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Full 10-year re-accreditation — Council on Accreditation

A History and Mission of Excellence
Introduction to Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia

More To It Than Music!

MTSA is located in Madison, Tennessee, a suburb of Metropolitan Davidson County—Nashville, Tennessee—the state capital. Nashville, “Music City USA,” is known for much more than its Country Music roots and the Grand Ole’ Opry®. Recreation and other activities include everything from boating, skiing and fishing on two large impounded lakes to enjoying the arts at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts—one of the finest art museums in the country, or taking in a concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, one of the top 10 ranked performance halls in the world. The School is located on a beautiful campus, surrounded by a park-like setting, 13-miles northeast of downtown Nashville.

Our Physical Plant

The MTSA campus currently consists of two buildings. Building “A” includes the lecture hall, student lounge, simulation skills center, seminar rooms 1 and 2, McAleavy Conference Room and administration. Building “B” is home to the Nelda Faye Ackerman Learning Resource Center, which houses a student computer lab and one of the most comprehensive libraries of anesthesia related books and journals, and additional support staff offices.

The proposed new Atrium will ultimately connect Buildings “A & B” as a foyer, main entrance, reception hall and donor recognition area.

Our Students’ Clinical Experience

You will be interested to know MTSA ranks as one of the largest of more than 100 accredited schools of nurse anesthesia education in the United States. The evidence of the quality and distinctiveness of MTSA’s program lies in its students. The National Board on Certification for Registered Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA)sets the required numbers for clinical experiences. The required number of cases is at least 550. The average number of cases performed by the class of 2007 was 1,028 cases.

NBCRNA requires a minimum of 850 hours of actual anesthesia time. The average number of anesthesia hours for the class of 2007 was 2,374 hours. NBCRNA requires each graduate to have administered anesthesia to 30 pediatric patients. The average number of pediatric patients for this class was 213. NBCRNA requires each student to have provided anesthesia for 30 obstetrical patients. The average number of OB anesthetics for this class was 135.

Prior to the year 2000, NBCRNA had not required students to perform regional anesthetics. Although MTSA students have always performed regional anesthesia, now students in all programs across the United States are required to perform a total of at least 25 regional anesthetics and these can be a combination of all categories of regional anesthesia. Epidural and spinal anesthesia are forms of regional anesthesia. This class performed an average of 69 epidurals and 31 spinal anesthetics.

MTSA has affiliations with 23 clinical facilities in Tennessee and surrounding states. During the 31-months the students are enrolled, clinical affiliates provide hands-on learning in the hospital environment. This hands-on learning occurs simultaneously with classroom education for the first year of the program. For the next 19 months, the student is in a clinical setting nearly full-time.

Our Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals

Mission

It is the mission of Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia to provide a Christian, Seventh-day Adventist learning environment that fosters the pursuit of truth, excellence in anesthesia practice, and a life of service, to supply needed anesthesia providers in Nashville, Middle Tennessee, the Central South, and nationally.

Vision

In response to this mission, Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia views itself as a leader in academic and professional excellence, specific to graduate nurse anesthesia education. The School will be responsive to the needs of its constituents as it provides affordable graduate education for students from diverse backgrounds. The School will be known for its integration of Christian, Seventh-day Adventist values into its learning, scholarship, and service.

Core Values

  • A Christian, Seventh-day Adventist values-driven curriculum and program
  • Academic and clinical excellence
  • A family-centered approach to administering the program
  • Affordable graduate education in nurse anesthesia
  • Balanced lifestyle for students, faculty, and staff

    • School Goals

  • Produce graduates who master the academic and clinical skills and enter the workplace with confidence, pursue lifelong learning, and exercise leadership as contributing members of their families, communities, churches, and society
  • Reflect Christ in the educational program
  • Accept highly qualified, clinically and academically prepared registered nurses who will become eligible to take the Certification Examination to become Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists
  • Provide a mechanism whereby Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists can complete the master’s degree requirements, who will then be able to assist in the preparation of the next generation of anesthesia providers
  • Employ competent and qualified faculty who integrate faith and learning and demonstrate scholarship through teaching and other scholarly activities
  • Provide alumni access to CEC seminars as they pursue lifelong learning

    • Our School

    The Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia, Inc. (MTSA), is a non-profit Tennessee corporation qualified as a 501(c)(3) organization in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia is owned by Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia, Inc. and is operated by a Board of Trust. Trustees represent the business, educational, financial, healthcare, and legal professions. The membership of the Board of Trustees is comprised of three categories, with approximately one-third community members, one-third Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), and one-third physician anesthesiologists. As such, the Board of Trustee members contribute broad and varied interests, abilities, and experience. The Board is charged with policy decisions and ensuring the future advancement of the Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia. Since the Board typically meets quarterly, it delegates interim authority to the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees and to the President’s Council of the Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia. Operational authority is delegated to the President and Vice-President/Dean.

    Our Educational Philosophy

    Rooted in the understanding that God is the Creator of the universe and humankind, the educational philosophy of MTSA is summarized as follows:

  • God, the Creator and sustainer of all creation, is the source of all knowledge.
  • Humankind, created in the image of God for the purpose of communion with Him, has sinned and as a consequence has separated from him.
  • God, through His infinite love, sent His Son to restore a right relationship with humankind—a relationship that begins on this earth and continues throughout eternity.

    • Within the context of this theological understanding, education is viewed as an essential element in renewing that right relationship with God, and must focus on development of the whole person. Through proper development of the spiritual, intellectual, occupational, social, and physical dimensions, the individual is better equipped for a life of service to mankind. Within this philosophical framework, the student development goals are as follows:

  • Spiritual: To create a safe, nurturing community of learning in which students are exposed to concepts of developing a right relationship with God, their Creator, and to facilitate integration of these Christian beliefs and values.
  • Intellectual: To facilitate student mastery of the cognitive skills of critical thinking from basic to complex information and issues, reflective judgment, effective communication skills, and integration of creative solutions to issues and problems facing their practice as CRNAs, and to appreciate an integrated academic and clinical curriculum.
  • Occupational: To assist students in attaining excellence in knowledge and skill-based competencies for productive service within the anesthesia community.
  • Social: To provide opportunities for students to continue the development of socio-emotional maturity that will enable them to be effective, contributing members of the anesthesia community.
  • Physical: To encourage students to take responsibility for their own well-being through living a balanced lifestyle.

    • Our History

    The Madison Hospital School of Anesthesia for nurses was founded in 1950 by Bernard Bowen, CRNA, under the sponsorship of Madison Hospital. It has been in continuous operation since that time. The program began when Mr. Bowen was invited to Madison by Dr. James D. Schuler, a surgeon, and Dr. Julian C. Gant, who was the Medical Director of the hospital. Since that time, more than 1,200 graduates have gone out from Madison to provide high quality anesthesia service throughout the United States and in many parts of the world.

    Throughout the years, all persons connected with the School, both students and teachers have contributed to the success of the School and to the growth of nurse anesthesia as a profession. Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia is proud to carry on the tradition of excellence so firmly established by Bernard Bowen, his staff, and students.

    On July 1, 1980, the School of Anesthesia changed from Madison Hospital School of Anesthesia to Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia. Nashville Anesthesia Services, a partnership of physician anesthesiologists, agreed to temporarily shepherd the school until a corporation could be formed. On January 5, 1982 MTSA was incorporated as an independent, 501(c)(3), non-profit organization, [Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia, Inc.], under the guidance of a Board of Trustees composed of community leaders involved in the business, educational, financial, healthcare, legal, and religious professions. Tennessee Christian Medical Center, formerly Madison Hospital, became part of the Adventist Health System and continued to provide strong support for the School in the form of a leased building and operative facilities until 2005. In 2005, MTSA initiated the Building the Future expansion project, constructing an entirely new state-of-the-art lecture hall, simulation skills center, student lounge facility, and more. In 2006, MTSA purchased three acres and the two existing buildings from the parent company of Tennessee Christian Medical Center, the Adventist Health System.

    In addition to specificity accreditation in anesthesia through the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, in December of 1994, MTSA first received regional accreditation through the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The latter enabled the School to grant a master’s degree.

    MTSA meets and exceeds all National Board on Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA) clinical and class experience standards.