The Nurse Anesthesia (CRNA) Program at Wake Forest University School of Medicine is a recognized leader in the field. This program offers a rigorous curriculum, advanced training settings and global health opportunities. The program is one of an elite minority of CRNA programs that are housed in a school of medicine.
Academic degrees are granted by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Our 3-year full-time anesthesia curriculum leading to attainment of the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree has been fully accredited by the Council on Accreditation. This curriculum involves one year of full-time distance education, and 2 years of on-site education including clinical instruction.
Our History
Our program was established in 1942 as one of the professional schools of the North Carolina Baptist Hospital (NCBH) and the Bowman Gray School of Medicine. Since then, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist has served as the program’s sponsor and the main clinical educational site for our students.
For over 80 years, the nurse anesthesia program has been highly regarded for the exceptional quality of graduates, as well as for housing faculty of outstanding achievement and recognition, nationally and internationally.
The school of medicine has been housed at the medical center since 1941. Dr. Roscoe Wall, one of the initial faculty members of the school of medicine, recognized the need for competent nurse anesthetists and started the nurse anesthesia program with the first graduates emerging in 1942. The school of medicine produced nurse anesthesia graduates even before its first medical physician graduates.
Why Choose Wake Forest?
Both the hospital and our anesthesia program have been rated among the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
Members of the hospital's medical staff serve as the clinical faculty, with each staff member performing both teaching and clinical service on a regular basis.
You’ll receive ample opportunities for clinical experience and consistently exceed the requirements for certification eligibility. Clinical training includes:
- Approximately 800 cases (25 percent greater than the minimum required)
- 2,500 clinical hours (25 percent greater than the minimum required)
- Over 30 clinical sites within and outside of North Carolina
- Clinical sites include prestigious institutions such as Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Health, Cone Health, Novant Health, Massachusetts General, North Carolina Veteran’s Affairs Hospital, Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, Cabell-Huntington Hospital, Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
