A certified registered nurse anesthetist administers a general anesthetic to a patient before a surgical procedure at the Medical Center of Central Georgia.

The Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon - in affiliation with Mercer University's School Medicine - is establishing a new master's program to train nurse anesthetists.

"This will be only the second nurse anesthesia program in the state and it will fill a tremendous need," said Matthew W. Kervin, CRNA, associate program director. The other nurse anesthesia program is at Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.

In collaboration with surgeons, anesthesiologists, dentists, podiatrists and other qualified health care professionals, certified registered nurse anesthetists administer approximately 65 percent of the anesthetics given to patients in the United States, practicing in hospitals, surgery centers, delivery rooms and doctors' offices.

There are about 30,000 practicing nurse anesthetists, 800 of whom are in Georgia. In 44 of the state's counties, with populations ranging from 5,000 to 63,000, CRNAs are the only anesthesia providers.

"Although the supply of CRNAs has increased nationally in recent years due to higher enrollments in current programs, there still won't be enough graduates to replace retiring workers or cover the growing needs in health care," Kervin said. According to a national manpower study, the mean age of a nurse anesthetist is 48.

The Mercer University School of Medicine Program of Nurse Anesthesia fits with the school's mission to train health care providers for rural and underserved areas, just as it responds directly to a community need. As part of the Central Georgia Hospital System, the Medical Center of Central Georgia has one of the busiest surgery centers in the state, with an estimated 33,000 surgical cases and 3,100 deliveries performed there each year.

"We have had a shortage of nurse anesthetists in Macon and we're not alone," Kervin said. An American Hospital Association survey of 300 hospitals found that 47 of the respondent institutions experienced a shutdown or reduction in operating room hours due to a shortage of anesthesia personnel.

The collaboration between The Medical Center of Central Georgia and Mercer University will give students in the 28-month program thorough preparation for the occupation, using both the university's resources (state-of-the-art science and cadaver labs, library, etc.) and the diverse experiences of the hospital. Students will be able to obtain all their clinical requirements at MCCG.

"This will be a challenging program using problem-based learning and [will] require an average workload of 50 hours a week," Kervin said. Graduates will be awarded a master's of science in anesthesia degree and be eligible to sit for the certification exam. On average, nurse anesthetists make about $117,000 a year.

In October, administrators hosted an onsite review of the new program by the Council of Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. "The reviewers were very impressed by the enthusiasm and professionalism of our program," Kervin said.

While MCCG and Mercer do not anticipate any problems or delays in the accreditation process, the COA's final decision won't be made until January. "We are going to accept applications for the first class prior to accreditation in order to be able to start classes in August 2005," Kervin said. The school plans to take eight students the first year, 10 in 2006, and 12 in subsequent years, according to Roger Masters, acting program director.

Applicants must have a bachelor's degree in nursing (other majors may be considered) and have at least one year's experience as a registered nurse in a critical care environment, as well as other requirements.

Applications are available at www.mccg.org/crna/crna_program_apps.asp. They are due Dec. 1. For information, call Kathryn Gillam at 478-633-2129.