Increasing the Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Pipeline
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Mentorship in the medical community can positively influence professional growth (Chan et al., 2016; Giannone et al., 2018; Stanfill et al., 2019). The objective of this research project was to increase AdventHealth University (AHU) undergraduate nursing students’ intent to apply to a nurse anesthesia program (NAP) by implementation of a mentorship program. There exists evidence to support that peer mentorship promotes positive outcomes, such as career growth, academic success, and increased exposure to advanced healthcare degrees. The study examined how peer mentorship of an undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) affects intent to apply to a NAP. The design of the study followed a quality improvement and quality assurance design that took place on AHU’s Orlando campus. Peer mentorship has been supported by literature to provide mental health benefits (Akinla et al., 2018; Kim et al., 2013; Maniam et al., 2020; Scott et al., 2019; Yuksel & Bahadir-Yilmaz, 2019). Research in determining the effectiveness of mentorship programs on subspecialty choice in undergraduate programs is currently being evaluated as well (Salerno et al. 2017; Stanfill et al., 2019). There is an increased demand for certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and a need to examine how to increase the pipeline to NAPs. Factors that limit BSN students is a lack of knowledge of the role of a CRNA and the requirements of NAPs. The project aim was to set up a mentorship with a student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNAs) to close the knowledge gap and provide a support system to improve intent to apply to a NAP.