23: REFLECTIVE RESPONSE 1 ■ 523The experience of certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) is not unlike that
of other advanced practice nursing faculty. In 2007, the American Association of Nurse
Anesthetists in collaboration with the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia
Educational Programs (COA) mandated that all nurse anesthesia educational programs
transition to a doctoral framework. As part of this larger mandate, the COA also took
the position that doctoral degrees are required for CRNA program administrators (pro-
gram administrator and assistant program administrator) in all doctoral programs
(COA, 2014). Although the COA did not mandate the type of doctorate, many program
administrators have gone on to complete a practice doctorate to meet this requirement.
Although I am personally in a tenure-track position and have earned a DNP as my high-
est degree, I am aware that the ability to be in a tenure-track position or attain tenure is
not an option for many nurse anesthesia program directors across the country. I believe
it is possible for DNP-prepared faculty to be successful as academic chairs, associate
deans, and deans if given the opportunity and providing that the requirements for
scholarship needed to advance a career in academia are reimagined.
■ REFERENCES
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (1999). Defining scholarship for the discipline of nursing.
Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/publications/position/defining-scholarship
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2006a). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced
nursing practice. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/dnp/Essentials.pdf
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2006b). DNP roadmap task force report. Retrieved from
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/dnp/roadmapreport.pdf
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2015). The doctor of nursing practice: Current issues
and clarifying recommendations. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/aacn- publications/
white-papers/DNP-Implementation-TF-Report-8–15.pdf
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. (2007). AANA position on doctoral preparation of nurse
anesthetists. Retrieved from https://www.aana.com/ceandeducation/educationalresources/
Documents/AANA_Position_DTF_June_2007.pdf
Benner, P., Sutphen, M., Leonard, V., & Day, L. (2010). Educating nurses: A call for radical transformation.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Boyer, E. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities for the professoriate. Princeton, NJ: The Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Clark, N. J., Houten, L. A., & Percea-Ryan, M. (2010). Transitioning from clinical practice to academia.
Nurse Educator, 35 (3), 105–109.
Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. (2014). Standards for accredi-
tation of nurse anesthesia educational programs. Retrieved from http://home.coa.us.com/
accreditation/Documents/Standards%20for%20Accreditation%20of%20Nurse%20
Anesthesia%20Education%20Programs_January%202014.pdf
Finke, L. M. (2012). Teaching in nursing: The faculty role. In D. M. Billings & J. A. Halstead (Eds.), Teaching
for nursing: A guide for faculty (pp. 1–14). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
Fitzpatrick, J. (2008). The #1 cause of the faculty shortage? It’s the money! Nursing Education Perspectives,
29 , 253.
Li, Y., Stauffer, D., & Fang, D. (2016). Special survey on vacant faculty positions for academic year
2015–2016. Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Retrieved from http://
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/leading-initiatives/research-data/vacancy15.pdf
Lupien, A. E., & Rosenkoetter, M. M. (2006). Nurse anesthetists as university faculty. AANA Journal,
74 (5), 366–372.
Paskiewicz, L. S. (2003). Clinical practice: An emphasis strategy for promotion and tenure. Nursing
Forum, 38 (4), 21–26.
Potempa, K. M., Redman, R. W., & Landstrom, G. (2009). Human resources in nursing educa-
tion: A worldwide crisis. Collegian, 16 , 19–22.
Roberts, S. J., & Glod, C. (2013). Faculty roles: Dilemmas for the future of nursing education. Nursing
Forum, 48 (2), 99–105.