Ursuline College and Somnia Nurse Anesthesia Program, LLC collaborate to offer new Doctor of Nursing Practice specialty
The new nurse anesthesia specialty has been added to Ursuline College’s Doctor of Nursing Practice Program thanks to a new collaboration with the privately owned nurse anesthesia educational company, Somnia Nurse Anesthesia Program, LLC.
A new nurse anesthesia specialty has been added to Ursuline College’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program. The addition comes as a part of a collaboration with Somnia Nurse Anesthesia Program, LLC, or SNAP. SNAP is a privately owned nurse anesthesia educational company. The new anesthesia specialty is a full time, 36-month program designed to prepare nurses with bachelor’s degrees to become nurse anesthetists, and will be a hybrid format with in-person simulated and clinical learning experiences and online coursework.
In an article on Ursuline’s website, the Dean and Strawbridge Professor of Ursuline College’s Breen School of Nursing and Health Professions, Patricia A. Sharpnack, DNP, RN, CNE, NEA-BC, ANEF, FAAN, was quoted about the new specialization, and the collaboration with SNAP, saying, “We’re excited about this unique partnership. It allows Ursuline to expand it repertoire of leading-edge healthcare programs while helping meet a national healthcare shortage of nurse anesthetists.”
According to the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology, or AANA, around 2,400 CRNAs graduate every year. This number is much less than the 7,600 positions that are needed to be filled yearly for the next five years to satisfy the nursing shortage, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics projections. As of last year, new graduates from other nurse anesthesia programs were required to also have a terminal degree like a Doctor of Nursing Practice to enter practice.
Stephanie B. Woodruff, DNP, CRNA, CHSE, and program director of Ursuline College with SNAP, talked about the benefits of the collaboration, saying, “This national program has clinical sites across the United States and students are only required to travel to Ursuline College three times in three years for simulation workshops. This online platform offers students the convenience of synchronous learning while furthering their advanced practice nursing careers.”
As long as the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs approves, Ursuline College will begin accepting applications this May. The program is expected to start in January of 2024, with the clinical practicums starting a year later.
More information about the Ursuline College collaboration with SNAP can be found on the school's nursing page.
More information about Ursuline College in general can be found on the school’s website.