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The online Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia program is the only one of its kind in the country, and Texas Wesleyan is the only school that offers it.
In its second year, the 35 to 42 hour credit program gives students the opportunity to complete their doctorates within two years as a full time student or three years as a part time student. Students access class syllabi, notes and streaming video recordings of the lectures from the Web. “Students can be in Asia, Europe, Africa or anywhere in the United States and take the class,” said Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez, professor of chemistry and associate director of DNAP. “As long as they have a laptop, they can log in from anywhere.”
Students who are interested in the program must be practicing certified registered nurse anesthetists and be registered nurses who have taken specific graduate level courses. Getting into the program is not an easy task. Rodriguez said that out of 40 applicants, only 16 were selected in 2007, the first year. After the initial paperwork, Rodriguez and Dr. Paul Austin, associate professor and coordinator of research and anesthesia curriculum for the DNAP, set up phone interviews to make the final selection. “Unless they meet all the requirements, they cannot get into the program,” Rodriguez said.
The DNAP program is comprised of students from across the country. Students come from both rural and metropolitan areas, Rodriguez said. The roster includes students from South Carolina, North Dakota, Colorado and Pennsylvania. Rodriguez, who used to work as a scientist for the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, said the program shows how much things have changed in the teaching and learning process over the years. “I never thought it woul happen,” said John Martin, director of DNAP. “In 20 years a lot has changed in the way students learn and the way they shop for the best universities and colleges.”
The curriculum is set apart from other nursing programs because of the focus on the hard sciences, Martin said. “No other program that we know offers those,” he said.
Lisa Milhoan, certified registered nurse anesthetist, is a GPNA professor as well as a student in the DNAP. “Anesthetists make about $150,000 to $180,000 a year, and they don’t want to lose that money,” Milhoan said. “The program allows us to take class before or after work.”
The way that accreditation is changing, there will be a need for people with doctorate’s to teach, she said. The degree will allow students to remain in the field or they can go into the business or educational fields. “The educational process is evolving, and it won’t be long before everyone is at this level,” she said. “It’s nice being on the cutting edge.”
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