Outcome Criteria for Student Upon Graduation (Effective 1/1/26)

Doctorate Student Learning Outcomes (DSLOs) 

Effective January 1, 2026 

As per the COA Standards of Accreditation Practice Doctorate, graduates from MTSA’s Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) program will acquire knowledge, skills, and competencies in patient safety, perianesthetic management, critical thinking, communication, leadership, and professionalism.  Measurement of these DSLOs occur throughout the program in the course/clinical experience in which they reside.

Patient safety 

The graduate must demonstrate the ability to:

1. Be vigilant in the delivery of patient care.
2. Refrain from engaging in extraneous activities that abandon or minimize vigilance while providing direct patient care (e.g., texting, reading, emailing, etc.).
3. Conduct a comprehensive equipment check.
4. Protect patients from iatrogenic complications.

Perianesthesia

The graduate must demonstrate the ability to:

5. Provide individualized care throughout the perianesthesia continuum.
6. Deliver culturally competent perianesthesia care. 
7. Provide anesthesia services to all patients across the lifespan.
8. Perform a comprehensive history and physical assessment.
9. Administer general anesthesia to patients with a variety of physical conditions.
10. Administer general anesthesia for a variety of surgical and medically related procedures. 
11. Administer and manage a variety of regional anesthetics.
12. Maintain current certification in ACLS and PALS.

Critical Thinking

The graduate must demonstrate the ability to:

13. Apply knowledge to practice in decision making and problem solving.
14. Provide nurse anesthesia services based on evidence-based principles.
15. Perform a preanesthetic assessment before providing anesthesia services.
16. Assume responsibility and accountability for diagnosis.
17. Formulate an anesthesia plan of care before providing anesthesia services.
18. Identify and take appropriate action when confronted with anesthetic equipment-related malfunctions.
19. Interpret and utilize data obtained from noninvasive and invasive monitoring modalities.
20. Calculate, initiate, and manage fluid and blood component therapy.
21. Recognize, evaluate, and manage the physiological responses coincident to the provision of anesthesia services.
22. Recognize and appropriately manage complications that occur during the provision of anesthesia services.
23. Use science-based theories and concepts to analyze new practice approaches.
24. Pass the National Certification Examination (NCE) administered by the NBCRNA.

Communication

The graduate must demonstrate the ability to:

25. Utilize interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients and their families.
26. Utilize interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective interprofessional exchange of information and collaboration with other health care professionals.
27. Respect the dignity and privacy of patients while maintaining confidentiality in the delivery of interprofessional care.
28. Maintain comprehensive, timely, accurate, and legible healthcare records.
29. Transfer the responsibility for care of the patient to other qualified providers in a manner that assures continuity of care and patient safety.
30. Teach others.

Leadership

The graduate must demonstrate the ability to:

31. Integrate critical thinking and self-reflection in one’s approach to leadership.
32. Provide leadership that facilitates intraprofessional and interprofessional collaboration.

Professional Role

The graduate must demonstrate the ability to:

33. Adhere to the Code of Ethics for the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.
34. Interact on a professional level with integrity.
35. Apply ethically sound decision-making processes.
36. Function within legal and regulatory requirements.
37. Accept responsibility and accountability for one’s practice.
38. Understand the importance of providing cost-effective anesthesia services.
39. Demonstrate knowledge of wellness and substance use disorder in the anesthesia profession through completion of content in wellness and substance use disorder.
40. Inform others of the role and practice of the CRNA.
41. Evaluate how public policy impacts the financing and delivery of healthcare.
42. Advocate for health policy change to improve patient care.
43. Advocate for health policy change to advance the specialty of nurse anesthesia.
44. Analyze strategies to improve patient outcomes and quality of care.
45. Analyze health outcomes in a variety of populations.
46. Analyze health outcomes in a variety of clinical settings and healthcare systems.
47. Disseminate scholarly work.
48. Use information/communication technologies and informatics processes to support and improve patient care.
49. Use information/communication technologies and informatics processes to support and improve healthcare systems.
50. Analyze business practices encountered in nurse anesthesia delivery settings.