Prerequisites

• Baccalaureate, master's, or doctoral degree in nursing from a regionally accredited college or university.
• At the time of application submission, the applicant must be a currently practicing ICU nurse.
• Official transcripts of all previous academic and professional coursework completed must be submitted with the application. Coursework that is in progress or completed after submitting an application will not be considered.
• Applicants currently or have previously enrolled in a graduate-level nursing discipline or nurse anesthesia program are not eligible for admission.
• Current unencumbered RN license in the state of your nursing practice. RN license must be current - continuous, active, unrestricted, and unencumbered when the application is submitted.
• If admitted, the RN license must be current, active, unrestricted, and free of encumbrance in California at the time of matriculation and throughout the duration of the program.

Experience

• Evidence of bedside experience in clinical practice as a registered nurse with a minimum of twelve and/or recommended twenty-four months consisting of 2080 or 4160 hours of critical care experience within the US, its territories, or a US military hospital outside of the US within the last five years at the time of application.

• Excludes hours obtained while enrolled in a Nurse Residency Program or New Graduate Program

  Critical Care Experience accepted:
  Surgical ICU
  Medical ICU
  Trauma ICU
  Cardiovascular ICU
  Neurosurgical ICU
  Burn ICU
  Neonatal ICU
  CT ICU
  Pediatric ICU
   

  Experience not accepted:
  Emergency room
  Post-Anesthesia Care Unit
  Step Down Unit
  Flight nursing
  Cath Lab

Certifications – required at the time of matriculation and throughout the duration of the program

American Heart Association approved (AHA) only:
BLS (Basic Life Support)
ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support)
PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support)
*CCRN (any of the following: adult, pediatric, neonatal, and critical care). 

*Required at the time of application

Repeat Course Work

• A maximum of three repeated science courses is allowed.
   
• The grade for the repeated coursework will replace the original grade if the following conditions are met:
  • The repeated coursework must have the same number of didactic and lab units or course credits, where applicable.
  • The description of the repeated coursework and the course learning objectives must be equivalent, as determined by the SMU Office of Admissions and the Program Leadership Team.
     
• To consider replacing previous grades with repeated coursework, both the original and the repeated coursework syllabi must be uploaded as supplementary documents at the time of application.

Clinical Experiences

Students complete a 24-month clinical residency that encompasses diverse practice settings, including but not limited to large academic medical, trauma centers, community hospitals, rural hospitals, critical access hospitals, in medically underserved and healthcare provider shortage areas. Practice settings include CRNA independent, anesthesia care team, and medical direction practice models.

Clinical Sites

Community Regional Medical Center, Fresno
David Grant Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield
El Camino Health-Mountain View Hospital, Mountain View
Fresno Veterans Administration Medical Center, Fresno
Highland General Hospital, Oakland
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Walnut Creek
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Antioch
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Fresno
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Roseville
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, North Sacramento
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Oakland
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Richmond
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Redwood City
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Roseville
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Santa Clara
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Francisco
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Jose
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Folsom
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Fremont
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Leandro
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Rafael
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Santa Rosa
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, South Sacramento
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, South San Francisco
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Vacaville
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Vallejo
Kaweah Delta Medical Center, Visalia
Mercy Medical Center, Mount Shasta
San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco
San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Francisco
San Joaquin General Hospital, French Camp
St. Agnes Medical Center, Fresno
St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Stockton
Stanford Medical Center, Palo Alto
UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento
UC San Francisco Mission Bay Hospital, San Francisco
UC San Francisco Parnassus Hospital, San Francisco
UC San Francisco Mount Zion Hospital, San Francisco
 

Graduates of our accredited program will be eligible to take the national certification exam (NCE) to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist. Clinical practice rights are granted by reciprocity in all states after successful completion of the NCE.

Mission

The Doctor of Nursing Practice – Anesthesia program strives to educate skilled clinicians and healthcare leaders who are vigilant in the delivery of care and exercise cultural competency throughout the full scope of anesthesia practice.

Vision

We will become nationally recognized as a premier nurse anesthesia program through innovative instruction, a solid foundation in science-based theories, and translational research.

Values

Doctor of Nursing Practice – Anesthesia program and our faculty are led by:

• Diversity
• Wellness
• Integrity
• Grit
• Professionalism

PLO1: Integrate nursing science with biomedical knowledge and evidence-based interprofessional best practices for the highest level of nursing practice.

PLO2: Provide leadership for the organization, delivery, quality, safety, sustainability, accountability, responsiveness, and continuous improvement in healthcare.

PLO3: Translate evidence into practice, evaluate practice, improve outcomes of care, and participate in collaborative research.

PLO4: Identify, appraise, implement, and evaluate information technology and systems to provide and improve care.

PLO5: Design, advocate, and implement healthcare policy to support equitable and inclusive healthcare access, financing, regulation, safety, quality, and efficacy.

PLO6: Provide leadership to facilitate collaborative team functioning and interprofessional practice to improve healthcare outcomes.

PLO7: Analyze health risks within the biological, environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic determinants of health to develop, implement, and evaluate clinical prevention measures to improve population health.

PLO8: Practice in a specialty role using advanced levels of clinical judgment, systems thinking, accountability, and innovation to design, deliver, and evaluate evidence-based care to improve healthcare outcomes.

ADNP Attrition Rates

Class of 2025 Attrition Rate (COA) to be Determined

ADNP NCE (NBCRNA) Pass Rates (1st Time/Subsequent Pass Rate)

Class of 2025 NCE Pass Rates (COA) to be Determined

ADNP Graduation Rate *

Class of 2025 Graduation Rate (COA) to be Determined

ADNP Employment Rate in the Profession (within six months of graduation) **

Class of 2025 Employment Rate (COA) to be Determined

MSN*** Attrition Rates

Class of 2023-0%
Class of 2022-3.7%
Class of 2021-0%
 

MSN*** NCE (NBCRNA) Pass Rates (1st Time/Subsequent Pass Rate)

Class of 2023-85%/96%
Class of 2022-81%/96%
Class of 2021-81%/100%
 

MSN*** Graduation Rate *

Class of 2023-100%
Class of 2022-96%
Class of 2021-100%
 

MSN*** Employment Rate in the Profession (within six months of graduation) **

Class of 2023--96%
Class of 2022-96%
Class of 2021-100%
 

*Percent of entering Cohort Graduated Within 150% of the Expected Time

**Employment data only includes graduates who responded to SMU Alumni or Employer Surveys; the employment rate is not necessarily representative of graduates who did not respond to SMU Alumni or Employer Surveys.

***The MSN program transitioned to a DNP Program in the fall of 2022. The MSN program was discontinued in the Spring of 2024. The Class of 2023 was the last cohort to be awarded an MSN in Nurse Anesthesia at Samuel Merritt University. 

The Anesthesia Doctor of Nursing Practice (ADNP) program strives to educate outstanding clinicians who demonstrate a high level of competence in the full scope of anesthesia practice. We are committed to providing innovative educational opportunities that engender reasoned, safe, culturally sensitive, evidence-based practice, and practitioners who value integrity and professionalism. The following technical standards, in conjunction with the academic standards, are requirements for admission, promotion, and graduation. The term “candidate” refers to candidates for admission to the ADNP program as well as current students who are candidates for retention, promotion, or graduation.

These requirements may be achieved with or without reasonable accommodations, the cost of which will be borne by the institution. These standards should not serve as a deterrent to any candidate with disabilities who desires to pursue a medical education. Candidates with disabilities bring unique perspectives that contribute to the diversity of the student population and will create a diverse healthcare workforce of culturally competent practitioners who can meet the needs of their patients. Candidates with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Disability Resource Center immediately upon acceptance to begin a confidential conversation about possible accommodations necessary to meet these standards. Fulfillment of the technical standards for graduation from the ADNP program does not guarantee that a graduate will be able to fulfill the technical requirements of any specific clinical position.

Observational skills: A candidate must acquire information as presented through demonstrations and experiences in foundational sciences. Also, a candidate must be able to evaluate a patient accurately and assess relevant health, behavioral, and medical information. Candidates must be able to obtain and interpret information through a comprehensive assessment of patients, correctly interpret diagnostic representations of patient physiologic data, and accurately evaluate patient conditions and responses. Also, candidates must have sufficient capacity to make accurate observations, interpret and effectively participate in the context of patient care and simulated learning activities.  

Communication skills: Candidate must be able to perceive changes in mood, activity, and posture, and accurately interpret verbal and non-verbal communications from patients and others. Each candidate must have the ability to effectively communicate with patients, their family members, and other professionals in healthcare and classroom settings. The candidate must be able to document patient care to maintain accurate clinical records effectively. 

Motor skills: The candidate must perform complete physical examinations utilizing multiple types of diagnostic maneuvers. A candidate must be able to perform and assist with procedures, treatments, administration of medication, management and operation of diagnostic and therapeutic medical equipment utilized in the initial administration, maintenance and emergent of anesthesia for patients. The candidate must possess the stamina to meet the demands associated with satisfactory and safe performance in clinical and classroom settings.

Intellectual-conceptual, integrative, and quantitative abilities:  Candidates must be able to learn through a variety of modalities, including but not limited to: classroom instruction; laboratory, including cadaver lab; small group, team, and collaborative activities; individual study; preparation and presentation of reports; and use of computer technology. A candidate must effectively interpret, assimilate, and understand the complex information required to function within the ADNP curriculum including, but not limited to, the ability to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand the spatial relationships of structures; effectively participate in individual, small group, and lecture learning modalities in classroom, clinical, and community settings; learn, participate, collaborate, and contribute as a part of a team; synthesize information both in person and via remote technology; interpret causal connections and make accurate, fact-based conclusions based on available data and information; formulate a hypothesis and investigate the potential answers and outcomes; and reach appropriate and accurate conclusions. A candidate must be able to find sources of knowledge and acquire the knowledge through various modalities, and possess the ability to be a lifelong learner.

Behavioral and social attributes: Candidates must possess the physical, mental, and emotional health required for the application of intellectual abilities and the employment of sound judgment appropriately and promptly. Candidates must be able to function effectively under physically taxing workloads and in times of physical and mental stress. Candidates must accept constructive criticism and display compassion, sensitivity, and empathy while maintaining professional integrity in addition to professional moral and ethical standards at all times.