University of Mobile Announces Alabama’s First Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Program

Kathy Dean News

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of Mobile is accepting applications for a new Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program, the first and only DNAP program in a four-state region including Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia.

The 36-month doctoral degree program is designed for students on a path to becoming Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists. The curriculum is offered in a blended format, combining on-site and online learning. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and more than one full year of critical care nursing experience.

Students earning the DNAP are eligible to take the National Certification Examination required to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.

The new doctoral program provides more career options for healthcare professionals, and is a response to the increasing demand nationwide for nurse anesthetist practitioners. The specialty is expected to grow by more than 30 percent in the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

University of Mobile President Lonnie Burnett said the Christian university is uniquely positioned to meet that need.

“The University of Mobile has a solid reputation for graduating highly-trained, compassionate healthcare professionals who are providing exceptional care in our community and beyond,” Burnett said.

“Students in our new Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program will benefit from the university’s longstanding relationships with all of the major hospitals in our area, and our state-of-the-art Center for Excellence in Healthcare Practice,” he said.

The university’s culture of caring, with faculty who are focused on building mentoring relationships with students, is also an advantage, Burnett said.

The Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice in UM’s new School of Nurse Anesthesia will begin in August 2021, pending initial accreditation and approval by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs this summer. Applications may be accepted now, but students may not enroll until initial accreditation is granted.

To learn more or apply for admission to classes beginning August 2021, visit umobile.edu/dnap. For more information, call Enrollment Services at 251.442.2222.


About the University of Mobile

The University of Mobile is a Christ-centered liberal arts and sciences institution with a vision of higher education for a higher purpose, founded to honor God by equipping students for their future professions through rigorous academic preparation and spiritual transformation. Core values are: Christ-Centered, Academically-Focused, Student-Devoted and Distinctively-Driven. The university offers on-campus and online bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in over 75 academic programs. Founded in 1961, the University of Mobile is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention and is located 10 miles north of Mobile, Alabama on a campus of over 880 acres.

For more information about the University of Mobile, visit the website at www.umobile.edu or call Enrollment Services at 1.800.WIN.RAMS or 251.442.2222.

About the Author

Kathy Dean

Kathy Dean is associate vice president for university communications and has helped tell the University of Mobile story since 1993. She is an award-winning public relations professional and former journalist. Her husband and daughter are UM graduates. She loves playing in the yard – planting flowers, picking blueberries, pulling weeds and petting her two mini-schnauzers.