Nurse Anesthesia DNP Program Admissions

• A current, active, unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) licensure with no disciplinary action from any state in the U.S.
• At least one year of full-time ICU experience as a registered nurse within the past two years by the time of the application deadline
  • Acceptable ICU settings include: adult (and pediatric intensive care units only. You are strongly advised to be currently working in the ICU at the time you apply. These units are not accepted as critical care experience: neonatal ICU, ICU step-down, operating room, post-anesthesia care unit, invasive radiology/cardiology or emergency room.
• Current CCRN Certification
• Current American Heart Association ACLS Provider Certification
• Recommended: Experience serving on a committee for an intensive care unit, health care facility or professional nursing organization

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing, or Doctor or Nursing Practice from an ACEN (formerly NLNAC) or CCNE accredited school of nursing
• GPA calculated based on all higher education institutions (undergraduate and graduate combined). Students who do not meet the following recommended criteria are encouraged to retake courses before applying:
  • Overall GPA of at least 3.4 on a 4.0 scale. The average overall GPA for the most recent admitted class was 3.6 on a 4.0 scale.
  • Science GPA of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. Science GPA is based on all courses in these subject areas from your undergraduate and graduate career. We do not use the comprehensive NursingCAS Course Subject Area calculation for science GPA.
    • All anatomy and physiology courses
      
    • All chemistry courses
    • All biology courses
    • All pathophysiology courses
      
    • All pharmacology courses
    • All physics courses
• Prerequisites: Any undergraduate or graduate course with at least a B (3.0 on 4.0 scale) in the following subject areas:
  • Chemistry
  • Anatomy & Physiology
  • Pharmacology
  • Statistics

• English proficiency scores. Waived for applicants who are from a country where English is the official language or who have completed a higher education degree in a country where English is the official language.
  
  • TOEFL score of 100 or higher
  • IELTS score of 7.0 or higher
  • Duolingo score of 120 or higher

Applicants/students to the University of Cincinnati Nurse Anesthesia Program are selected based on their academic, personal, and extracurricular attributes.  Applicants/students must have the intellectual, physical, and emotional capabilities to meet the requirements of the nurse anesthesia curriculum and to function as a safe anesthesia clinical provider.

The following technical standard guidelines are recognized as essential to the study and practice of nurse anesthesia. These guidelines specify attributes considered essential for completing nurse anesthesia training and for enabling each graduate to enter clinical practice. The applicant/student must be able to demonstrate these standards, with or without reasonable accommodation, for admission, continuation, and graduation from the University of Cincinnati Nurse Anesthesia Program.

University of Cincinnati Nurse Anesthesia Program is committed to considering all qualified applicants without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, veteran status, disability, or sexual orientation.  Admissions Committee believes that all students must possess the intellectual, physical and emotional capabilities necessary to undertake the required curriculum in a reasonably independent manner, and that all students must be able to achieve the levels of competence required by the program goals and objectives.

University of Cincinnati Nurse Anesthesia Program will consider for admission any applicant who meets its academic and nonacademic criteria and who demonstrates the ability to perform skills listed in this document, with or without reasonable accommodations, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.

All candidates for admission, both those with and without disabilities, are evaluated on academic, personal, and extracurricular attributes by the admissions committee.  The institutional policy is to make admissions decisions on the basis of each applicant’s qualifications for the study and practice of nurse anesthesia. The Nurse Anesthesia Program’s commitment to nondiscrimination against any applicant or admitted student on the basis of disability is consistent with applicable law.

Qualified applicants and admitted students with diagnosed disabilities have access to support personnel within the Office of Accessibility Resources.  An agent of this office will meet with students on an individualized basis to determine reasonableness of requested accommodations and collaborate with other faculty and staff as necessary to ensure reasonable accommodations for courses and examinations. The goal is to help students meet the technical standards for Nurse Anesthesia Program admission, continuation, and graduation.

Appropriate accommodations will depend on individual circumstances when evaluating a request for an accommodation.

An accommodation is considered an unacceptable/unreasonable modification if:

1. It poses a direct threat to the health or safety of self and/or others.
2. If making it requires a substantial modification in an essential element of the curriculum.
3. If it lowers academic standards, poses an undue administrative or financial burden.
4. The use of an intermediary to perform any of the student’s functions described in the Technical Standards.

Students seeking accommodations should engage with the University of Cincinnati’s Accessibility Resources office. 

1. Complete a New Student Registration Form found on Accessibility Resources’ website to provide a personal narrative of the student’s disability, the disability's impact within their academic or clinical experience, and the accommodations they are seeking.
2. Provide supplemental documentation to provide additional context regarding the student’s disability and the barriers experienced by the student.  Documentation is not required at the time of application but may be requested by Accessibility Resources.  
3. Participate in a registration meeting with the assigned Accessibility Resources staff member to identify barriers related to disability that are/may be present while attending UC and determine reasonable accommodations. 
4. Additional information about accommodations and the registration process can be found on Accessibility Resources’ FAQ website or by contacting Accessibility Resources at 513-556-6823 or accessresources@uc.edu. 

Technical Standards for Nurse Anesthesia Studies Required for Admission, Continuation and Graduation

Applicant/student for the Doctor of Nursing Practice in Nurse Anesthesia must be able to demonstrate intellectual-conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities; skills in observation, communication and motor functions; and mature behavioral and social attributes.

To complete the degree, applicants/students must be able to perform/demonstrate mastery of the following skills and the ability to use them together in a timely and often critical fashion in problem-solving and patient care. Each of these standards must be met with or without reasonable accommodations.                                                         

• Sensory
  • Be able to detect and interpret changes in monitoring alarms and equipment.
  • Have sufficient capacity to observe in the lecture hall, laboratory, outpatient setting, and the patient's bedside.
  • Process information (visual, auditory, written, tactile) to adequately observe a patient's condition and to elicit information from computerized monitors, and through procedures regularly required in a physical examination, such as inspection, auscultation, and palpation.
  • Be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand.

   

• Communication
  • Process information (visual, auditory, written, tactile) to elicit information; describe changes in mood, activity, and posture; and perceive nonverbal communications.
  • Be able to communicate effectively (includes speech, reading and writing) and sensitively with patients and with all members of the health care team.

   

• Motor
  • Elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, percussion, and other diagnostic maneuvers.
  • Be able to negotiate patient care environments and must be able to move self/patients between settings, such as clinic, classroom building, and hospital.
  • Provide the following, but not limited to, general care: direct laryngoscopy, arterial and venous line placement, and performance of peripheral and central nerve blocks, anesthesia gas machine operation and troubleshooting, and to provide emergency and urgent treatment to patients such as fiberoptic intubation and therapies of the difficult airway algorithm.
  • Be able to perform Adult Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)  and administer general anesthesia and regional anesthesia in accordance with the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs.

   

• Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities
  • Problem-solving, the critical skill demanded of a nurse anesthetist student, requires all of following intellectual abilities:  Intellectual-conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis and synthesis.
  • Be able to comprehend 3-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures for the performance of peripheral and central nerve blocks.
  • Be able to read and understand medical and nursing literature.

   

• Behavioral and Social Attributes
  • Commitment to excellence, service orientation, goal-setting skills, academic ability, self-awareness, integrity and interpersonal skills are all personal qualities that are assessed during the admission and education process.
  • Possess the emotional health required for full utilization of intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients and other healthcare personnel.
  • Be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads such providing uninterrupted patient care for several hours, function effectively under stress, adapt to changing environments, display flexibility and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients.
  • Nurse anesthesia education is based on a mentoring process, applicants/student are expected to be able to accept criticism and respond by appropriate modification of behavior.
  • Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest and motivations are all personal qualities that are required.

Annotations to the Technical Standards

In addition to the existing text incorporated within the Technical Standards for Nurse Anesthesia Studies for Admission, Continuation and Graduation, there are specific needs that are relevant to successful completion of curriculum requirements. This addendum provides specific examples to enhance the interpretation of the Technical Standards, particularly within the “Motor” and “Behavioral and Social Attributes” categories.

Applicants/students are required to be able to demonstrate/perform the following:

• Master the skills of a complete physical examination.
• Complete Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and Pediatric Advanced Cardiac Life Support (PALS).
• Available to meet for mastery of the curriculum academic activities or hospital orientations/shifts. This may include evening, night, weekend, and holiday obligations.
• Participate in clinical training that may begin at varied times of the day and extend several hours. Start times occur as early as 5:00 am, evening, on-call, and weekend shifts are common and may extend into 12 to16-hour days.
• Remain in a relatively fixed position for the entirety of the procedure with minimal rest or breaks.  Understanding that many surgical procedures essential to training may last for 3 or more hours.
• In emergency situations, patients may need to be moved, turned or resuscitated, and the student may be in situations that necessitate short periods of bending, lifting or partial lifting, reaching, squatting or straining.
• Must be able to transport themselves and patients from one location to another (different patient-care floors, different wings or sections within institutional building structures) in a timely fashion in order to facilitate patient care responsibilities.
• They are responsible to ensure that they arrive fit for duty, which is defined as being in sound emotional, physical, and mental health to provide safe anesthesia care.
• A team of student support agents and faculty will consider the individual’s specific limitations and needs to determine whether the requested accommodation is reasonable and will permit the applicant or student to satisfy the Technical Standards.

• We strongly recommended you order transcripts at least one month prior to the application deadline.
• Transcripts must verify a Bachelor of Science in Nursing conferred from a regionally and ACEN (formerly NLNAC) or CCNE accredited institution.
• The Transcript Matching Form in the NursingCAS application is not required. This form helps ensure transcripts are matched to the correct application. If your previous institution allows you to use the form, we encourage you to do so.
• List any former names in the "Biographic Information" portion of your NursingCAS application to ensure your transcript uploads properly.
• International transcripts must be evaluated by World Education Services (WES) (preferred), or another NACES member.

• You may use an official or unofficial transcript to complete your coursework entry in the NursingCAS system. You must enter all courses from every higher education institution attended.
• Professional Transcript Entry (PTE) is an optional, paid service whereby a NursingCAS specialist enters coursework on an applicant's behalf.
  
  • PTE will not begin until all transcripts are received.
  • After PTE is complete, applicants receive an email prompting them to log in and approve the entry. The application verification process will not begin without approval of transcript entry.
    

• Upload English Proficiency Scores to your NursingCAS application. Do not send scores to the University of Cincinnati. (This requirement is waived, if you have a U.S. higher education degree or were born in a country where English is the first language.)
  • TOEFL
    • Internet-based TOEFL – 100 or higher
    • Computer-based TOEFL – 250 or higher
    • Paper-based TOEFL – 600-603
  • IELTS – 7.0 overall minimum
  • Duolingo - 120 or higher

International applicants are responsible for ensuring that their visa status meets program requirements and that online course requirements adhere to sponsored funding requirements. For additional information, visit the UC Graduate School International Student Admissions website.