Keck School of Medicine

Department-Specific Programs

Department of Anesthesiology

Program Director: Michele E. Gold, Ph.D.

Associate Program Director: Teresa Norris, Ed.D.

Assistant Program Director of Clinical Services: Kären Embrey, Ed.D.

Faculty

Chair and Professor: Philip Lumb

Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology: Randall Wetzel

Professors of Clinical Anesthesiology: Jack Berger; Mary Joseph; Ronald Katz; Duraiyah Thangathurai; Vladmir Zelman

Associate Professors of Clinical Anesthesiology: Steven Haddy, Jeffrey Lee; Michele Gold; Rajesh Patel; Steven Richeimer; Earl Strum

Assistant Professors of Clinical Anesthesiology: Rudolfo Amaya; Dimiter Arnaudov; Tawfik Ayoub; Armin Azad; Jason Bang; Maxim Benbassat; Martin Bohorquez; Kari Cole; Ahmed Darwish; James Daniel; Kären Embrey; Maria Espi; Gligor Gucev; Wayne Kaufman; Mona Kulkarni; Rodney McKeever; Mariana Mogos; Rana Movahedi; Ali Nemat; Teresa Norris; Shatel Patel; Catherine Rodziewicz; Ashraf Sedra; Fayez Takla; Candace Tay; Chelsea Varner; Samuel Yanofsky

Instructors of Clinical Anesthesiology: Roberta Ashley; Deborah Avnet; Brindusa Bauer; Paula Belson; Eric Bowles; Douglas Brannan; James Carey; Jennilyn Casalme; Johnny Cheng; Geoffrey Edwards; Judith Franco; Charlotte Garcia; Katharine Getz; Dolores Gibbs; Amy Gilb; Sarah Giron; Elizabeth Glazer; David Godden; Jessica Harris; Jennifer Hogan; Dina Hunt; Monique Jabbour; Kim Jones-Tang; Rory Keenan; Cathy Kiem; Alla Kryukova; Vadim Kuraev; Benjamin Lindsey; Victoria McKinzie; Cameron Meyer; Blair Mostofi; Arthur Norcliffe; Michelle Olivares; Margaret Oliveto; Robert Olsen; Patricia Omoto Paik; Nilu Patel; Nancy Perez; Erin Peters; Gabriel Punsalan; Christina Quinn; Ellie Rawson, Dhanya Renjith; Ilene Richards; Sara Rondinone; Joseph Sammut; Susan Shenkosky; Tahira Smith; Helen Stepan; Crystal Trinooson; Regalado Valerio; Rhona Wang; Kelly Zhou

The nurse anesthesia program prepares qualified nurses in the specialty of nurse anesthesia and qualifies the graduate to sit for the certification examination given by the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists. The graduate attains a high level of clinical competence with an extensive body of didactic knowledge relevant to the specialty and advanced practice nursing. The mission of the USC Program of Nurse Anesthesia is scholarly education and professional development of future nurse anesthetists with the academic strength and leadership skills to advance our profession.

Students enrolling in the M.S., Nurse Anesthesia course of study must complete the nurse anesthesia core curriculum and specialty practicum. The program consists of 47 units and is completed in 27 months of continuous enrollment (seven semesters; the first semester 2-unit course is provided in a hybrid online platform). There is an optional one-semester clinical fellowship offered in the eighth semester of enrollment to provide specialty training in a clinical area of choice: critical care, cardiovascular, neurosurgical, ambulatory anesthesia or pain management. Students may sit for the certification examination during this semester.

The program is based in the Department of Anesthesiology, and classroom instruction is provided by nurse anesthesia program faculty and faculty from the Department of Anesthesiology, the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, and the Department of Cell and Neurobiology within the Keck School of Medicine, as well as clinical faculty from the program clinical sites. Clinical training occurs at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center, Keck Hospital of USC, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Long Beach Veterans’ Administration Medical Center and West Los Angeles Veterans’ Administration Medical Center for the primary rotations. Advanced rotations occur at those sites, as well as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Northridge/Hallmark Pain Management and Surgery Center, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center and UCLA Medical Center.

Master of Science (in Nurse Anesthesia)

General requirements for admission include a minimum 3.0 undergraduate grade point average, a minimum score on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination of 300 (or a score of 1000 on the GRE prior to September 2011), completion of the university and Program supplemental application, current licensure as a Registered Nurse, a bachelor’s degree in nursing or a related field from an accredited university or college, submission of an essay describing the applicant’s career goals, professional resume and three letters of reference.

Competitive applicants will be interviewed and must demonstrate an acceptable understanding of the role and responsibilities of certified registered nurse anesthetists. Shadowing experience of CRNAs must be demonstrated. Selections are made on the basis of the formal interview and consideration of a variety of factors that include academic record, type and amount of clinical experience and professionalism.

Academic and Scientific Prerequisites

The admission requirements also include appropriate undergraduate course work in biology, anatomy, physiology, chemistry, biochemistry, physics and statistics (or nursing research). A minimum of one year of experience in critical care nursing as a registered nurse is required. Licensure as an RN in California and current BCLS, ACLS and PALS certifications are required prior to enrollment. Conversational Spanish is strongly recommended.

Computer Skill Requirements

During the program, students must have a personal computer or notebook with Internet. The primary mode of program communication is email. Computer accounts are provided by the university to all students and can be activated online.

Advisement

Prospective students should contact the program’s admission office, (323) 442-2037 or uscnap@usc.edu for evaluation of previous course work and clinical background.

Admission

Admission procedures follow the information in the USC Graduate School section of this catalogue. Admission standards for the USC nurse anesthesia program are established jointly by the Keck School of Medicine, the USC Graduate School and the Department of Anesthesiology. Interested students should apply online at usc.edu/admission/graduate/apply. Additional admissions requirements and the supplemental application must be obtained from the nurse anesthesia program and can be requested through email at uscnap@usc.edu or accessed at keck.usc.edu/nurse-anesthesia.

All students will take the Self-Evaluation Examination (SEE) administered by the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists at the end of the first clinical year. Student scores must be above the national mean for advancement into the research capstone experience.

PDF version of the Keck School of Medicine of USC section