Fairfield University’s nationally ranked Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies has earned approval to offer its Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) - Nurse Anesthesia program in Austin, Texas. The full-time 36-month program, leading to a doctor of nursing practice, is the only accredited nurse anesthesia concentration in Central Texas.

Joining three cohorts of second-degree nursing students on the Austin campus, the first cohort of nurse anesthesia students is scheduled to begin classes this coming May. 

Though Fairfield is new to the Austin market, having only opened its doors last summer, its Nurse Anesthesia program has already proved popular and competitive. The Admission committee received more than 120 applications for Austin, Texas, for only 15 spots available at the campus.

“We are extremely fortunate to have a large number of high-quality applicants who possess the intellectual, ethical, physical, and emotional capabilities required to undertake a rigorous graduate program and to achieve the levels of competence required to be successful,” said Assistant Program Director Carrie Cromwell, DNP, MS, CRNA, APRN.

The Austin program is a geographical expansion of the school’s program in Fairfield, Conn., which is fully accredited until 2031. The curriculum includes a mixture of didactic, simulation, and clinical learning. Students will have a minimum of 2,000 clinical hours and 650 cases at graduation.

“The expansion of Fairfield University’s well-established Nurse Anesthesia program into Austin will help fill the need for competent, capable nurse anesthetists in the state of Texas,” said Dr. Cromwell. “We are proud to provide the opportunity for nursing students in the region to take advantage of a program with a long legacy of distinction.”

Fairfield Austin has partnered with Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, St. David’s HealthCare, and U.S. Anesthesia Partners (USAP) Central Texas in Ascension Hospitals to ensure its graduate nursing students receive the highest quality clinical experience in and around Austin.

The program expansion was approved by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) on Jan. 25. The COA is the national accrediting body for nurse anesthesia programs within the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Program Director Steven Belmont, DNP, CRNA, APRN, said the Egan School has been working on the Austin expansion since early 2023: “Over the past year, our program has worked tirelessly to ensure successful accreditation by the Council on Accreditation, which affirms the program's robust academic and clinical components that are necessary to train the future leaders of our profession.”

Upon completion of the program, graduates are eligible to sit for the National Certification Exam to become Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists.

The Egan School is ranked #73 among graduate nursing schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Its DNP - Nurse Anesthesia program is ranked #51.