Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, offers a Master's of Nursing Science (MSN) degree in nurse anesthesia. For entry into this program, an applicant must have at least one year of experience in a hospital recovery room, emergency room or intensive care unit. A total of 40 credits are required to receive the degree, split up over the average course of two years. The first year involves basic courses like Chemical and Physical Principles of Anesthesia, three levels of Anesthesia Nursing, and Pharmacological Strategies in Anesthesia Practice. In addition to classroom time, students will have clinical duties that include the administration of anesthesia to people of all ages. Upon graduation, students are eligible to take the certification exam administered by the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists.
At the University of Akron in Akron, OH, registered nurses can pursue a CRNA license in the university's MSN program, part of the College of Nursing. It is a 27-month program that requires 60 credit hours of work. Out of these 27 months, 24 of them are spent in a residency program learning hand-on the skills required of a CRNA, as well as building up the necessary hours required by the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists. Admission into the program requires one year of experience working specifically with adults in a critical care establishment.
The 2008 U.S. News and World Report ranked the Nurse Anesthesia program at the University of Cincinnati at number eleven in the nation. It is a 27-month program of full-time study that will rise to 28 months starting August 2012. Clinical time begins in the first term of the program and gradually increases as time goes on. Students will find themselves serving at University Hospital, a level one trauma center, several community hospitals, and the Children's Hospital Medical Center at Cincinnati VA Medical Center, which has the largest surgical service of any children's hospital in the country, making this program ideal for anyone interested in pediatrics. Courses in this program include Healthcare Policy, Scientific Basis for Clinical Reasoning and Biostatistics.
At Youngstown State University, a cooperative graduate program in Nurse Anesthesia is available between the university and the St. Elizabeth Health Center School for Nurse Anesthetists, Inc. All courses, however, are taught by the graduate faculty at Youngstown State. The Nurse Anesthesia track here is one of two tracks that stem from the Master of Science degree in Nursing. The other track is for chronic illness care nursing. The residency work in this program is supervised by trained CRNA's and staff anesthesiologists who work for Bel-Park Anesthesia Associates, Inc. and use resources provided by both Youngstown State and St. Elizabeth Health Center.