The University of Mobile’s new Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program is the first and only program in a four-state region to be accredited. It is now taking applications for classes that begin in August.
The program has been approved by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, the Alabama Board of Nursing and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The specialty is expected to grow by more than 30% in the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“We are excited about this latest addition to the University of Mobile’s academic offerings. This program will address a critical need in the field of nurse anesthesia along the Gulf Coast, as well as the state of Alabama,” said UM President Lonnie Burnett.
Leading the DNAP program will be Todd Hicks, DNP, CRNA. He most recently served as an assistant professor and the associate pathway coordinator of the BSN-DNP Nurse Anesthesia Pathway at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In addition, Hicks is the expert clinical sciences lecturer for Valley Anesthesia Review, which conducts a nurse anesthesia board review course multiple times a year across the country.
Matthew Hunter Speeg, DNP, CRNA, joins UM as assistant professor and associate program director of the School of Nurse Anesthesia. He most recently served as an adjunct assistant professor within the BSN-DNP Nurse Anesthesia Pathway at UAB, while maintaining a clinical anesthesia practice at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham.
The 36-month doctoral degree program is a blended program combining on-site and online learning. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and more than a year of critical care nursing experience.
