Our Mission, Vision, Value, 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 to develop 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 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 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 2009 was 1,062 cases. 

NBCRNA requires a minimum of 850 hours of actual anesthesia time. The average number of anesthesia hours for the class of 2009 was 1,884 hours.  NBCRNA requires each graduate to have administered anesthesia to 30 pediatric patients.  The average number of pediatric patients for this class was 228.  NBCRNA requires each student to have provided anesthesia for 30 obstetrical patients.  The average number of OB anesthetics for this class was 121. 

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 59 epidurals and 29 spinal anesthetics. 

MTSA has affiliations with 22 clinical facilities in Tennessee and surrounding states.  During the 28-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.