Philosphy and Mission Statement
The nurse anesthesia program is dedicated to achieving full professional competency in its graduates. The program believes that professional competence is based upon self-awareness, an appropriate system of values and beliefs which positively affect relationships with patients and other members of the health care team, the possession of cognitive process capabilities, and proficient implementation of technical skills. This is best achieved by individualized concern for each student through continued formal and informal guidance in the both the didactic (i.e., classroom) and clinical settings. Offering the program within a graduate framework most effectively incorporates learning activities within the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains while achieving professional competence as an anesthesia care provider. The curriculum design and multiple clinical affiliation sites effectively facilitate achievement of these goals by supporting the “team concept” philosophy of practice which offers reinforcement from a variety of directions.
The practice of anesthesia by a nurse anesthetist is an expanded role for advanced practice nursing, which includes both the practice of nursing and medical functions. The registered nurse anesthesia student (RNAS) builds upon an established nursing base with a rigorous anesthesia education that promotes critical thinking skills leading to high levels of competencies that will result in the delivery of high quality anesthesia care.
In addition to preparing anesthesia clinicians, graduates are prepared to also assume diverse roles. Graduates from this program are in a variety of health care positions, such as management of anesthesia departments or programs, chief operating officer (COO) of health care systems, hospital administrators, or executive director of the national professional association.
Mission Statement
The Department of Nurse Anesthesia at Wayne State University, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is a professional program concerned with the theory and practice of the science of nurse anesthesia. The Nurse Anesthesia Program is offered at a graduate level and has been an integral part of a major urban university since its inception in 1963. The mission of the program is congruent with that of the university which has a commitment to “Establish and sustain a superlative learning experience that builds upon unique values and attributes of WSU”. The program promotes research activities to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the art of nurse anesthesia, encourages the application and sharing of these acquired learning to a diverse global population. By encompassing and integrating the essence of nursing to the practice of anesthesia, the program focuses on developing mechanisms to build new and innovative partnership across a variety of healthcare disciplines. Such innovative approaches are noted in the collaborative partnering with Children’s Hospital of Michigan to offer a Post-Master’s Certificate in Pediatric Anesthesia. In addition, the program collaborated with the department of Physiology, and Pharmaceutical Sciences to accept some anesthesia courses toward a PhD for students or graduates who aspire to earn a doctoral degree in Physiology or Pharmacology.