Campuses Converge for Nurse Anesthesia Capping Ceremony

Second-year nurse anesthesia residents at the Austin Campus and Main Campus came together to celebrate the start of their clinical education.

The annual event at Fairfield University’s Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies marked the transition to clinical practice for 45 nurse anesthesia residents. With support from the Egan School, the Austin-based cohort traveled to Connecticut to join their classmates for the ceremony.

Dean Patricia Simino Boyce, PhD, RN, welcomed attendees to the capping ceremony and underscored the significance of the event. “Today is more than a ceremony; it is a threshold,” she said. “The cap you receive today symbolizes that shift—it represents the knowledge you’ve acquired, the trust you’ve earned, and the extraordinary care you are now prepared to deliver.”

Dr. Boyce also acknowledged the unsung skill of nurse anesthetists. “Nurse anesthetists are rarely the center of attention,” she said. “In fact, your best work often happens in silence, behind surgical drapes. And yet without your expertise, surgeries wouldn’t start, patients wouldn’t wake safely, and outcomes would be very different.”

Professor Steven Belmont, DNP, CRNA, APRN, FAANA, director of the Nurse Anesthesia program, congratulated the second-year doctoral students on their classroom success and for reaching the clinical portion of their education. He highlighted the importance of certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) within the healthcare system.

“CRNAs have been playing a critical part in healthcare for well over a century,” Dr. Belmont said. “We have a long and proud history, one that dates back to the Civil War. Today, CRNAs deliver over 50 million anesthetics every year, and in many rural communities, they are the only anesthesia providers available.”

The ceremony culminated with the presentation of surgical caps, which were blessed earlier in the ceremony by Rev. John Savard, S.J., ’78. Students were called to stage individually to receive the symbolic gift.

The occasion was celebrated by an audience of more than 200 friends and family members. Fifty-seven additional guests attended via livestreamed video.

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