DNP Nurse Anesthetist

Students enrolling in the DNP Nurse Anesthetist program can expect a rigorous, challenging curriculum, heavily based in sciences including anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, chemistry and physics. This full-time program will require students to take 88 credits over three years or nine continuous semesters. The minimum amount of clinical time is 2,000 hours, but graduating WVU DNP nurse anesthetists will likely exceed that minimum. 

The graduate will earn a DNP degree and be eligible to sit for the National Certification Exam (NCE), a board exam administered by the National Board of Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA). Candidate graduates who pass the Certification Exam become Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists or CRNAs. Please click here for answers to commonly asked questions about the program.

Duration:
2024 DNP Nurse Anesthetist Info Session | WVU School of Nursing

DNP Nurse Anesthetist Program

Applicant Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Science or graduate degree in Nursing from a nationally accredited nursing program and regionally accredited institution.
  • Minimum nursing GPA of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  • Cumulative GPA of a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on all college work attempted.
  • Minimum of 1-year post-orientation, and preferably 2-3 years of current, full-time critical care experience.
    • Employment in telemetry, cardiac catheterization lab, operating room, post-anesthesia care unit, interventional radiology, or emergency department is not considered critical care experience
  • American Heart Association certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification is required prior to beginning clinical activities.
  • Current, unrestricted RN license. (Licensure in West Virginia will be required during the program and possibly one or more of the following states:  Maryland, Ohio, and/or Pennsylvania.)
  • Shadowing a CRNA prior to applying to the program is strongly recommended.
  • Competitive applicants will be invited for an on-campus interview.
  • To be considered, applicants will be required to meet all WVU admission requirements in addition to program-specific admission criteria.
  • Transfer students must provide a letter of good standing from the Nursing program in which currently enrolled or left incomplete.

Additional student information can also be found in our Student Handbook

Campus Resources

At the WVU Health Sciences Center, students have access to invaluable resources, including the WV STEPS Centera state-of-the-art center for experiential learning with simulation.

Duration:
STEPS provides surgical training opportunities for WVU students, physicians

To learn more, view a tour of the Health Sciences campus or see the video above to learn how our nurse anesthetist students get to practice in a surgical simulation setting prior to practicing in the field. 

Accreditation

The WVU School of Nursing DNP Nurse Anesthetist Program is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) until 2024. Contact the COA by phone at 224-275-9130, on the web at coacrna.org, or at 10275 W. Higgins Rd., Suite 906, Rosemont, IL 60018-5603.

View Accreditation Outcome Data              

Information Request

Megan Bryant.

I think we all have something that makes us feel good, something that makes us feel like we are who we are — serving people and helping people, no matter their needs, it makes me feel like me.

Megan Bryant
DNP Nurse Anesthetist
Morgantown Campus