Panama City, Fla. (WMBB) — The State University System of Florida Board of Governors has approved FSU Panama City’s offering a Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) degree through the College of Applied Studies, school leaders said.
The approval is contingent upon the approval of the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA), which will be conducting their review in January of next year.
Currently, a nurse anesthetist requires a master’s or doctorate to enter the profession at the entry-level. In the year 2025, however, it will be required of nurse anesthetists to have a doctorate’s degree before entering their career.
Stacey VanDyke, Director of the Nurse Anesthesia Program, said that currently practicing nurse anesthetists will be grandfathered in after the 2025 requirement.
VanDyke said the doctoral program will be able to spend more time on important topics.
“The faculty has been carefully developing courses for the DNAP to include leadership, population health, enhanced research courses and the addition of more basic science credit hours, simulation and clinical education,” said VanDyke “The degree requirements will culminate with a scholarly inquiry project.”
Dean of FSU-PC, Randy Hanna, said for future nurse anesthetists this means they can complete their entire educational journey in one town, from Pre-K through their doctorate’s, and he thinks that is pretty cool for Panama City.
