, and nurse anesthesia students.

Final decision for admission is made by program faculty in conjunction with the University of South Carolina Graduate School.  

Curriculum and Degree Requirements (110 Hours)

Integration of clinical training with coursework is a key feature of the program with students beginning supervised clinical experience in the third semester. A state-of-art simulation laboratory provides an interactive system to teach both psychomotor clinical skills and crisis resource management. The curriculum consists of a 36-month course of study including clinical training and didactic courses in physiology, pharmacology, principles of anesthesia, and others. To meet the criteria for graduation and to meet the requirements to sit for the Certification Exam from the Council on Certification, students participate in a minimum of 600 anesthesia cases covering a variety of clinical experiences, including general and regional anesthetics for pediatrics, obstetrics, geriatrics, cardiovascular-thoracic, neurological, plastic otolaryngology, ophthalmology, urology, orthopedics, and radiological procedures. The majority of clinical training occurs at PHR and GHS, however clinical affiliations currently exist at several additional enrichment sites where students may rotate to gain more diverse clinical experience.  Enrichment sites for PRH include Providence Hospital, Lexington Medical Center, Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital, Palmetto Health Parkridge Hospital, Palmetto Health Baptist-Columbia, Aiken Regional Medical Center, Anderson Area Medical Center, Oconee Memorial Hospital, Orangeburg Regional Hospital, and Conway Medical Center.  Enrichment sites for GHSUMC include Cross Creek Surgery Center, Patewood Memorial Hospital, Patewood Outpatient Surgery Center, Hillcrest Memorial Hospital, Greer Memorial Hospital and Spartanburg Regional Medical Center.

In addition to the below requirements, all students must maintain a RN license in good standing, and ACLS, BLS, and PALS training must be current at the time of graduation. Students must meet all the requirement of the The National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA) to be eligible to take the Certification exam upon graduation. These requirements can be found on the NBCRNA website.