Texas Wesleyan’s nurse anesthesia program has received a $108,305 federal grant to support more than 300 full-time students preparing to become nurse anesthetists.

Awarded from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, the grant provides one year of scholarship funding, which started July 1.

“Texas Wesleyan’s nurse anesthesia program is top in the nation and we are pleased to receive this support for our students,” Deborah Roark, director of grants and research, said. “We enroll and graduate the largest number of nurse anesthetists who consistently pass the certification exam higher than the national average.”

Program director Debra Maloy said students who are scattered in many locations are able to take classes through distance learning and clinical training near their homes.

“This program participates with 67 hospitals in 11 states using distance learning via interactive two-way audio/video live streaming on the internet for instruction - coupled with the clinical component occurring at their local hospital,” she said. “This makes it available to nurses who would not be able to leave their homes and families for this type of education.”

Funding will be used to offset some of the cost of tuition and fees for an estimated 336 full-time nurse anesthesia students, thereby alleviating some of the financial burden of advanced nurse practice education.

About the MSNA Program

Texas Wesleyan’s MSNA program is a 28-month front-loaded program:

• Phase I: primarily didactic education; runs 12 months
• Phase II: primarily clinical nurse anesthesia training with some advanced anesthesia coursework; lasts 16 months

Students who graduate from Texas Wesleyan’s MSNA program are eligible to take the National Certification Exam, which is offered by the National Board for Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists, and become Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists.