Upon completion of all clinical and academic requirements, the graduate will be eligible to take the national certification examination given by the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists. The USC program of nurse anesthesia offers an intense academic and comprehensive clinical curriculum. Students will be exposed to all clinical specialty areas including cardiothoracic, neurosurgical, genitourinary, gynecologic, head and neck, plastic, orthopedic, trauma, obstetric, pediatric and outpatient procedures. Students will have at their disposal the most sophisticated anesthesia equipment and be responsible for administration and management for all regional techniques and modalities of invasive monitoring under the guidance of expert CRNA and physician faculty. In addition, students receive experience in acute and chronic pain management and management of the critically ill patient under the mentorship of an intensivist.
Clinical instruction is offered in numerous state of the art medical centers in Southern California.
Clinical instruction is provided by both CRNAs and physician anesthesiologists. At graduation, students must have provided anesthesia for 450 cases and are expected to manage all aspects of perioperative care that will prepare them to be a valued member of the anesthesia care team and one capable of exercising independent clinical judgements. The Department Nursing education at USC focuses on providing clinical excellence to the community today while preparing to meet the challenges of the rapidly changing health care environment. The USC Department of Nursing has grown dramatically from its beginning to become a critical resource for the education of nurses in southern California. The location of the Department of Nursing on the USC Health Sciences campus is ideal.