Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice

Applicants must demonstrate that they possess the intellectual and professional knowledge and skills for successful completion of the program requirements.

Nursing Experience & Licensure

1. Current unrestricted RN license that is valid within one of the 50 states or U.S. territories
   • License must be free from probation, suspension or stipulations
2. An appropriate state RN license is required for Phase II training
3. Minimum of one year of full-time critical care experience
   • Must be within three years of your planned start date
   • Must have one year full-time ICU experience from a hospital in the U.S., U.S. territory or at a U.S. military hospital
4. Current Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Certification (ACLS)
5. Current Pediatric Advanced Life Support Certification (PALS)
6. CCRN required

Education & Test Scores

1. Bachelor's degree from a fully accredited college or university
   • Because this is a competitive program, your nursing degree must have included clinicals and degrees must come from institutions that use a traditional grading system
2. GRE is required for all applicants, combined Verbal and Quantitative score of 300 strongly preferred (Reporting code: 6828)
3. GPA of 3.0 or greater (Overall or last 60 hours)
   • Science GPA of 3.0 or higher is strongly preferred
4. Complete a college-level chemistry course (no lab required) with a grade of B or higher within three years of your program start date
   • Send us your transcript by June 15 of the year you start the program
   • We recommend organic chemistry or higher
   • Intro or non-science major chemistry is not accepted
5. Complete a college-level algebra course with a grade of B or higher
   • Send us your transcript by June 15 of the year you start the program
   • A statistics course cannot be substituted for algebra

Other Requirements

1. Personal essay in which the applicant demonstrates their professional development as a registered nurse in critical care and how they have prepared for an advanced practice role as a nurse anesthetist
2. Professional interview in which the applicant demonstrates their critical care knowledge and professional development

‌	See Full Catalog Requirements

Texas Wesleyan's nurse anesthesia program is highly competitive. Ability to meet the minimum admission requirements stated doesn't guarantee an interview or admittance to the program.

You will rank your clinical facility preferences when you apply, but sites are assigned on a competitive basis. Test scores, references and interview performance are taken into account during the application process, and the students who rank highest are assigned sites first.

Students of other nurse anesthesia programs are ineligible for admission.

Are you ready to take the next step and fill out your application? We'll walk you through the process step-by-step.

How do I apply?

• A minimum of one year, full-time, critical care experience (ICU) is required and must be within 3 years of your program start date
• ER, PACU, flight nurse and acute care nurse experience will not meet the requirement
• Applicants must have their CCRN

Chemistry

• All students must have a college-level chemistry class with a grade of B or better within 3 years of your program start date -- there are no exceptions
• A lab is not required for Chemistry

Chemistry course recommendations

• We recommend taking general chemistry, organic chemistry or biochemistry to fulfill the requirement
• We will not accept any courses that are labeled as “Intro” to chemistry, or courses for non-science majors

Algebra

• All students must have a college-level algebra course with a grade of B or better (there is no time limit on algebra)
• Statistics cannot be substituted for the algebra requirement

Mark these important dates on your calendar. Submit your application and paperwork by the deadline to be considered for a seat in the program.

• Application deadline: Applications open in April and are due November 1st for the next year's cohort.
• Interview notifications: October - February
• Interviews: January - February
• Decision notifications: Jan. 30 - Feb. 15 

How do I apply?

We have clinical sites in 9 different states. You'll select your clinical site preference during the application process.

For the first 12 months, all students will be required to study at our main campus in Fort Worth, Texas. For the next 4 months, you have the option to stay at our main campus or finish at your assigned clinical site.

For the final 20 months, you will complete the clinical portion of the program at your assigned site.

Check Clinical Site Options

As a CRNA student, you must participate in a minimum of 800 cases at your clinical site. These cases must be spread out over many different specialties, types of anesthetics and patient demographics. Rotations will be necessary to meet your clinical requirements and are one to three months long and usually cover the following areas:

• Pediatrics
• Obstetrics
• Cardiac (open heart) and neuro surgery
• Regional anesthesia

The clinical portion of this program is 20 months long. During this phase, you'll spend at least four days a week in clinical and one day a week in the classroom.

Learn More About Clinical