Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs

"Supporting Quality Assessment and Improvement in Nurse Anesthesia Education"

COA: Advancing the Profession Through Quality Educational Standards
The COA is responsible for establishing the educational standards for nurse anesthesia programs. The standards represent the minimum requirements all programs must meet.
From the Student's Perspective
Christopher Reed is the student representative on the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA).
From the Educator's Perspective
Sass Elisha is a new COA Director - CRNA Educator. He is currently employed in southern California by Kaiser Permanente. He is the assistant director for clinical education for the Kaiser Permanente School of Nurse Anesthesia (KPSAN) program
COA: Providing Guidance and Support to Programs for Improvement
Quality assessment and quality improvement are the two fundamental reasons for accreditation. The COA’s standards, policies and procedures serve as stimuli for programs to engage in self-directed improvement.
From the Practitioner's Viewpoint
Keith A. Torgersen, CRNA, MSN is a new CRNA Practitioner - Director on the Council of Accreditation.

The Nuts and Bolts of Developing a Professional Doctoral Degree Offering

1 day workshop designed to help nurse anesthesia programs transition to the doctoral level

Click here for more information

CRNA School Search functionality launched!

The Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) the authoritative source on nurse anesthesia programs, is proud to announce its new comprehensive CRNA School Search engine, a database containing the most up-to-date information about each of the nation’s 113 accredited nurse anesthesia programs across the country.

The CRNA School Search functionality provides a wealth of information for those interested in learning more about nurse anesthesia programs. Through this easy to use database, visitors can gain in-depth knowledge regarding tuition costs, admittance requirements, class size, program length, curriculum, and more. The most unique function about this database is that it allows for a side-by-side comparison of up to four programs, eliminating the back-and-forth between school pages to weigh the pros and cons.

“CRNA School Search will benefit potential applicants and programs by providing accurate and up to date information on nurse anesthesia programs.”

Kathy Cook, CRNA, MS, COA Chair

Most importantly, CRNA School Search was created by the COA, which is the sole organization responsible for establishing educational standards for and accrediting nurse anesthesia programs in the United States and its territories. Each accredited nurse anesthesia program must adhere to the standards set forth by the COA, making it the authoritative source on nurse anesthesia programs. The COA would like to express its appreciation to Whilly Ching, CRNA, for the work he did to develop and create the first CRNA school search website and the NBCRNA for its financial assistance in developing this functionality.

Click Here to Visit CRNA School Search

Standards and Policies Updates

Program Resources and Student Capacity Policy

At its January 2013 meeting, the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) reviewed and approved a draft Program Resources and Student Capacity policy. The policy supports the implementation of the following proposed draft Standard in the draft Practice Doctorate Standards.To obtain a copy and/or leave a comment, please click here.

Standards for Accreditation of Post-Graduate Fellowships

The COA has released a first draft of the "Standards for Accreditation of Post-Graduate Fellowships", To obtain a copy and/or leave a comment, please click here.

Practice Doctorate Standards for Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Programs

Below is a link to the first draft of the Practice Doctorate Standards for Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Programs as approved by the COA at its October 2012 meeting. It is provided here for your information. Additional calls for comment on further revisions will be posted during 2013. To obtain a copy and/or leave a comment, please click here.

Accreditation, Degree Mills and Accreditation Mills

Accreditation in the United States is a peer process whereby a private, nongovernmental agency grants public recognition to an institution or specialized program that meets or exceeds nationally established standards of acceptable educational quality. The COA is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA..
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For the complete list of accredited programs offering Nurse Anesthesia Education please click here.

AANA Membership

The COA will continue to post documents in the "Members' Only" section of the AANA website.

On this site you will find information regarding Council Meeting Dates, Accreditation Decisions, Upcoming Workshops and Training Sessions and Contract Information.

For copies of the Accreditation Policies and Procedures, Standards for Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs or the Program Director's Update, please visit the Members' Section of the AANA website at http://aana.com.

The Nuts and Bolts of Developing a Professional Doctoral Degree Offering 1 day workshop designed to help nurse anesthesia programs transition to the doctoral level Click here for more information