FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Contacts:
Nancy Tierney, CAMC, (304)
388-9951
Lalena Price, Communications
Coordinator, Marshall
University, (304) 746-1989
Andrew Sikula, Sr., Marshall
University, (304) 746-1956
Marshall
University, CAMC to offer
Doctoral program
in Management Practice in Nurse
Anesthesia
CHARLESTON – The Marshall University Elizabeth McDowell Lewis College of Business Graduate School of Management and the Charleston Area Medical Center Health Education and Research Institute School of Nurse Anesthesia have received national accreditation for a clinically oriented Doctoral program in Management Practice in Nurse Anesthesia (DMPNA).
The Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs accredits nurse anesthesia programs and has recently approved the Marshall-CAMC program. This unique doctorate combines current nurse anesthesia skills with state-of-the-art entrepreneurial business management education, according to Dr. Nancy Tierney, director of the CAMC School of Nurse Anesthesia.
“Since 1955, CAMC has been educating Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) for the region and the State of West Virginia. It existed first as a certificate program and then, in joint partnership with the Marshall University Graduate College, as a Master of Science in Health Care Administration program,” Tierney said. “Pushed by advancing professional accreditation requirements, future CRNAs will need to become doctoral-qualified. CRNAs who practice at the doctorate level will offer additional value to the health care system with their expertise in advanced leadership, policy, management and interdisciplinary practice. Graduates of our program will become respected health care leaders and promote and enhance the delivery of cost-efficient, high quality, evidence-based health care services to the public.”
The DMPNA, a 36-month program, is in an integrated classroom and clinical format designed to prepare certified registered nurses for a career in the ever-evolving field of nurse anesthesia. At the end of the program, graduates will have completed 127 hours of study and clinical practice as well as a comprehensive doctoral research project. Students attend classes at Marshall’s campus in South Charleston as well as CAMC’s medical facilities in Charleston.
Students in the program learn competencies and knowledge required for advanced nurse anesthesia practice; develop general management skills related to running a private practice or entrepreneurial business; and meet state and regional needs for advanced-level anesthesiology in diverse health care environments.
The DMPNA is the first and only management practice in nurse anesthesia doctoral degree housed inside a business school within the United States, according to Dr. Andrew Sikula, Sr., director of the Graduate School of Management.
“The DMPNA expands Marshall University’s very successful Master of Science in Health Care Administration degree into a doctoral program,” Sikula said. “This graduate professional program is a unique partnership between a public teaching hospital and a public research university. We are extremely proud of the Council on Accreditation’s approval and the opportunity to continue our important work with CAMC as we train outstanding health care providers for the Appalachian region and beyond.”
Applicants must have a current, valid professional nursing license which satisfies the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses and have at least one year of experience in an acute care setting in which the applicant has had the opportunity to develop as an independent decision maker and is able to demonstrate specific required skills. Applicants also must have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 and a minimum combined score of 950 on the Graduate Records Examination. No provisional or conditional admission status is possible in the Marshall-CAMC DMPNA program.
Program and admission specifics may be found at www.anesthesiaschool.org or by calling the Anesthesia Education Office at (304) 388-9950.
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