Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia curriculum planning, review and revision reflect the philosophy of the School that true education involves the growth of the spiritual, intellectual, and physical aspects of the student. In keeping with this belief, the faculty, staff, and administration shall seek to collaboratively provide a balanced program between the didactic and clinical phases, so that concurrent knowledge and skills may be developed. Learning of both intellectual and technical skills should start with the basic and simple, and progress in logical steps to the more complex and advanced; each step building on previous knowledge and skill. Throughout the entire educational process, administration, faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to emphasize the spiritual aspect in their daily lives, for their benefit and for the benefit of their patients.
As the curriculum of MTSA is reviewed and revised, it will maintain a balance between academics and clinical assignments. A major responsibility of the NAP Council is to recommend revisions of the curriculum. All academic faculty members are encouraged to attend NAP Council meetings. Academic faculty members are requested to make budgetary requests for the coming year. These requests are reviewed by the Nurse Anesthesia Program Council, which then submits the requests to the President’s Council.
The Outcome Criteria (educational goals) for student achievement and Learning Objectives for clinical achievement shall be reviewed and revised by the NAP Council. These objectives are to be written in measurable behavioral terms. All clinical objectives are reviewed annually by the Program Administrators/Directors and any proposed changed are reviewed by NAP Council.
Curricular content is evaluated via review of the content outlines from the syllabus for each course, scores of the graduates on the National Certification Examination (NCE), which is composed by the National Board on Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA), and the scores of current students on the Self-Evaluation Examination (SEE), which is also composed by the NBCRNA. The Program Administrator reviews all formal courses and assures that specific learning objectives and content outlines exist for each. This review is reported to the NAP Council.
The Council on Accreditation (COA) requirement of minimum hours in each subject area is reviewed relative to the actual hours taught at MTSA. The NBCRNA required and recommended total numbers of cases and numbers of specific clinical experiences will be reviewed for compliance. The master class schedule reflecting the sequence of subjects and required class/clinical hours per semester will be reviewed. As changes in the clinical requirements are made by either the COA or NBCRNA, MTSA’s ability to comply with these changes is assessed by the Program Administrator and reported to the Nurse Anesthesia Program Council.
Planning for additions or changes to provide adequate and appropriate learning resources and making such recommendations to the President’s Council is a responsibility of the Nurse Anesthesia Program Council. The previous years’ evaluations of the Learning Resource Center, which include technology, are reviewed by the Evaluation Committee.
Recommendations for revision of the curriculum, additions to learning resources, and need for additional simulation models may be made by the Nurse Anesthesia Program Council to the President’s Council. The President’s Council may accept, modify, or reject the recommendation. In addition, should it be determined that alteration in the curriculum, additional learning resources, or models are needed on an interim basis, the Nurse Anesthesia Program Council is authorized to make the needed alterations exclusive of the NAP Council’s recommendations.